New Condo Tower For the Worms

Worm Factory® 360

I’ve written about my worm bin a few times over the past several months, so some of you probably know that I started vermicomposting back in February. I’ve wanted to try composting with worms ever since I read Amy Stewart’s book, The Earth Moved: On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms, a few years back.

I opted to start simply with one of those inexpensive plastic storage tub bins that don’t have stackable trays like the more high-tech worm bins do. With the tub, you just layer some shredded newspaper and other things worms like for bedding in the bottom, add red wigglers and then keep them fat and happy with kitchen scraps so they’ll eat, poo and reproduce until you have a bin filled with nutrient-rich worm compost to use on your plants.

After three months, I can definitely say that the tub system worked just fine. It didn’t smell, the worms seemed healthy and food was definitely being turned into vermicompost (poo). But I have to say that I got tired of digging around in a big bin full of decomposing food scraps to see the worms in action. Amy Stewart wrote a lot about how much she enjoyed sipping her morning coffee while watching her worms enjoy eating things like banana peels, and I wanted to do things like that too.

Worm Starter Home

I did some research on worm bins and finally ordered up a Worm Factory 360, which has four stackable trays and a spigot for draining off the liquid that builds up in the collection tray on the bottom as part of the composting process.

This liquid, though a bit gross if you think about it too much, makes great fertilizer and can be used on all plants once it’s diluted with water. (Note, this liquid is not the same thing as compost tea. That’s a whole other type of fertilizer that is lauded and panned, depending on the source.)

There was still quite a bit of shredded paper and decomposing food scraps in the old tub, so it took about two hours on Sunday afternoon to sort the worms and move them into their new home. That laborious sorting process is inevitable to some degree with a tub system, which is one of the reasons why I wanted to upgrade to trays.

Lots of happy worms.

Red wiggler eggs

Now that the weather is warmer the new worm bin can be out on the front porch rather than the basement, which makes it easier to have coffee with the worms in the morning. Each month for the next three months I’ll add a new tray when it seems the food in the current one is nearly exhausted and there’s a good amount of vermicompost to be had.

They may be deaf and lack eyes, but red wigglers like to eat and they will move up into trays with fresh food scraps. The idea is to add a new tray with some tasty bits in it to entice the worms to migrate upward.  Then I can come along and harvest the worm poo from the bottom tray once it’s ready. That sounds easy enough.

Wish them well. I’ll keep you posted on how things go.

The worms in their new digs on the porch.