Wiggler bin
We’ve had a couple of decades of experience with home composting. A couple of decades of screwing it up, that is. There was that time in college my roommate left town, and asked me and our housemate Sage to take care of his worm bin. Well, the worm bin was down in our basement, and needless to say, we completely forgot about it. Incidentally, we started noticing fruit flies, like, everywhere. I got really good at quickly and efficiently killing them by slapping them against the walls, Sage was not stoked about the smears of blood... Jake returned to find us, and the house in a bit of disarray. Oh crap, the worms!!!
Step 1. Get the wigglies.
Getting the wigglies means first overcoming your gut reaction to your new little friends. I like to call them wigglies in this spirit. Think of them as cute, little, curly guys, that just want to help you make some amazing compost and get your kitchen scraps out of the landfill.
Now that you’ve got the wigglies metaphorically, here’s how to get them literally. GTS (Google that S*t). Try “Red Wigglers” + “your city” to find some local, or you can buy them on Amazon. They are not hard to get, surprisingly!
Step 2. Find a bin.
Your bin should be approximately 10 gallons- try to use something you already have like an old plastic bin or drawer, or make a simple wood pallet box. Wash the bin, and line your bin with plastic if it is wooden.
Step 3. Make a newspaper bed.
Tear about 50 pages of newspaper (brown bags are OK too) into ½’’ to 1’’ strips- make sure the newspaper is not glossy or full color. The newspaper strips are quite important- without these you might end up with a problem like Sage and I had. The strips provide air, water, and food for the worms.
Moisten the newspaper until it feels like a damp sponge. Fill the bin with the newspaper to ¾’’ making sure its fluffy and not packed down.
Sprinkle 2-4 cups of soil in the bin- grab it from outside or use potting soil.
Step 4. Measure and add your wigglies.
Before adding, make sure you’ve recorded their weight or volume so you know how much to feed them.
Step 5. Feed your wigglies.
What you can feed them: fruit and vegetable scraps (not too much citrus) broken or cut into small pieces
What you can’t feed them: dairy, oil, or any meat product
How to feed them: bury the food scraps under the bedding
How much to feed them: 3 times their weight per week, adjusted so that your wigglies are not leaving leftovers.
Step 6. Cover the bedding with newspaper and a lid.
Cover the bedding with a full sheet of dry newspaper, replacing it if fruit flies try to move in or if the bin is too wet. This is very important if you don’t want fruit flies or odors! Cover the bin with a lid (plastic, wood, cloth) slightly ajar for air, you can also drill holes for air. Keep the bin in a cool place out of direct sun.
Ongoing maintenance: The three F’s.
Once a week, think FFFF I have to check on my wigglies! Then remember the three F's:
Feed
Feed once a week.
Fix
Spray bedding with water if it dries up! Add newspaper if it’s too wet.
Fluff
Fluff the bedding once a week so they get air.
Every so often, you can harvest the castings and put them in your garden! Top notch compost!
References
Adapted from Worm Composting Basics by Jen Fong and Paula Hewitt