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Vermicomposting

Worm Bin - Which One?

17 years ago

I am a condo owner whose only "open space" is a balcony. Any recommendations for a compact worm bin - either outdoors or indoors? I want to easily be able to harvest the "worm tea" if at all possible.

Thanks!

Jeannie

www.jeanmelissa.com

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Comments (7)

bencjedi
17 years ago
I'm trying my two 5-gallon bucket idea for a worm bin. It doesn't take up much space, but can't testify how well it will work out til I see how it goes. On the 3rd day now and so far the red wigglers are busy chewing away.
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socks
17 years ago
For a beginner, I think a rubbermaid bin is a good way to start. I punched holes all over mine with a hot glue gun, even the bottom. It would be best to keep something under it so any leakage would not mark the balcony surface. I've never had enough fluid to collect any worm tea, but I cycle through a lot of kitchen scraps and that seems to keep things moist enough.

What are you thinking of using for bedding?

Good luck, and have fun.
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wfike, are you adding wood shavings to improve the texture of the casts or to help aerate the bedding? I've read, and surmise, that wood shavings take a long time to break down, so I'm assuming you aren't adding them as feedstock, am I figuring this correctly? I've also read, from several older vermi books (and the Vermiculture_FarmersManual), that horse manure by itself is not the best feed, but that cattle manure is good. Do you mix the 2 as feedstock and bedding? I guess what I'm trying to understand is whether you use horse manure as feedstock and feel it is an adequate feed by itself. I added soaked, torn corrugated cardboard to the horse manure because I'd read that it has excellent nutrition due to the high-protein glue that is used to hold the layers together. Another advantage that corrugated cb has is it's water absorbancy, so the 2 (horse manure and corrugated cb) mixed together make a good bedding and a good feedstock. But, you know, you can find all sorts of contradictions when comparing books, websites, and opinions...so I'm interested in what you find to be true, based on your experience. Cheryl, I have been freezing the food waste lately. It does seem to speed things up a bit, but there is still the issue of varying amounts of water being released, mold/fungus, and odors if you use too much or have strong smelling foods to vermicompost. I've found that as much as I want to keep food waste from the landfills, it's a lot of aggravation (too much water, mold, fruit flies, fungus gnats, march flies, houseflies, odors..etc), inconvenience (both of my freezers are half full of food waste for the worms, leaving only half for my own food), and guess-work involved in feeding food waste to the worms. Now, if I didn't have access to horse manure and corrugated cardboard, I would still use primarily food waste. But since I do have access to those materials, I much prefer using them. I have encountered very few issues/problems using horse manure and corrugated cb. So, I ease my conscious by reminding myself that these 2 items would have been dumped in a landfill somewhere, had I not taken them. I still plan on freezing some food waste to use as trench feedings in my raised beds. This practice has eliminated all issues/problems with using food waste because it is buried 4-6" under the soil, and I have many worms in my raised beds who process this food quickly (and thank me for the cold stuff when it's hot outside). The junk mail I use are advertisements for credit cards, various insurance, and a hodgepodge of solicitations. I just remove them from the envelope and tear into strips that could be used as bedding (I put them in the compost crate, so they will be partially composted by the time the worms get to it). I don't use glossy papers, not because they are bad for the worms, but because they take forever to break down and I don't like the look of them in the compost. The Vermiculture FarmersManual recommends shredding cardboard that has a waxed coating, so I assume wax is safe to use if shredded or had the wax seal broken in some other fashion . I've read that oils are not good for worms (I assume oil would smother them since they breath thru their skin), but I wouldn't think a small amount would be harmful. The boxes that you have should be fine. Most of the corrugated cardboard that I use has colored printing on it and I haven't noticed any problems with it (the majority of people say that most inks are soy based now). I also use shredded office paper in the indoor bin I just created, and to absorb water from the barrel bins outside when rain has been heavy, and that paper has been thru laser printers. I haven't seen any ill effects from any of the paper products I have used. Welcome to the thread, Cheryl. I look forward to reading about your experiences in the vermi-world.
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That new version of the worm factory looks pretty for stackable. But the Worm Inn sounds better to me (except for possible less durability but were you going to vermicompost for the next 20 years?) Have hubby make you a super sturdy stand designed built around it. But you might want to try a tiny bin first to see if you even like worming. Or worms and other creatures.
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Nappy... your guess of about 600 (euro per pound) is probably close however that is not too many for a 13 gal container. I started with two 27 gallon bins, about 2/3 filled and put about 3000 (red wigglers/euros mixed) in one bin and 5000 in the other. That was no where near high density. In the first four months the numbers way more than quadrupled without issues and last month when I added two more bins and split the populations the density was WAY more than what I'd started with in the original bins but know this, I did supply prodigious amounts of food continuously, and a generous part of it were powdered grains and other high protein items in addition to fruit and vegetable pulp. Before I ever introduced any worms into the original bins, I'd had the bins prepared already with the bedding of coir/peat and added soil/leaf compost and buried 10 pounds of juiced pulp under the bedding for about 3 weeks to get the microbe population started and so when the worms arrived in the mail I just dumped them into the bins and they had an immediately available food source from day one... and plenty of it. Within 2 days I found many of them burrowing through the middle of that pulp pile so I assume they were eating... it soon turned into a huge mass before the week was up. Your worms may be wandering out of the bin due to lack of a sufficiently ready food source. Yes, try to get some leaf litter in there or open a can of pure pumpkin or creamed corn or cooked spinach (packed without salt) and put it under the bedding and see what happens over the next few days.... you'll need to wait until a mass of worms begin mobbing it before turning the light off... in any case continue to keep the lid off the bin. Somehow I missed it that you've only had this worm bin set up for 2 days! (which should make it 5 days by now)... Worm bins are an ecosystem that will take time to develop so be patient and give it a week for the worms to settle in. Remember their whole environment was just radically changed and so it will take a few days for them to adjust.... just adjusting to the pH of the bin could take a few days...
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Personally, I would not add any orange peels... the pulp, though acidic, should be okay if you don't overdo it. The peel contains a goodly amount of d'limonene which is harmful not only to the worms but also to most of the other creatures in the bin. Your worms are only one of the many inhabitants of the bin. The health and balance of all these composting workers are necessary to keep the worms happily eating. I don't have a worm factory, so I'm not familiar with the particulars of bin size (surface area and bedding volume) but one pound of worms doesn't sound like a lot of worms. For a reference, I started with 8000 worms spread across two bins (each a 27-gallon tote, around 2/3rds filled mostly with coir for bedding) and it took 3 months just to achieve a balanced eco-system and that's when the bins/worms really began to take off. I was able to harvest quite a lot in vermicompost just two months later... that would be 5 months since starting the bins. It takes time. Also I'm learning that bedding temperature can have a significant effect on speed at which the worms process through the foodstuffs. Where is your worm factory located? can you accurately measure or estimate the bedding temperatures? (I say temperatures because it will vary somewhat depending upon where each measurement is taken at). Red wigglers seem to get quite active when the temps remain reliably above 65F... don't go by air temperature as the two can differ quite significantly depending upon a number of factors. Also, what are you using for your bedding? Oh, and about the tomatoes... others have mentioned it before but its worth repeating as I didn't really listen too well and managed to put a couple tomatoes, seeds and all, into the bins thinking its no big deal... well, I've been pulling young tomato plants up from everything I've spread the vermicompost on thus far... I'm just glad it was only a couple small tomatoes and I ran them through a juicer prior to adding to the bin. Perhaps if you zap the tomatoes in the micro before adding to the bin that would prevent the seeds sprouting from the vermicompost months later, either that or strain the pulp first before putting into the bin.
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green_jen
17 years ago
I'm also a newbie - my worm bin is 4 weeks old yesterday and going strong.

I used a rubbermaid bin and drilled a lot of small holes on the sides and top. None on the bottom but the first row on the side are pretty low. My total cost was about $4.

I started with a cup of worms I picked up at a compost class, dropped them in with some moist newspaper and a little bit of food, including some crumbled egg shells, and so far, so good. I was a bit nervous at first but I can see a bit of dirt now and the food I put in is disappearing. The very tops of the newspaper are dry but the part where the worms are is moist. There is a bit of condensation on the sides of the bin as well. None of the worms have opted to move out (read escape) so I think it's working well.

Good luck with your new friends!
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raphael_gardener
17 years ago
I assume you use your balcony for more than just worm farming? You want to be able to have visitors outside and not smell rotting garbage?

You should buy a Worm Factory, like the one shown in the link below.

It can be covered with a table cloth or material and used as a functional table as it has a flat top. These bins are covered, so insects and smells are reduced. The tap on the side makes for easy harvesting of the worm liquid (Which, by the way, is not 'worm tea'). You should have enough waste to keep this size bin going.

Open topped DIY buckets are great for the backyard, but i wouldnt keep one inside due to the insects and smell (I like the earthy smell of my worm bin, but some dont) and liquid management. The can 'o' worms is fine, but it doesnt have a flat top.

Do yourself a favour. They cost around $80 and are so easy to use its amazing. I have two.

"Worm tea" is a way of preparing the castings (compost) from the bin (mixing it with water). The stuff that flows out the bottom of the bin is waste liquid, and does not have the same amazing properties as "Worm Tea", but is still good for plants.

Let us know what you decide.

Raphael in Australia

Here is a link that might be useful: Worm Factory
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john13
16 years ago
Raphael, where did you get this Worm Factory? There are different ones out there. I like the looks of this one.

Thanks!
Karen
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tclynx
16 years ago
If you want to buy something pre-made, the worm factory or can-O-worms might be appropriate. As noted, the worm factory looks like it could double as a table. The can-O-worms is more appropriate for a corner either on the balcony or in the kitchen.

Just make sure that you don't get any direct sun where you intend to put the worm farm out on the balcony, those black plastic comercial worm bins will heat up and cook your worms with any sun hitting them.

If you want to save a little money, there are numerous ways you can build your own version. Buckets, rubermaid bins, wood boxes, old dresser drawers etc.
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goldenpond
16 years ago
I started with the can o worms and have had great success.I decided to try thr rubbermaid method so I could see if it worked and teach others.I was skeptical about the rubbermaid method but it works fine I keep mine in the garage. I have NO ODORS and let me tell you why.Have a bucket to soak newspaper strips in. You do not want chlorine water so this gives the chlorine a chance to diccipate. When you add fresh food be sure to cover with newspaper strips(WET) This keeps bugs and odor down.Always have a 3 inch layer of damp strips on top.This also becomes bedding.
There is a site called Oscar jr that shows the rubbermaid method but then you stack more and it is much like the Can O Worms
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