Pittsburgh Permaculture

Our Worm Factory(TM) breaks down our food scraps fast. These typically run $80 or more. Fortunately a friend gave it to us, free!

Valentines day was coming up, so I decided to get my girlfriend a worm bin to compost her kitchen scraps in her apartment–I’m a true romantic. She had been jealous of The Worm Factory given to me and Troy by a friend for a whole year now. The Worm Factory works great; it makes finished worm castings in about a month; a pound of worms can eat about a pound of food a day; it produces a nutrient rich “tea” for fertilizing indoor or outdoor plants; the compost itself is more broken down than outdoor composting and closer to soil humus; and best of all it takes up minimal space and I can compost all winter long.

I have found that the stacked style of worm composting is far superior to the single bin method. With a single bin one adds compost to one side of the bin and then the other. This method requires quite a bit digging, worm separating and care in maintaining the proper moisture levels. Its more work.

With the stacked container method as one container fills up, another is added on top. As the worms finish eating what is in the first container, they migrate up to the second and so on. Depending on worm population, which is regulated by the amount of steady feeding, the first container will have finished compost in about a month to be used in the garden or stored in another container for the winter. Excess water drops through the containers and collects in a catch on the bottom where it can be drained off with a tap.

The only problem is: these containers are expensive! The relatively economical Worm Factory will run you about $80 or more. On Google shopping I’ve seen bins as low as $43 and as high as $175.

After the ceiling sprung a leak at my office, I noticed how nicely the 5 gallon “Homer” buckets from home depot stacked leaving a cavity several inches tall between stacked buckets. “Perfect for worms!” I thought. Below, you will find instructions on how to make a functional, somewhat attractive worm bin for less than $15.

What you will need:

• 4 (more if you want to stack higher than three containers) 5 gallon Homer buckets from HomeDepot – $2.34 each
• 1 Homer lid – $1
• An inexpensive valve/faucet – about $5

Optional additions:

• A paper shredder – about $30 at Target
• A spray bottle – recycle one from a non-toxic product or $1 a the dollar store
• A kitchen compost caddy – about $15 at Marshals

Continue reading Stacked Worm Composting for $15