Vermicomposting bin with worms

Vermicomposting

Mid November and the compost tumblers are already frozen solid.  I want to keep composting through winter and I had been meaning to figure out vermicomposting so there was only one thing to do. Build a worm bin! Worm bins don’t need to be complicated so I built mine out of a simple plastic storage container.

Building the Vermicomposting Bin

I built my worm bin using the following materials:

  • 1 Storage container
  • 2 Storage container lids
  • 2 pieces of scrap lumber

The steps to build the bin itself were very simple.

  1. Drill holes in one of the lids (only 1!)
  2. Drill holes in the bottom of the bin
  3. Drill two rows of holes near the top of the bin

Preparing the Bedding

For the worm bedding I used a mixture of shredded newspaper and leaves. We have quite a bit of both materials so I used some of each. I made sure the bedding was a little bit more wet then damp. Then it was time to get some red wigglers!

Most Important Ingredient

The final thing to add to my vermicomposting bin was the worms. I had contacted Carter’s Compost ahead of time and they told me they would have around 1000 new family members ready for me by the time I got there. The kids were both very excited at the idea, my wife was a bit apprehensive. We picked up the red wigglers and brought them home.

I added the worms to the bin along with our bucket of kitchen scraps. I then mixed them in a gently. The bin is currently setup in the basement. I set the bin on the other lid set up on the scrap lumber to help with airflow and drainage under the bin. I am excited to see how well this setup works and how much maintenance is required.

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