Agriculture and Natural Resources

Compost Units Series

Worm Composting Bin

Suzanne Smith Hirrel Worm composting or preparation is simple. Other bedding

Extension Specialist - vermicomposting is a suitable such as shredded office paper,
Waste Management composting option for apartment shredded cardboard, peat moss and
dwellers and homes with no yard leaves can be used.
space and is also a great classroom
activity. The worms stay in the bin Moisten the bedding material by
and eat household food scraps, and placing it in a 5-gallon bucket and
the bin has no odor if properly adding water to achieve a 75 percent
maintained. water content by weight. Weigh the
dry material and multiply the weight
Worm Bins by three to determine the weight of
the water to add. If the material
Worm bins can be made from cannot be weighed, or if it is already
plastic tubs by drilling air holes in the wet, add enough water to dampen all
tub or by following the directions in the bedding. Seventy-five (75) percent
this fact sheet to build a large plywood moisture is about as wet as a wrung
bin. Plastic tub bins tend to get wetter out sponge. Excess moisture drains off
than wooden bins. If the bin is too most materials when they are placed
wet, odor problems occur and worms into the composting bin; however, peat
die or leave the bin. Holes can be moss may hold too much water.
drilled in the bottom of the tub. Set
the bin on wooden blocks or attach Add about 8 inches of moistened
legs to the tub to increase air circula­ bedding to the bottom of the bin. It is
tion. Manufactured worm bins are a good idea to put wet bedding material
available from a variety of vendors. into the bin outdoors and wait until
all the water has drained out (one to
Materials needed to get started: two hours) before setting the bin up
indoors. Gradually mix the water,
• Shredded newspaper garden soil and crushed eggshell with
• Cool tap water the shredded paper. Bedding should
• Garden soil, about a cup (do not not be packed too tightly.
use potting soil)
• One crushed eggshell
• Worm bin (vented for good air flow) What Kind of Worms
• Redworms (Eisenia fetida) and How Many?
Bedding Be sure to specify redworms when
getting worms for worm composting.
Arkansas Is
Moist bedding provides the medium Eisenia fetida are the preferred
Our Campus
that worms need to survive. Shredded species for a worm bin environment.
newspaper is the best bedding material A worm bin will support up to
because it is readily available, provides 1 pound of redworms per square foot
Visit our web site at: excellent moisture retention and of surface area.
http://www.uaex.edu

University of Arkansas, United States Department of Agriculture, and County Governments Cooperating
 A large bin with 7 square feet of surface area will Maintaining the Worm
accommodate up to 7 pounds of redworms and process
about 3 1/2 pounds of food waste daily. Bins can be Composting Bin
started with a smaller amount of worms and numbers
will build up within a few months. For a 2 foot by Keep the bin moist, but not wet. If flies are a
2 foot bin, add 1 pound of Eisenia fetida. problem, place more bedding material over the wastes
or place a sheet of plastic over the bedding. As an
alternative, try placing some flypaper inside the lid.
Adding the Worms Every three to six months, when the bedding is
mostly digested, the castings or vermicompost will
Place the worms on top of the bedding and leave need to be removed from the bin. This is referred to
the lid off for a while. The worms will work down into as “harvesting” and can be done it the following ways.
the bedding away from the light. Make sure there is
good air circulation. Worms do best at temperatures
between 55 and 77 degrees Fahrenheit.
Harvesting Castings
This is one natural reward for your composting
Adding Wastes efforts. Casting compost is one the best natural soil
additives available. It completes the recycling loop
Dig a small hole in the bedding, add vegetable and illustrates how important worms and other
and fruit scraps, then cover the hole with bedding. organisms are to the balance of our ecosystem.
Always cover the food scraps. Do not add any inorganic
or potentially hazardous materials, such as chemicals, Dump and Sort Method
glass, metal or plastic.
Materials needed:
Worms are not picky eaters, but they will only eat
hard food after natural degradation softens it. Don’t • 1 small plastic sheet
exclude these foods, and do not be concerned if it • Light source (either a lamp or bright overhead
takes a while for them to disappear. It does help to fluorescent)
break up or puree hard foods in a processor.
1. Prepare fresh bedding as described earlier.
Redworms do not have teeth. Instead, they digest
food material in their gizzard. The gizzard needs a 2. Empty the contents of your container onto the
small amount of grit to grind food. That is why the plastic sheet.
garden soil was added to the bin.
3. Add fresh bedding to the container.
Many variables will affect how much the worms
will eat. For example, they are more active at room 4. Position the light source over the casting pile. The
temperature than at 40 degrees. A general rule is worms will move down into the castings.
that worms will consume up to half their weight in
food waste per day under ideal conditions. If you 5. Carefully pick the castings from the pile in layers,
start with 1 pound of worms, you can expect them working toward the bottom center of the pile.
to eat up to 1/2 pound of food per day. Start with Place castings in a separate container.
small bits of food until the worm population
increases. Do not overload the system. Overfeeding 6. Continue this procedure until there is only a
can lead to odor problems. small pile of castings with worms beneath it.
Suggested foods for the worm bin are fruit and 7. Add this pile and worms to the fresh bedding in
vegetable scraps; grains, corn meal and breads; coffee the bin.
filters and grounds*; tea bags*; eggshells and citrus*.
Be cautious with acidic foods; feed these in small 8. Use the harvested castings for a horticulture
quantities only. project.
Do not feed heavily salted foods, such as salted Split Harvesting Method
peanuts, potato chips, etc.; manure from dogs, cats or
horses (horse manure may contain wormers or
Method #1
antibiotics that will kill your worms) and animal
feeds which may also contain antibiotics.
If the above method seems like too much trouble,
you can simply add two-thirds of the castings (worms
*acidic foods and all) directly to your garden. Add the remaining
one-third to your fresh bedding. This will inoculate Worm Composting Unit
the bedding and provide some worms to get you
going again, but it depletes your worm population 1. Measure and cut the plywood as shown, so
for a while. that you have one 24- x 42-inch top, one 24- x
42-inch base, two 16- x 24-inch ends, and two
Method #2 16- x 42-inch sides.

If you don’t want to loose any of your redworms,

try this method. Don’t feed the worms for a few days.
Move all the castings and worms to one side of the
bin. Add fresh bedding to the empty area, moisten the
bedding, add some soil and eggshells and then bury
food in the new bedding. The worms will start to
move to the new bedding to feed. In about a month,
you can remove the worm castings and use them in
your garden. When you remove them, you may need
to add some more bedding.

Building a Worm Composting Bin

Materials needed for a wooden bin: 2. Cut the 12-foot length of 2 x 4 lumber into five
pieces: two 39-inch pieces, two 23-inch pieces
• One 4- x 8-foot sheet of 1/2-inch exterior plywood and one 20-inch piece.

• One 12-foot length of 2 x 4 lumber 3. Lay the five pieces on edge on a flat surface to
• One 16-foot length of 2 x 4 lumber form a rectangle, with the long pieces on the
• 16d galvanized nails (1/2 pound) inside and the 20-inch length centered parallel
to the ends. Nail the pieces together with two
• 6d galvanized nails (2 pounds) 16d nails at each joint.
• Two galvanized door hinges
4. Nail the 24- x 42-inch piece of plywood onto the
• (optional) 1 pint clear varnish
frame with 6d nails every 3 inches.
• (optional) Plastic sheets for placing under and
over the bin
• 1 pound of red worms (Eisenia fetidia) per square
foot of bin surface area (see What Kind of Worms
and How Many?)
• Bedding for worms: peat moss; brown leaves;
moistened, shredded newspaper; or moistened
shredded cardboard
• Tape measure
• Skill saw or
hand saw
• Hammer
• Sawhorse 5. Cut four 1-foot lengths from the 16-foot length
• Long straight­ of 2 x 4 lumber. (Save the remaining 12-foot
edge or chalk piece.) Take the two 16- x 42-inch pieces of
snap line plywood and place a 1-foot length flat against
each short end and flush with the top and side
• Screwdriver edges. Nail the 2 x 4s in place using 6d nails.
• Drill with
1/2-inch bit 6. Set the plywood sides up against the base
frame so that the bottom edges of the 2 x 4s rest
• Eye and ear
on top of the base frame and the bottom edges
protection
of the plywood sides overlap the base frame.
• Work gloves Nail the plywood sides to the base frame using
• (optional) Paint brush 6d nails.
 7. To complete the bin, nail the 16- x 24-inch
13. The unfinished bin should last for at least five
pieces of plywood onto the base and sides at
years; finishing the bin with varnish or
each end.
polyurethane will protect the wood and prolong
the life of the bin. Two coats of varnish with a
8. To reinforce the bin, stagger nails at least every light sanding between coats should be sufficient.
3 inches wherever plywood and 2 x 4s meet.
14. Find a good location for the bin. It can be
9. Drill twelve 1/2-inch holes through the plywood placed anywhere, as long as the temperature is
bottom of the bin for drainage. more than 50°F (10°C). The most productive
temperature is between 55° and 77°F (13° and
10. To build lid frame, cut the 12-foot piece (from 25°C). Garages, basements and kitchens are all
the 16-foot length) of 2 x 4 lumber into two possibilities, as well as the outdoors in warm
45-inch pieces and two 20-inch pieces. Lay the weather (not in direct sunlight). Make sure to
pieces flat, forming a rectangle with the short place the bin where it is convenient for you to
pieces inside. use. It is wise to place a plastic sheet under
the bin.
11. Lay the 24- x 42-inch piece of plywood on top of
the lid frame so that the plywood is 1 1/2 inches 15. The bin has 7 square feet of surface area and
inside all the edges of the frame. Nail the will house up to roughly 7 pounds of redworms.
plywood onto the frame with 6d nails. Density of worms in a bin depends on what and
how often the worms are fed, food particle size,
12. Attach the hinges to the inside of the back of temperature and other factors.
the bin at each end (on the 2 x 4) and the
corresponding undersides of the back edge of
the lid frame so that the lid stands upright
when opened.

Adapted from and reprinted with permission from “Composting to Reduce the Waste Stream,” published by NRAES (607) 255-7654.
Artwork by Richard DeSpain, former architectural draftsman, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension
Service, Little Rock, Arkansas.

Printed by University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service Printing Services. Printed on Recycled Paper

SUZANNE SMITH HIRREL is Extension specialist - waste Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and
management, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Cooperative Extension Service, Little Rock. Director, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Arkansas. The
Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to all
eligible persons regardless of race, color, national origin, religion,
gender, age, disability, marital or veteran status, or any other legally
FSA6032-PD-12-04R protected status, and is an Equal Opportunity Employer.