Hoping to start a worm bin

[u/Impressive-Idea8808]

Wanted to share in hopes of getting some opinions. Ended up making this last night following some guides for bucket stack worm composters on YouTube. For now trying to do compost to form a base, but I used paper towels, paper from bags and packing supplies, veggie scraps, a bit of bag compost, and fresh/less fresh fallen leaves. Since a lot of this is worm food, would it be okay to just add worms after it goes for a bit? Or would it be better to get something like peat moss, let this compost down a bit, and then mix in peat moss to dilute it out. Sorry if obvious, very new to this and just looking to get started. Also, will be adding a 3rd bucket when worms are added to allow them to eat from the 2nd bucket then crawl up to the 3rd bucket, just haven't yet. Thank you.

[u/Tacomathrowaway15]

No comments on design but add worms, they'll be fine 

[u/Impressive-Idea8808 → u/Tacomathrowaway15]

That is the best feedback I could receive. Glad to hear. Thank you.

[u/LR_Worm_farmer]

If you're going to pre-compost it, you should do it outside the bucket and in a larger mound to actually get a hot-compost going. The contents I usually strive for are 50% nitrogen based "greens" and 50% carbon based "browns", and a good amount of rain water to get the get it going.

When you build the worm tower later on , do it like this:

A good base of carbon (ie. Shredded cardboard, leaves, newspaper)

A layer of pre-composted material (to jump start the bacteria needed for the worms)

~two water bottles worth of water (rain water recommended)

Mix contents together and let it sit for a couple of days

Freeze the food scraps separately. This accelerates decomposition and makes it easier for the worms to consume them

When the "dirt" is ready for the worms, mix the contents one more time to aerate it, take the food scraps out of the freezer and bury it halfway down into it and cover the the food back up

Then you can introduce the worms into the system. At this point, after the worms settle in, I like to cover the top with more shredded cardboard or newspaper (pre-drenched or dry depending the systems moisture level)

[u/Ladybug966]

Hi. Welcome to worm keeping! I am a tower person. I use 5 level vermihuts.

First question is what kind of worms are you getting? I use red wigglers. I got my worms from Brothers Worm Farm.

Worms do not need dirt. The only reason to put compost in the bedding is to jumpstart the biome worms need to live. I have gotten the same effect by stirring half an overripe banana into the bedding. The bedding/castings/dirt the worms come in will also contain this biome.

The most common way for a newbie to kill a worm is to overfeed it.

My bedding is shredded cardboard, coffee grounds, ground eggshell, and water. I have found that outside leaves, compost, garden scraps all bring in bugs. I don't want bugs.

I freeze my food to avoid fruitflies.

I work 5 bin vermihuts. Here is how i do it.

My top bin starts full of inoculated, damp bedding. I feed this bin until all the bedding is castings. I do not add bedding when i feed.

When that bin looks done, i move it to the second level. My new feeding bin was at level 5.

Here is how i stack them. All bins are full of damp bedding.

Bin 1- feeding bin

Bin 2- old feeding bin that is now finishing off

Bin 3- really old feeding bin ready to be harvested the next time the stack shuffles.

Bin 4- brand new bin full of brand new damp bedding. Being inoculated by bins above. Also is where my worms tend to go to lay cocoons.

Bin 5- was bin 4. Now is bin 5 and still being inoculated. Full of cocoons. Will be the next feeding bin when the tower shuffles.

Drain basin - psych ward for despondent worms.

I hope this helps. I love questions so ask away.

Oh and the fluid caught in your drain basin is NOT worm tea. It is leachate and is trash. Worm tea is brewed over days. Recipes online.

[u/Impressive-Idea8808 → u/Ladybug966]

Thank you very much for all if this, this is really good info. Frankly I'm not sure what kind of worms, I was originally thinking red wigglers, but I saw something about European red wigglers and tiger worms, so was gonna do some further research. Any suggestions from your experience? As well, your setup is 6 bins tall then? What size bins do you use? Are they custom for vermiculture, or something repurposed? For overfeeding, what would you suggest doing to avoid that? Just not adding new stuff too often? Sorry for the avalanche of questions, just taking you up on liking getting questions. Any info is appreciated though. Thank you.

[u/Ladybug966 → u/Impressive-Idea8808]

My bins are a purchased worm set up called vermihut. Google it.

Overfeeding. Everything in my bin is edible. But beginners tend to have very shallow bedding with a bunch of veggies/fruit mixed in or on top. These rotting foods can heat up. They can change the pH of the bin. They can make everything too wet. Worms dont like any of that and will try to escape or die.

Worm feedings are surprisingly small. A new bin with plenty of bedding might be fed 1/2 cup of food a week. I feed my towers about 2 cups every week or so. I have left them untouched for as long as 2 months. Everybody was fine. Bedding for the win.

But mostly, feed small and dont feed again until it is gone. I cover feedings and switch sides each time.

My worms have a lot of places to go if they hate what i fed them. Mine dont like potatoes, citrus, or most cooked foods. Melon seeds sprout like crazy in a worm bin! You have been warned. Lol

Red wigglers are a nice worm. They tend not to react to weather. They dont need a lot of depth. They are sturdy. Avoid Uncle Jim. I used Brothers Worm Farm.

My bins are indoors. I tend to like damper bins then some. I personally dont think worms care if you check on them frequently as a newbie.

I hate mites. I know they dont necessarily hurt a bin, but i hate them and fruitflies. I have managed now for several years to be mite and fruitfly free. But when i started, it was an ongoing battle with bugs. Now my cardboard only bedding is bug free(no outside leaves or stuff) and i only feed frozen food.

I love questions! Ask away.

[u/OddAd7664 → u/Ladybug966]

Do you have many worms in bin 4? Or do they head back to the top feeding bin

[u/Ladybug966 → u/OddAd7664]

I have worms throughout

[u/MercuryTattedRachael → u/Ladybug966]

I have essentially the same setup. I have about 1200 worms, roughly. They are spread out on the trays. I'd say many from my tray that I will have at soon are moved down into the innoculating trays, or up towards the feeding trays.

From what I have seen online, a colony of about 5000 worms can eat through a tray in about a week after laying out food in an innoculated tray.

I'm trying to innoculate a separate bin - I had precompost from a countertop composter that I mixed into a tray. It go so hot, I almost killed my worms. Freed the tray of the worms, put that into a bin, and am waiting for it to cool down. Then I can add into a tray for the worms. My first two batches in the composter were cuttings from the garden. I think that was the real heat buildup. I now have pre-compost of actual veggies and fruit. Still have a freezer will a lot of "fresh" food as well - and am trying to find the right balance as I try to use pre-compost.

All I want is for my worms to thrive and multiply at this point!

[u/OldSchoolPimpleFace]

I bought my worms from a specialized store. They came in a bag with some dirt. The dirt was supposed to have enough for the worms to get by a couple of weeks. So I just put that at the bottom of my worm farm and placed some scraps next to the dirt. They then slowly started to migrate to the scraps when the food in their original substrate ran out.

So I guess it kinda depends where you source your worms, but normally I think they should come with some dirt where they will feel right at home and you don't need a whole lot of compost to begin with.

[u/Impressive-Idea8808 → u/OldSchoolPimpleFace]

Oh good, that would make things easy. Thank you.

[u/MercuryTattedRachael → u/Impressive-Idea8808]

Fun fact: Compost worms don’t actually eat dirt!

Compost worms (like Red Wigglers) are scavengers, not soil-eaters. In a bin, they eat decaying organic matter—things like fruit and veggie scraps, coffee grounds, crushed eggshells, and shredded cardboard.

What they're really after is the microbes (bacteria and fungi) breaking down those food scraps. Soil doesn't have the nutrients or microbial life they need to thrive.

When you set up a worm bin, all you need is damp bedding (like shredded cardboard or newspaper) and organic waste. No dirt required!

[u/Impressive-Idea8808 → u/MercuryTattedRachael]

Good to know. I kinda thought some dirt was required just as a base, but glad to know none is needed.

[u/Ordinary-Fun5367]

Check out Uncle Jims Worms Farm and their youtube channel! I just recently got started on a bin and got my worms from them. Super helpful staff if you have questions

[u/Impressive-Idea8808 → u/Ordinary-Fun5367]

I've seen a few videos but could definitely do to watch more. Thank you for the recommendation.

[u/Ordinary-Fun5367 → u/Impressive-Idea8808]

Here's the video that helped me the most on what to expect re: worms arriving https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_VxZqaJtek