Debstr's Blog

My worm bin
Jan 28, 2008 | 4:59 PM PST
Tags: worms , worm bin , compost

A worm bin is definitely a challenge and a learning trip if I ever had one!  I still have not mastered it but have gotten better - the trick is time and patience.  April will officially be one year since I purchased this unit and the picture looks so shiny and brand new - it's worn in now ....

It has 3 drawers or sections and the lower one with the spigot you can turn and it releases liquid which I use for watering my plants -  compost tea which I dilute with water.  Now I did try and make my own before I bought this and many folks do make their own with great success.  I think I just wasn't that mechanically gifted for constructing one of these on my own.  Basically you can make one with a plastic bin and probably at this point I would attempt making one again since I have experienced the worm bin life lol   Making compost with worms is No overnight miracle by any means - I thought it would be and learned otherwise.  I did lose a few bins due to my impatience - the one I thought would be really wonderful was adding weeds from our pond  OMG bad move!  You have to balance dry material with wet material and just let the worms be.  The moving up and down from one bin to another I still have not figured out - I put kitchen scraps, leaves, shredded paper in two of the bins and then I kinda stop adding to the bottom one (let them work on the material) and hope for the best.  When I am planting new seeds or plants I will dig around and grab what compost I can and add it to the soil.  These are not earthworms they are red wiggler worms which are much smaller and I did receive complete instructions for setting up and maintaining the worm bin.  There are books out there and websites so information is plentiful.  I came across this one site where this guy had a worm FARM and had tons of worms and piles of compost which he sold.  I truly believe this is an art and one that takes time and patience to master.....so I wait.