DIY Vermicomposting: A Worm Farm on a Budget

Have you wanted to set up a home worm farm, but have been put off by the high cost of purchasing one of the “designer brand” multi-level “vermicomposting ” kits, promoted by garden centers and mail order companies? Well, let’s get the shit done! – IT’S REALLY NOT A SECRET !!! -You can easily make your own DIY three container kit for just a few dollars and your worms will be as happy as piglets in the yellow stuff, with no big bad wolves in sight. Plus, you don’t have to be a skilled technician to do it!

• Hardware stores, supermarkets, and camping stores sell sturdy general-purpose black (opaque) plastic storage containers at a very reasonable price. These are typically tapered so they can be nested for easy stacking on retailer shelves and come with a “to fit in “this cap. For your worm farm, you will need three of these conical containers (but only one lid). For a simple home worm farm, I would recommend using 12 gallon (45 liter) containers. They will generally be about 15 inches (400mm) deep. You can go smaller, if you want.
• In the first storage container, drill a 3/8 inch (15 mm) hole, located in the center, on the side of the container, just above the base. Insert an inexpensive ½-inch (12mm) plastic barrel or irrigation faucet (with washers) into its hole and quickly tighten with locknuts; make sure you get a good seal; try filling the container with tap water. This container should be the lowest in your pile and will retain the highly nutritious content. “worm tea“leachate, which will start to drip from the compost bins above. Earthworm tea is a valuable liquid organic fertilizer, which can be diluted and used directly in your organic vegetables.

The top two containers will contain the worms. They must be identical and are prepared as follows:

• Drill a ¼ inch (6 mm) hole pattern along the entire base of each container for drainage and to allow drainage and upward migration of compost worms, these holes should be regularly spaced approximately two inches (50 mm) on center in any direction.
• For aeration, drill two rows of ¼ inch (6 mm) holes on two inch (50 mm) centers, in a continuous band around each of the containers. This band of orifices would be approximately four inches (100mm) below the top edge of the container.
• It is not essential to drill holes in the lid, which is tightly closed over the upper container. since it must receive enough air from the sides.
• First install the lower container (sump) on bricks or blocks, leaving enough space to draw the liquid from underneath. Choose a shady spot for the worm farm (in a shed or garage, if it is subject to frost).
• The second and third containers are “nested” one inside the other and are placed in the sump container. To maintain a workspace for worms and compost build-up, you need some spacers or packers about six to eight inches high, between the top two bins and some smaller packers about four inches in the bottom bin (sump ). . You can use wooden blocks or sealed food jars for the packers. The packers also prevent the conical worm bins from getting stuck together.
• To prevent “nasty bugs” from squeezing between the bins, you must close (caulk) the small space between them with strips of shade cloth or mosquito nets.

You are now ready to go into production. Don’t let us give detailed notes here for the fine points of system operation, like choosing and feeding your worms, eradicating pests and maintaining the worm farm, etc. You can visit our website to get this information. However, be sure to cover the following points: –

• Place your worms in the top container with some good stringy (wet) bedding (or even shredded newspaper) and after a few days you are ready to start feeding your kitchen scraps. Cover food with more bedding to discourage pests and keep the lid closed.
• Make sure the worm farm is never allowed to dry out by spraying water on the bedding periodically, if there is still not enough moisture from food scraps.
• When the top bin has been fully productive for a while, the worms will multiply and compost will begin to build up from the worm waste. When the amount of compost is significant, stop putting food in this container and change the two upper containers by placing container n. 2 at the top of the pile, with container # 2. 1 now in the middle. Set up this new top bin with clean bedding, a small amount of the old castings, and immediately start feeding kitchen scraps into it. The worms will naturally migrate upward to the new food source, leaving the bottom container with just a few stragglers and ready for collection of your compost within three weeks of swapping.
• All you need to do is keep repeating the process of alternating the top two bins on a regular basis, scooping out the compost, whenever it builds up, and scooping out the worm tea occasionally. Use both in your garden and grow delicious, totally organic greens and beautiful roses. Sit back and enjoy the fruit of your labor – your worms are doing most of the work anyway!

To see a detailed diagram of this simple worm farm, as described, and some illustrative photos, you can visit our website at http://www.working-worms.com/

Happy deworming!