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lack4419

Help w/ DIY Bin

8 years ago

I built a worm bin about 8-9 years ago and had it up/running for about 1.5 years before selling it (decided not to bring on a cross-country move). The time has come to start again, and I've been researching varies tote designs. The first bin I made was a two-bin set up. Worms lived in one tote that was sitting on soup cans in the lower tote. Many of the designs I see now are only a single tote set up, with no lower container for drainage.


Looking for opinions on which set up is better. My last bin usually didn't have a lot of drainage into the second tote, so is it really needed? Thanks in advance for your input.

Comments (5)

  • 8 years ago

    Are you going to have it indoors or out? For outdoors, one is not so concern about the mess and having even just 1 hole in the bottom corner provide some insurance against getting the bin too wet.

    I run two 17 gal. Rubber maid bins (indoors) with no drilled holes. The bottom of the bins are slanted to force liquid to pool to 1 corner. I used a pop bottle with the top and bottom cut off, placed in the lowest corner. Used a can or plastic container to cover the top hole, to minimize bedding/worms getting in. Check weekly to get a feel and when I see liquid start to collect, remove it with a turkey baster. The finished compost is wetter compared to my flow through bins (outside) but it's not a problem. Airing it for a couple of days on a tarp or cardboard in dry weather makes it crumbly enough. You do have to watch the liquid content of the worm food though. I pre-rot the kitchen scraps and drain the liquid.

    Hope this helps.

    lack4419 thanked 11otis
  • 8 years ago

    It will be an indoor bin. I was thinking about leaving them in the basement, but it is about 50 degrees down there (zone 5), so I might let them stay in my home office where is it warmer.

  • 8 years ago

    I am in different circumstances, running the bin outside in arid So. CA. I have noticed when temps are low (like 50), the bin slows down a lot, so not sure how successful you would be in the basement. You would probably much rather have it in the basement than your office.

    When running the Rubbermaid bin outside, I took a hot glue gun and poked holes all over the sides and the bottom as well. I didn't worry about runoff because my bin never got wet enough for that.

    Good luck, have fun.

  • 8 years ago

    I have multiple 10 gallon bins in my basement that do not have holes in the bottom or top but on the sides. I have found that typically I get very little drainage from the bins with holes on the bottom or that they plug up anyhow. The holes on the bottom also make it where you need to spend double on the bin as you need two of them.

    Now I think the real question on how your bin should be is what are you hoping to accomplish (top priority). Are you trying to just get rid of food waste? Breed Worms? Produce castings for gardening? This will probably direct your answer better as to what type of bin you should use.

    If your goal is to get rid of food waste and you do not care about the castings that much a bin with holes in the sides like mine can work great. The castings can have a lot of moisture so it can be difficult to sort.

    If you are trying to get the best castings you can then you will need drainage to make sure it does not get to wet.

    For breeding worms you can go with either setup. But if you plan on selling worms or giving them to friends it might be easier if you have some drainage as damp castings are easier to sort then wet castings.

    I have a lot of videos on my YouTube channel if you want to check them out.YouTube

  • 8 years ago

    There is no one perfect system, because if there was then everyone would be using it. Some people have one system, others have multiple systems. Bottom line: You do what works best for you.

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