How to Make Your Own Worm Farming Bins
To get started in worm farming, you'll need a bin to raise your red wiggler worms. To get into the green spirit of composting your kitchen scraps, you might try to scrounge up scraps for this worm bin for free from a construction site or lumberyard bin. You can also make a simple worm bin from a plastic tote and two soffit vents. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- For wooden bin:
- 1-by-12 salvage lumber, 10 feet
- 2-by-2s, 7 feet
- 2-inch decking screws, preferably galvanized to resist corrosion
- Pair of hinges
- For plastic bin:
- Tote or storage bin, medium size, 14- to 18-gallon
- 2 louvered soffit vents, 3 inches
Instructions
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Wooden Worm Farming Bin
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1
Cut the 2-by-2 into seven 1-foot lengths. Four will serve as inside corner supports and three as bottom supports.
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2
Crosscut the 1-by-12 into four 2-foot-long pieces, for the sides, bottom and lid, and two 11-inch-long pieces, for the short sides.
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3
Screw the long sides and the short sides into the corner pieces to make the box shape.
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4
Screw the 2-by-2 pieces, one on each end and one in the middle, to the bottom piece.
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5
Screw the bottom to the sides.
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6
Attach the lid to the box with hinges.
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7
Drill 1-inch holes in the box, four holes in the bottom and six holes, three at the top and three at the bottom, of the long sides. Place two shallow pans under the holes to catch the worm leachate.
Easy Plastic Bin
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8
Drill 3-inch openings with a 3-inch hole saw toward the top of each of the short sides of the tote.
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9
Pop 3-inch louvered soffit vents into holes to allow air circulation.
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10
Monitor the bin conditions to see if you need drainage holes; add these later if warranted.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Substitute 1/2-inch plywood or 1/2-inch OSB for the 1-by-12s for the wooden bin plan if you can find plywood more easily.
