Around here we house worms in style!

My oldest little mister has developed a love of slimy things. From first loves of tractors, tires and boats...now on to worms and slugs. What will it be next?

While I don't love either worms or slugs, I despise the latter, so I will *try* to embrace the first. For awhile now Super T has spent every minute he can outside digging for worms. His daddy bought him a "worm home" from the sporting goods store that is small enough to hold a handful along with bedding. It works well when they want to stock up for fishing.

Since the worm love seems to be sticking around, I thought I might as well get something out of the deal too. I've got some horrible soil in part of my garden that could really use new life. I found these plans for a worm compost bin on Ana White's project plan site. My son will be thrilled to have a big new "worm home" for his wormies and I can use the rich soil produced in my garden. Win-win!

A weekend visit to parents +
a woodworking father who never throws away scraps +
plenty of time on my hands =
project time (after rummaging for dad's scrap wood)!

My dad also has good connections. He obtained all this scrap madrone from a guy he knows who has a wood mill and was giving it away for free. It is good, solid stuff. This is only half of the pile he came home with.

Since Dad is in the middle of haying season and was sitting on a tractor most of the day, I was on my own. I was thrilled when I discovered these pre-cut pieces are interlocking, which meant very little sawing and power tool work for me to do on my own.

I created 8 panels to make the sides of my two bins. Pre-drilled, glued and nailed them together.

The plans called for stackable bins, which could be easily removed, emptied, and rotated as the worms work through the soil and vegetation we add. I must admit I didn't follow the plans precisely. I only followed the design loosely due to trying to make the scraps I found work best with as little altering as possible.

Attach mesh wire to the bottom, which allows the worms to work in both boxes. The rich soil will end up in the bottom box (hence the stackable design that allows for easy rotation) as the worms work their way toward the top where the fresh vegetation gets added. This step was actually a pain in the butt...mesh wire does not cooperate well.

Here is stand for the bins. Since this will be sitting outside, I'm not caring much if it is "pretty" since it rains 9 months out of the year here and will end up weathered anyway, but I do want my bins to sit up off the ground. I added the boarder pieces so the box won't slide around (little hands have a way of moving things that should not be moved at my place).

Here's the top. The long ends act as handles. I added a board on the underneath side as you see in the picture that nests in the top of the bin to keep the lid on. I love that it ended up a little bit Asian inspired looking (when looking at it right side up of course).

My son is in a big helper stage. Always wants in on the mix. He was more than happy to help apply a finish of vegetable oil inside and out. This will act as a food safe finish that will help keep moisture inside, while providing a bit of resistance to weathering.
Adding shredded newspaper for bedding and worm food...
Adding a layer of dirt, some kitchen scraps (veggie only, no meats/dairy to keep stink and scavengers away)...
Adding more dirt and Super T's wormies he dug out of my dad's garden...
The big reveal...worm condo!
COST OF MY PROJECT: FREE! Everything used was left over from other projects or free to begin with.

***After doing some more reading on worm compost bins, I'm thinking the only addition I will make is to drill some ventilation holes at the top edge of each bin.