How to start a small worm farm and compost bin

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By mjbonnie
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Buying Red Worms as bait can get costly at over three dollars for 30 to use for fishing and sometimes you do not us all your worms and you want to keep them for later. This simple solution does three things. (1)Cuts down on the house hold waste that is sent to the land fills. (2) Makes effective all organic fertilizer. (3) Produces plenty of worms per month for fishing bait.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Opaque plastic storage bin with lid, any size.
Extra storage bin lid
Newspaper pages
Dry leaves
garden soil
Red Worms
card board
2 Bricks

Step 1

The placement of the drainage holes.

Using a screw, put about 2 dozen or more drainage holes in the bottom of the storage container.
Step 2

The placement of the ventilation holes.

Using the same screw, place a row of ventilation holes on the sides of the storage container and the lid. Place these holes about one inch apart from each other.
Step 3

Tear up the newspaper into strips one inch or so. Soak them in water and then squeeze the water out so that the paper is only damp. Add the paper to the storage bin along with the leaves, pine needles, and garden soil. The newspaper and leaves will be the bedding for the worms and the soil help the worms digest their food.
Step 4

Red Worms.

Add the Red Worms to your storage container. Dampen the cardboard sheet and place it on top of the worms and the bedding. Then cover the storage container with the lid. Worms do not like light.
Step 5

Place the storage container outdoors out of the direct sunlight and rain. If you keep it indoors, make sure it is a well ventilated.
Step 6

Set the other lid up side down on the two bricks and place the storage container on top of the lid. The lid will serve to catch the "worm tea" or the liquid run off.
Step 7

Worm food.

Now start feeding the worms your table scraps. Not meat, fats, oil, or onions. Just fruits, vegetable, breads, coffee grounds and pasta. It takes close to two weeks for the worms to break it down into what they can digest. Feed them a half cup and slowly increasing the amount to match what they eat.
Step 8

Empty the liquid or "worm tea" that drains into the tray. Monitor the bin once a week to make sure everything is going fine. It should not smell at all. If it does, it is too moist or their is too much food. Cut back on the food or add more bedding.
Step 9

Alot of worms

After about 40 days, there will be three to four times the amount of Red Worms in your bin and it will keep on growing. You can see the eggs, a yellowish looking pellets about the size of a match head that contain four or more tiny worms.
Step 10

Compost

In 8 to 12 weeks, it is time to remove the "vermicompost" or worm manure. It is very clean and non smelling. Just scoop it out of the bin and add it to your garden or house plants. After removal, push everything else to the side and replace with fresh bedding and food.

Comments

mjbonnie said

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on 8/14/2009 I purchased my worms from Walmart in the fishing and hunting area. Pan fish worms are red wigglers.

wormwanter said

on 8/14/2009 Does anyone live in the western MI area that I Can buy some worms from your bin?? It would be very heplfull

on 8/14/2009 where can I find red worms cheap

on 7/30/2009 Depending on the number of worms, once every 2 weeks, always check the amount of food remaining. Never over feed because it will cause fruit flies to also multiply in your worm bin.