Making a Worm Composting Bin

I’ve been thinking about making a composting worm bin for awhile now.  Today I finally got around to making one.

I have quite a few of these soda crates sitting in my shed (they were there when I moved in).  I thought they’d make nice trays for a worm bin.  They stack together tightly and there are small holes in the bottom so when stacked the worms can move from one tray to another.  I just needed to cover all the holes in the sides.  I thought about cutting some wood paneling but then ran across some landscape fabric I had left over in my shed.  I decided that would be a good material to cover the sides.  It’s plastic so it won’t get soggy, moldy, or break down over time.  It’s dark enough that it doesn’t allow much light through, important since worms like dark places.  It is somewhat breathable so should allow for some air circulation.  The most common problem with worm bins made from plastic storage bins is lack of circulation so the contents are too wet and rot.

 

I cut the landscape fabric in strips and used hot glue to tack it down all along the inside bottom. I then folded it over the top and used more hot glue to hold the folded over section down on the outside.  Here is a finished tray.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I cut up a bunch of newsprint into strips and soaked them in warm water for a few hours.  I then drained the strips and mixed in a few handfuls of sawdust so that the bedding was moist but sopping wet.

 

The whole tray was placed inside a plastic tote, to catch any runoff.  The tray is propped up on some scrap 2×4 pieces so that it won’t sit in any fluid.

Finally I added a cup of worms.

 

 

I bought the worms at Alaska Mill and Feed.  They sell them in cups of 50 worms.  Most sites recommend that a bin will need about a pound of worms (there are anywhere between 500-1000 worms in a pound).  So I’m starting with way fewer worms than recommended.  I don’t want to spend a fortune on worms so I thought I’d start small and let them breed.  It’ll mean they can only eat a small amount for the next few months but eventually the population will increase.

 

The tray was covered with a piece of cardboard to act as a lid and help hold in moisture.  For now I’ll just use one tray but I made three so I can add on as my worm population increases.   Eventually, I should be able to rotate out the trays, feeding from the top one, and taking compost from the bottom.

 

 

That’s it.  Using materials I had around, I have a worm bin that cost me nothing except $10 for the worms and a few hours of time.  Much better then paying $100 for a commercial one.

Hello!

I’m in just starting my second season of gardening in Alaska. I’m finding this cold climate and long days make for some unique challenges and unique opportunities. I’m mainly interested in growing food and most of my gardening is geared toward veggies.

I’ve been searching online forums and northern garden blogs to find more information on what plants/varieties to grow and how to grow them. I appreciate all the information I’ve found but find myself wishing there was more. So I thought I’d share my experiences in the hopes that others can learn along with me. Join me as I share my gardening ideas, successes, and failures.

A bit about my garden…I live in Anchorage, AK, Zone 3b. I have a small yard in town so my garden space is pretty limited. I have a few raised beds I grow in the square foot garden style and a few containers. I plan to add quite a few more containers to my garden this season. I live in a rental which also limits somewhat what I grow and how. For example, it’s not worth it to me to invest the time and money into perennials I’ll be leaving behind in a few years. I’m mainly interested in growing food, enjoying fresh and so much tastier food straight off the plant, eating local and organic food, decreasing my dependence on supermarket food grown far away, and decreasing my grocery budget. I plan to keep of tally of what and how much I harvest each week. I’ve been inspired by the Urban Ton Project where a couple grew over a ton of food on their 0.2 acre urban lot. Makes me wonder how much I can grow in my modest garden. I also plan to use these records to help gauge which veggies do best for me and which ones are not worth growing in this northern garden.

This early in the season my garden is still covered in snow, so not much going on outside yet.  I do have some seeds started indoors and I’ll be starting more soon.  Here’s a sneak peak…