When Heather and I built our first garden together we asked each other how to make worm composting bins. My idea was to build three large concrete bins then the tractor to scoop the compost from one to the other.
Heather’s idea was to just pile on in three separate piles and move it from pile to pile.
My idea took more work, and cost more money, as well as having to take extra care of allowing the worms to move from bin to bin. Heather’s idea was a lot simpler, but there is no delineation from one pile to the next. So when it was time to move files from one to the next everything kind of just got mixed together. Especially with the rain and wind and that we had on the island.
We found a perfect compromise. We bought a half ton of straw bales, and stacked them neatly to make three bins, and then place the compost into the worm composting bins. The compost would also eat the straw bales, so we would replace them with a new straw bale over time. So as a low-cost solution that was easy and efficient to implement this is a great way to start your compost bin.
How to make worm compost bins? Start with the following actions:
- Find an area in or near your garden or on your property that can easily hold and maintain the material that you are placing into your compost bin.
- Choose the type of material that you wish to build your compost bin out of, whether it be wood, concrete block, fallen down trees, posts, or bales of straw.
- We preferred the three bin method so you want to make three distinct bins for your compost.
- Ensure that the worms can migrate from one bin to the next
- You may also choose to just purchase a tumbler, whether it is metal cages, plastic bins, or an old plastic barrel that foodstuff was stored in. Make sure it is safe for your composting worms.
- If you choose to make your own plastic barrel, get some help from your local hardware store.
- To make moving the piles of material from bin to bin, remove all the plant matter in the bin area before putting in your compost material.
- Place your worm compost bin building material so you have three distinct three sided bins.
- You want to make the bins tall enough to contain all the compost material you place inside.
- If you plan on using a small tractor or large tractor, make sure the bucket of the tractor fits inside of the bins easily.
Now that you have the bins built, make sure that you have water nearby to keep the compost material wet, and that you can protect it from wind and contaminants from infiltrating your bins.
Now that you know how to make worm composting bins, you just need to be able to use them. Depending on the size of your farm or garden, will determine how large or how small your worm composting bins will be. Some of the new plastic composting bins that are on the stand and you can turn them over and over with a hand crank are very efficient.
However, the cost can range from $100 on up to $500 and more. The straw bales cost us two dollars each which came to a total of $46. So as you teach others how to make composting bins you can share what works for you.
We would also love to hear how you created your worm composting bin and the success that you are having with it. Sign up to our newsletter and as a gift I would like to send you at no charge a book called for ways to increase your profits on your organic farm. At the same time sign up for our RSS feed and get the latest news from his farm.org.
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Chris downs ———————- the caretaker
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