I can't help you with the benefits yet, because my bin has only been set up two weeks, with critters in residence one week. But I can tell you I spent less than $30 total - two bins (nested), peat moss, cornmeal and worms / shipping.

Everything else (bedding, food) came from stuff around the house. The bin is in my cabana (pool area) bathroom shower at the moment, but with pool season rapidly arriving, I am going to have to find a better place for it.

I figure if that it helps cut down on my food waste, and gives me some good soil admendment it will be worth it. So far it is pretty good going, but I am having some trouble regulating the moisture in my bin, so it may be a while until I get happy, procreating, casting-making worms.

Good luck,

--Lisa

My advice is research research...I did a LOT of reading all over the net about worms and bins. Yes you can do it way cheap if you want. Google(or any search engine) "vermicomposting" "worm composting" "worms" and "composting" and I'm sure you'll find tons of info that is good for you. Also read back posts here(I did...all of them) they often have links to pictures and info that is very ineresting.

Just so you know its worth the time: When I first started thinking about vermicomposting I was set to spend 107$CAN for a bin and 1/2lb of worms. After reading and reading and reading some more I ended up making my own bin and just buying the worms so the whole deal only ended up costing 37$CAN and most of that was for the 1/2lb of worms! I know there are poeple who have done it even more cheaply than that with harvested worms from the wild and bins made of scrap lumber etc. I think if you really put your mind to it you could manage to do it for the cost of your time to read about it and get things set up.

Good luck!

Cass:)

Similarly, I arrived at a point where I had very little time to enjoy gardening and backyard composting. The thought of worms made me a bit squeamish - until I attended a vermicomposting class at the NY Botanical gardens. What a difference it made!

Contact the Chicago Botanical Garden. You just missed a vermicomposting class on Saturday. Heres the number: 847.835.5440 . Ask for Don Balcom.

Fito

tropican, it can be done cheaply, I only spent $15 on worms (about $12 US) and $2 on a coir brick to get started. :)
my bin was a homemade one given to me for my birthday.

ongoing maintenance isnt much, I spend a few minutes every few days tending the worm farm, and mostly its just a quick check on things, so even if Im busy I can check it and throw some food in or wet it down.

and yes, you WILL get over your fear of worms! when I first started they made me squeamish, but now Im quite fond of the little tykes and theyre just a normal part of my gardening life now. :)

I've only had my worms for a few days but the bin was $4, worms $13/half lb, heater $14. If i hadn't needed the heater I could have gotton by on less than $20. If you have a manure pile around, some scrap lumber and the inclination you can get it setup for $0.

I think a couple of weeks is pushing it a bit on the compost. More like several months from what I have read but others more experienced can probably be more specific.

You CAN do it outside for $O! If you have a small space in your yard, dig it to about 12" deep (maybe 2'X 3'). Add food scraps and cover with dead leaves, straw, shredded newspaper, or whatever you might have. A plastic garbage bag over it all might be added too. Then.....just wait. Like the theme from "A Field of Dreams", build it and they will come! It will take some time (which we humans do not usually like)but (kept damp) they will populate the area and you will have your worm bin.

Absolutely, SQHI! I have a bed (windrow)that has been going for about 2 years. It is 3 feet by 15 feet and two to three feet high and I started with 0 dollars, just as posted above! I just shipped off my first pound of worms (one pitch fork scoop.) I feed them my kitchen scraps and I get newspaper, coffee grounds, cardboard from local gas marts!

Is free cheap enough? If you really want to be creative, any old container will be OK with the worms (that you can find in the yard), and any old foodstock (veggies scraps, leaves, all that stuff) will work. Rainwater is good for moisture.

This method, because of the size of the initial worm population, will start out pretty slowly, but it will be free.

Chuckiebtoo

HORRAY FOR SQHI!
I have never bought composting worms! I just set up my pallet bins and "farm" worms year round, outside, for 0 dollars.
At first (15 years ago)no worms showed up, then after a year or so they started showing up and I noticed that the way I work my compost bins made lot'o'worms without my meaning to. (all I do is fluff my pallet bins with a digging bar)
Now whenever I want worms (even certin types) I just look in my compost pile for compost worms, my wood chip pile for 'fishin' worms and I dig in the ground for strange green worms, just for grins.
Buying worms (to me) is like buying water or paying to exercise or buying mulch or paying for t.v. ETC.
IALBTC

..I have had bins that I've only used straw or only shredded leaves and I have had bountiful "harvests" of worms with no added food, just regular waterings.
It all leads back to compost!

I found an old OLD wooden toybox that I drilled some ventilation holes in and some drainage holes in the bottom. Added old dead leaves from last fall, a scoop of dirt. Some shredded paper (lots) and about 1/2 lb. of worms. Watered it down and they're still alive. :D I am having some maggots though so it's still getting the bugs worked out, ya know.

My biggest vermicomposting expense so far has been for the rubbermaid worm bin (about US $16 or so, I think...)
If you can find a old toybox, army footlocker, jeep tire, etc, no need even to spring for Rubbermaid bins.

Drilled holes in the bottom and sides of one Rubbermaid tub, set on top of some upside-down old nursery flats I'd cut down to fit inside a second bin (bin to contain the leachate/worm tea, nursery flats to hold worm bin up out of tea/leachate), filled it with compostables and shredded paper, and added worms picked up from puddles after a rain.

Took maybe 3 months(?) for it to have worms just about all through.

I've also raised (gorgeous!) worms in old 5-gallon buckets (they're a bit small though, and not a very convenient shape (the buckets, not the worms :)).

You might also check out the Soil, Compost & Mulch forum, and especially its FAQ, for more suggestions on how to amend lots of soil on the cheap :)

- Evelyn

redworm castings from a lb of worms takes me about 3 months to harvest- I use newspaper shredding and peanut hulls for bedding, dump a 3 lb can of collection of food waste from the kitchen, and leave em alone for a month- then add more for the next two months. I also add cardboard if it gets too wet, sprinkle egg shells on top, and give the surplus scraps to the outdoor compost bin. It cost me $20 for worms- $10 for rubbermaid (I suppose you can get castings in two weeks, but I like to let them have undisturbed time to breed)

In our climate i just keep them in the back room- too hot outside in the summer- don't need to use a heater in the winter-

If you have the patience and time to sort through them, you can do it the 'cheap' way, like I did. I don't mind spending the time sorting the eggs and worms from the harvest- but then I really like playing in the dirt (and in this case, worm crap)

If you had a nice climate (not too hot), you could just build an outdoor bin, or if you wanted to just build your soil up, do 'lasagna' or sheet composting.

wow! this is cool. I have a ton of plastic tubs so I'm thinking that's a good way to go. I can also see I have a lot of reading to do.

I mulch leaves in trenches around my rose bushes and then piled up with compost and soil, but I didn't know you could do it with food scraps (although we have oppossums and squirrels and raccoons and such, plus, since we're in the city, much worse.) On that note, are mice and rats and roaches and such attracted to vermicomposting bins? I've seen some of the ads for ready-made hanging vermicomposting bins advertised as "won't attract rats and roaches!" ...Which spooked me a bit. We don't have any of those things at present, but we live in a very old, dilapidated, and non-airtight home so if we stuck something really attractive to critters in the unattended basement, critters might catch wind of it and show up.

One more question: how much time per week on average should it take to feed, maintain and harvest castings from a pound or two of worms? (We're a semi-vegetarian family of 3 with a decent amount of garden waste & nearly unlimited access to excess paper.)

Thanks for all your advice. Sorry to pelt you with questions (and not even split them into different threads!)

tropicanarama, here's a book that might answer some of your questions--Worms Eat My Garbage--although this site is very valuable also.

I don't know what size bin you are planning, but if it's just the rubbermaid bin size, it only takes the time to put food scraps in each week. I also usually gently lift the bedding from the bottom to aerate things a bit about once a week. Harvesting the castings takes place months down the road.

I've never had problems with rats, mice or roaches. The bin is basically closed with the lid, so nothing like that can get in. I use a rubbermaid bin with holes poked in it with the end of my hot glue gun. Good luck.

Here is a link that might be useful: Worms Eat My Garbage

Tropicana,

If you bury your food scraps in the middle of the worm bedding (moistened sawdust, dead leaves, shredded paper, etc), the smell won't get out (it may even smell less than those same food scraps in a kitchen garbage pail :)

And if your worms are in a plastic container that rats and mice can't open, they won't get in :) Roaches may be trickier, but if you don't have them now, the bin shouldn't attract them.
(If you want to be super-sure, you can cover the vent holes with screening; and if they do show up, baking soda scattered where the roaches would have to walk through is non-toxic and very effective*).

Do read "Worms Eat My Garbage": your library probably has a copy (ask them to order one if they don't :)

- Evelyn

*It turns out roaches are fastidious little embodiments-of-evil. When they get powder all over themselves, they try to groom themselves clean with their tongues. When the baking soda gets into their very acid stomachs, it reacts by bubbling up: pop-roach!

Actually mice and rats can chew through plastic rather easily. They are also good jumpers and climbers. IF mice and rats are already in your house AND they decide they want into your bin there is not alot to stop them.

IF you are really worried about it you can line the outside of the bin with hardware cloth or something similiar. This may not totally stop them but will deter them.

Having said this ive never had mice get into any of my bins, plastic, wood, or styrofoam. It may be that I have an inside dog.

Bryan

Hello tropicanarama!

I think worms are right for you. Vermicomposting is much faster than regular composting. And yes, you really can keep the little guys in the basement and they will thrive.

According to Worms Eat My Garbage by Mary Appelhof "...redworms feed most rapidly and probably convert waste best at temperatures between 59-77 degrees F (15-25 degrees C). They can work their way through garbage in a basement bin with temperatures as low as 50 degrees F (10 degrees C). Redworms tolerate a wide range of temperatures, but below freezing temperatures may kill them....Bedding temperatures above 86 degrees F (30 degrees C) could be harmful to the worms."

I kept records when I first started, and in the first year my worms ate 80 pounds of kitchen waste. You need to be careful, though, not to over feed, especially in the beginning, or you may get fruit flies in the worm bin. (A LOT of fruit flies). Properly done, there is no bad odor.

You need a worm bin that allows for drainage and air circulation. The drained liquid (compost tea) can be diluted and used to water your plants. I started out with a plastic bin from Wal Mart (I drilled holes in the sides near the bottom for drainage and air circulation). It was cheap and I used shredded dampened newspaper for the bedding material. (Now I have a Can-O-Worms. I tried other systems but I do like the Can-O-Worms the best. In my opinion, if they would only modify the lid so you could open it with one hand, it would be perfect).

I was hesitant, and a little squeemish, when I started my first worm bin. But I raised them from babies and now I am rather attached to the little critters!

Those of you who have outside bins, what do you do with your worms in the winter when it is too cold? I can see if they are in compost that they can bury themselves to warm depths. But what about those in wooden toy boxes or old bathtubs?

SQH1 hit the nail on the head. Just dig a hole dump in a few scraps and cover with leaves and water every day for 2 weeks. You will have worms. I bury cages filled with bananas or canteloupe, the worms will find it.. The cage can be a wire box, an onion bag, a burger basket or a card board box. Then I transfer the capitive worms into my new worm bins. I have a mixture of Euro's and fitidas(sp)...

Good luck with your new hobby.

o.t.,

Here in Zone 7b, what I've done so far with my outside bin is keep it fairly close to the house, and try to add something to heat it up (leftover pet food, generally) whenever a big freeze is predicted. I thought I'd lost all my worms when we had 12 days of temps in the low teens last winter, but when the ice all melted and I peeked in, they were all fine and happy, and couldn't see what I'd been so worried about :)

I've thought about getting a birdbath heater for the bin, but haven't ever done it. I've seen photos of worm bins in severe climates (like, say, zone 5 :) with insulation around the sides & top like big stryofaom coolers, and I think people sometimes bring bins in for the winter.

- Evelyn

I have a Rubbermaid bin full of worms, it cost me about $20 for bin & worms. I keep it in my basement because I live in a condominium. There is NO smell whatsoever, I can't imagine why roaches or rats would attract a worm bin, it is nothing more than a lot of worm castings with some vegetable parings buried in it. Rats & roaches tend to like sweet or fatty foods, I have never heard of pest problems with worm bins. You'll be surprised at how clean worms are, really. Just good old fashioned dirt & worms! :-)

In my 20 gallon bin, it takes about 6 months to generate decent compost. Composting is a natural process and it does take time, even with worms.

I don't keep mine in the basement, but here is what I did last season. I had several 5 gallon buckets around and they were convenient at the time so I used one. All I did was to start putting the worms I was finding in my compost pile into a bucket. Not many, a couple here and there. Added the newspaper and foodscraps, etc. I kept it tilted with a rock so that if it got too wet, the worms could get away from the wet. I opened it everyday or so to check on the worms. Added foodscraps, newspaper (if seemed overly wet) and coffee grounds with filters, as needed. Covered with lid at night. Well, when fall came, I had to decide what to do. I opted for dumping them into my compost bin instead of bringing them in. WOW! I couldn't believe the worms that were in that bucket from just the few I threw in here and there! And yes, it was free! You have to watch carefully when you do it this way because I didn't drill any holes in the bucket. I have already started my 5 gallon bucket for this year, though I am working on drilling holes this evening in a rubbermaid tub so that I can have worms in there also!

Chey

My cats and my worms are strictly indoor creatures. The Rubbermaid bin sits under a table. I like the convenience of having the bin just a few steps from the kitchen sink.

The worms get "first dibs" on vegetable scraps, tea leaves and coffee grounds. The occasional excess is taken outside to the traditional compost bin.

Mine is a rubbermaid type with holes drilled into it. I paid about $7.00 total. That's it.

I use the newspaper as bedding.

So it is pretty dang cheap. Oh, and I bought a piece of window screen to separate new and old compost so I didn't have to sort worms. I'm lazy as well as cheap!

I keep mine outdoors.

***Roaches may be trickier, but if you don't have them now, the bin shouldn't attract them. (If you want to be super-sure, you can cover the vent holes with screening; and if they do show up, baking soda scattered where the roaches would have to walk through is non-toxic and very effective*).***

Evelyn,

Do you mean that the baking soda is non-toxic to the worms? I've had my bin for quite a while, but lately have found two roaches in it. ICK. I'd like to scatter some baking soda in the bin if that will get rid of them, but certainly not if it will hurt the worms!

Thanks,

--Lisa

I disagree with those that say that strict vermicomposting is much faster than regular composting. I can set up a new compost heap and have compost in a couple months- but rather than 80 pounds, I've composted YARDS of material (hundreds of pounds). Folks that manage their compost bins fastidiously can produce in a month or even a few weeks (for expensive tumbler systems).

I'm interested in vermicomposting, and worms play a part in the cool cycle of my regular composting- without a worm bin or investment. However, my reading here tells me that it doesn't produce compost on the same scale or in the same time.

I'm no expert- but it seems that straight worm castings have certain nutrient advantages over regular compost. A worm bin can be maintained in spaces and on scales that would be impractical for regular composting. Worms are plain fun.

Those are some of the advantages. However, regular composting is faster (if the right mix of materials is shredded and maintained right), processes much larger batches than conventional bins, and produces more finished material than vermicomposting. Also- I compost weird stuff that few would put into a worm bin- like cheese, and pest squirrels and woodchucks. Conventional hot composting takes care of them very quickly- no smell- and the heat kills any pathogens.

As for rats- one thing they like to eat is... worms. Not saying that a worm bin will draw them- but they will eat absolutely any food available. Roaches will eat anything- they can subsist on stuff that you would not think of as food (like toothpaste), so why would they not go for food in the bin?

Not trying to turn anyone from one method or another- but each has its place. Much of that is based on scale. I produce probably 5 yards of compost a year or more (am thinking of having a worm bin too- for fun and castings).

Vermicompost is said to be 5-7 times richer than regular compost. Part of this is the nutrients, but it also is richer in active biology that can dramatically affect plants. You can do it "on the cheap", but it will take time to establish.
I also question the time line and those that say vermicomposting is faster than regular composting. I suppose the statement is true if we're speaking of cold composting where random materials are heaped until they decay (which may take up to a year or even more). But hot composting with the right mix of greens and browns can produce finished compost in weeks.
If I take an 18gal bin and 2#'s of redworms, I will harvest a 3/4 full bin of vermicompost in 2-3 months. That's not so fast and likely won't support a garden the size of yours.
I think what you need is a combination of methods to support your garden, especially as you grow a herd large enough to have significant impact.
Another consideration of course is also the volume of materials you have to compost - can you produce enough to support the needs in your garden?

I have a "so-called" cold compost area adjacent to my garden, into which I put assorted scrap, and water occasionally. I also "turn" the compost occasionally, if I have time.

This Spring it was necessary for me to move the compost pile to make room for other endeavors. The compost was laid upon the vegetable garden prior to tilling. And I started a new compost pile in another area (with plain old clay dirt that I also needed to move....and neighbor's grass cuttings).

When we reached near the bottom of my original compost pile, there were quite a bunch of worms in that soil.....So, I took them and put them in areas of the garden that I thought could use some "aeration"; also put some upon the veggie garden area.

I'm planning to build a worm bin in hopes of getting more worms to help in the yard and perhaps adding the vermicompost to the garden, compost pile, and perhaps the container garden.

I have an old unheated, falling down, wooden shed here. I am thinking about putting the worm bin in there. The bin I plan to make would NOT allow the worms to enter the Earth in order to keep warm. The temperature here in the Winter can get to 20 below Zero (Fahrenheit). Will the worms freeze to death?

I think I've designed a very good wooden worm bin (to be built from scrap lumber), but I haven't built it yet (Winter Project). I plan a few "stackable" flat bins. Would the depth of the bins make a positive difference in the survival of the worms in Winter?

Haven't tried this yet...but don't want to build the bins if they must be kept inside in Winter. No extra indoor room.

Thanks for any replies,
Bruce (Junkmanme in New Mexico)

A worm bin can be done cheaply with a do it yourself Rubbermaid container. However, you're not going to make a batch of compost in a couple weeks.

For a 500 sf garden, an outdoor compost pile is going to generate a larger volume of compost than a worm bin. I have 3 outdoor compost piles and 2 indoor worm bins. I use what the worms generate on my houseplants and my heavy feeders like roses, delphiniums, and clematis. Three outdoor piles probably sounds like a lot, but I use every ounce of that compost on my gardens.

I say, go for it! Worms are very interesting, and you'll be amazed at how quickly they change what's put into the bin. However, for volumes of compost, I'd do an outdoor pile as well. Right now is a good time to start an outdoor pile so you have finished compost next spring.

Deanna

Deanna