Worm composter!!

I have been dying to make a worm composter since last spring. But, amount other distraction, I couldn't get past the cost of buying the "right" worms (15.00+ a lbs) and getting them shipped here. So I never bothered. But, thanks to a last minute trip to the farmers market today I found some at $4.00 a lbs!! So of course we got some and home we came to make our very own vermicomposter!! It's hard to be trying to teach your children to be earth stewards if we aren't doing what we can when it's made affordable to us. 

I had watched a few you tube videos so I had a basic idea. But wanted a few more ideas before we got started. This is what we came up with when we mixed together what we saw and co pared it to what we had.

Materials:

1 18G storage bin

1half height storage bin

One peice of cardboard

Newspaper

A bit of soil

Drill

1/4" drill bit

Ok so first the monsters and I drilled 6 holes in the bottom of our bin. It has a contoured bottom, so we made sure to drill the holes where it would be the lowest points 

Mind the mess we spent the long weekend getting the trailer out and set up so we could check it. 

My timid man getting a turn.

Yes even the baby gets to drill the holes. Got to teach them they can do it young!

Poor babe wanted to do it all himself. Couldn't quite hold the button down. 

See my little half side bin there? Next we drilled holes around the lower end of the big bin, but still low enough that they would be inside the half size bin. (No photos. By this time everyone wanted a shot at the drill again and I had C.J. Help to watch many fingers. Then we drilled a few holes. Around the top of the bin just under where the bin lid sat, but higher then we figured we would let the worms get. These are for air circulation. And one in the top. Inside we added our piece of cardboard squished into the bottom. And the kids shredded a nice bed of newspaper to the bin. 

 You can see the holes in this one. And we put alayer  of soil on the paper and the worms in.  We then set the bigger bin into the half size one to catch all the "worm tea" so we can put that in the garden too and to stop the little buggers from escaping!! 

I think at a later time I will drill a few more holes throughout the middle and put some screening across them to increase air circulation.  And maybe a layer of stones in the bottom of the smaller bin to raise the big one out of it a bit so they don't get too wet in the bottom. We will have to move this inside and downstairs as the summer gets hotter. But for now this is where it will live. So. Here's hoping we don't kill them!!