I made myself a worm bin!

It all started, many years ago, when my college roommate and I spent an unreasonable amount of time looking at worm bins at the state fair. We eventually made the wise decision that spending over a hundred dollars on a worm bin for our college dorm wasn’t the bestest idea ever.

Much more recently, I was browsing the internet looking at gardening things and wondering what the best medium would be to grow things in for my container garden. I would love to compost – but traditional composting isn’t really feasible in an apartment. But vermicomposting is!

I did a an excessive amount of research and decided to build my own bin instead of buying pre-made. Partially because of cost, partially because of custimizablity. Space is at a premium and I really wanted to make sure my bin could fit under my sink.

I took my measurements, and a measuring tape, and went shopping. I got two identical bins for under six dollars each. Opaque, because light is not good for worms.

I drilled some holes in the bottom of one bin for drainage and in one lid for air. The bin with the drainage holes nests inside the other one.

I prepared bedding for my worms by tearing up a bunch of newspaper and wetting it down. I also threw in a handful of dirt and some leaves fallen from my potted plants.

I ordered my worms online, and waited impatiently. The box my worms came in was kind of beat up, and I was a little worried about my poor worms, but they were just fine. When I opened the bag they were wriggling all over the place.

I dumped my worms into their new home, and added a bit more water to moisten their travel bedding.

Now I just have to let them settle in to their new home then I can start feeding them scraps!

About $12 for the bins, $36.94 for the worms, a borrowed drill, and shredded news paper. Overall, by worm bin cost me under $50.