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Vermicomposting

worm bin idea

14 years ago

Hello all 2 questions for you ,

I was going to make a outside bin digging at least 5-8 inches into the ground with some cinder blocks but today I was rooting around home depot ( got a gift card for christmas ) seeing how much cinder blocks cost etc and I happened upon a item called a silt fence , it is bas. a 3 foot high by 100 foot long tarp with 4 foot tall stakes dispersed throughout . It is used for erosion control etc . It made me think I wonder if this may not work just as good . I think it may and as far as instalation, I was considering double layering it with either some hay or something in between the layers if this image helps wall: hay : wall to act as some insulation . What do yall think ? Its is cheaper only 31 dollars and I can make 2 good size pits insualted( or 4 non isulated ) with it versus one pit with the cinder .

And one other idea occured to me while in tha same area I saw some empty sand bags ( poly bags ) what do yall think of these as a type of flooring ( put some holes in them for drainage rocks on top/bottom as well . they also are cheap ( cheaper than hardware cloth by far ) Have you noticed im "thrifty" yet :)

well thank you all for your help and time

Jeff

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Comments (5)

mendopete
14 years ago
Hi Jeff - What is your climate like? I live in a mild climate ( no longterm freezing) and have a 3'x5' on top of the ground bin. I started last June with good success. If your climate is mild I offer these suggestions: 1) My walls are 4" thick redwood (thats what I had). I am considering larger expansion already, maybe with strawbale walls. I have seen a very sucessful 50'x10' bed with no walls, bottom, or top other than old carpet on top. Again- mild climate. 2) I would not bother with bag flooring. It may work for awhile IF you sew them together. When I expand on mine I will use hardware cloth below. It has not happened to me yet (gopher stakes work for me) but I have heard of moles and gophers having an ongoing feast in some bins. My bin is wide open bottom setting directly on top of the ground. I cover the top with old plywood for top critter control. IMHO it is much easier to take care of an ingroud worm bin (compared to plastic bins) due to temperature and humidity concerns being regulated by the earth. Maybe that is why we find worms there! 3) Start out feeding slow for the fisrt 2 months, and use lots of damp cardboard. Let the "herd" establish. I think my bin will produce about 200lbs of vermicompost a year. Hopfully more. Good Luck!!!! Pete
cathd66
14 years ago
Just a note about your insulation plans- hay is great worm food- so your insulation will soon become food, then worm castings!
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Utilizing the native herd is progress, my friend ;) My composter is copied from the book "let an earthworm be your garbage man" . essentially it is a four sided cinder block box which is one layer below grade and as many above as is needed. I chose to layer the bottom with oyster shells, then the process is dirt, composting material, dirt, etc. I top with hay and burlap, sometimes cardboard. It is satisfying to fill a setup like this and watch it subside into good earth. Watering speeds the process, of course, and coffee grounds are, according to the results of an experiment a relative of my friend did, the best top feed for size and reproductive capacity of earthworms. Like myself, worms know a good thing. I have no pictures, but the idea is very simple and easy to build. As in Field of Dreams, if you build it they will come. Simple wet cardboard is enough to draw them. Junkmail. They are practically catfish. I draw them to favored plants with mulch and stones. If i can get my truck right i know that a load of composted horse manure can easily spawn a megaherd. But for me the end is nothing more than soil-building. I saw an elegant wooden worm bin on youtube once. It was partially below grade aside an outbuilding. This assures a cooler temp in summer, warmer in winter.
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curt_grow
14 years ago
Jeff; Rocks and bags in the bottom of a bin could turn into a pain when harvesting. I don't think anybody uses a bottom in outside bins?? Maybe wire to stop varmints like Pete. We just use 2x6 or larger to make the frame dig it in to level it out and you are good to go. "Thrifty" how about used wood. My last bed is made out of western cedar recycled from the neighbors deck replacement project.

Curt P.S. Sorry I forgot prepare the bed for worms
hannahsdad
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks everyone for all the suggestions , I live in central texas so it is never realy very cold here ( except for right now , reminds me of my canadian days :) our main concern here is heat during the summer it is not unusual to have a week straight of 100+ days . Curt if I may ask when you make your frame and level it in , about how deep do you set it in ( or how wide is the frame usualy ? ) I have some old fencing laying around ( about 5 1/2 wide each ) and I was wondering how wide I would need to make my bin to be safe etc .

Thank you again for all your time and help ,
Jeff
curt_grow
14 years ago
We would just go deep enough to get it level. Of course we were by Dallas and it was easy to find a flat shady spot. I liked 2x10 best but any 2x should work Same as your square foot garden.We did dig a bucket of worms out every fall and keep them in the garage over winter so they would not freeze. (can't trust N- Texas weather you know) Then we could restock if needed. Sorry I don't remember what breed of worms were used, My brother dug them up (purchased) them. Hope this helps. Ha HA We do it the same way up here in the frozen north. This spring I will try to draw in the local talent (can't call them native in Minnesota. DNR calls them invasive) Into a separate bed for the summer.

Curt :-)

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