Worm buckets! December 8, 2018
Sophie just finished helping me make our first worm bucket.
After watching a few videos and having a fire lit under me by @thetreeoflife, I had to make a worm bucket today. It helps that it's a fast project that can be completed in a few minutes in the shop on this cold, rainy day.
Things you'll need:
- Two buckets. I get buckets from work, so I've got almost twenty. They're not all gonna be worm buckets yet. Just two for now.
- Drill bit. Check. Somewhere...
- Hole saw. The key with hole saws is to use yours sometime this past summer and not know where the heck it is. Look for it for half an hour and have your daughter tell your wife that you need more tools.
- Oh yeah, One bucket lid.
That's it! And a drill, of course.
I don't have screen yet, but I've read it's a good thing for the lid and bottom holes to keep fruit flies out and keep the worms in. I'll get some when I can.
The bucket lids I get often have a hole already drilled in them. Most folks don't put in the effort to change the lids, but I do whenever I'm in that work station. That's when I take buckets, and they're usually discarded in the garbage.
I drilled that many in the bottom because it was easy to space them out and my OCD likes it. The holes in the bottom will allow the worm tea to drain into the bottom bucket.
I checked, and this will allow three or four inches of drainage space. I wonder if I could put comfrey in it to make comfrey worm tea...
It also doubles as a seat for princesses I suppose. At least until we get worms. Anyone know a good place to get some? And how many will a five gallon bucket accommodate? Things to learn after a quick 20 minute project!
Now if only Melissa would let me incorporate rabbits...
Anyone else keep worms or know where to look? Hook the new kids up with the 4-1-1!
That's not too dissimilar from my compost setup, only I don't have worms in mine. I stir it every couple of days in the summer, and it breaks down. It's on Cold Season Hiatus right now, though. I mean, it's still out there and I just added to it a few days ago, but it's not cooking anymore. It'll heat back up in the spring. :)
I drilled much smaller holes, though, but you probably want bigger ones for worms!
Ha ha ha ha ha...
One of the reasons I follow Nate is because he make me laugh (in a good way) xx
One of my many talents.
irl, my humor is terribly dry and unfunny to most people.
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So you do kind of a solar powered thermophilic setup? Do you add browns to it for carbon or just compost the table scraps? Sounds like you could use some worms in your life!
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Yep, that's all it is, solar power heat. It breaks down pretty fast in the summer, plus I don't want to bring it in in winter because my apartment building has mice (*though I have never had any in MY apartment, because I have cats. So maybe I'd be okay, but that feels a little like tempting fate to me, so I don't. The buckets live on my balcony outside). So I've never added wormies.
I shred paper and cardboard for browns. It also gets dead leaf pruning from my houseplants, dead cat grass, coffee grounds, eggshells, table scraps, wooden matches, occasionally dryer lint (only when I'm doing a load of linens, so I know it's like 99% cotton and not really any poly fibers), it's had a few paper tissues, nail clippings, cat claw sheaths, hairbrush and catbrush cleanings, and incense stick ends and ashes. ALL THE THINGS from the apartment homestead in the sky. LOL. If I had quit adding to it, it would have "finished" a few times, but I just keep adding to it as the bucket isn't full when it breaks down. The last batch of shredded paper, I filled it to the brim, and even though it's on pause so there is still identifiable paper shreds (when in the summer, paper breaks down the fastest, so that's how I know it's on pause), it's probably sitting at 2/3 full. I might just add to it over the winter and then let it bake (with stirring, of course) come spring until it's done.
That's awesome!!!
Compost ALL the things!!!
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Yes! :D
"The key with hole saws is to use yours sometime this past summer and not know where the heck it is. Look for it for half an hour and have your daughter tell your wife that you need more tools."
Got a good kid there. Of course being better organized is to be applauded as well. My garage is an absolute mess atm. And it is too cold to go in there and work!! :-(
(If you like contests, I have one coming out today or tomorrow)
What is this "organization" you speak of???
Lol I do need to clean up some. I've had every intention to, but keep putting it off.
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The red wigglers in the fishing section of Wal Mart are good composters. I started a small worm bin as a class project. We started with 5 little containers of worms (I think it was around 100 worms, all together), and by the next year, I had to break them up into two separate bins. They reproduce very quickly!
How quickly? Cause I'd love to have half a dozen of these buckets set up for em :)
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Under perfect conditions, they are supposed to be able to double the population within a few months, as long as there is space for them. It was actually really cool to learn about. They lay their eggs in little "cocoons" made of slime, and those cocoons can dry up and sit dormant for years until conditions are good for the babies to hatch out.
If you're interested in what to watch for, check out The Earthworms: The Birds, and The Bees.
Oh my God, that's an awesome post!!!!
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So how many can you sustain in a five gallon bucket?
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I'm not sure. I just noticed that, for a while, I was finding lots of those little cocoons, and then they stopped. When I split them up, the cocoons started showing up again. I guess there's something about population pressure that causes them to quit laying eggs.
This is so cool!! Love it. I don't know where to get worms, but our local hardware store sells worm eggs... but that's too far for you to come. Careful, pink princess, you might get a worm biting your bum!! I'm going to do this - hopefully i can find the buckets - awesome!!!!
With a little more internet browsing, I found that you can use three buckets! Two with the holes.
As you layer up the living space and the food scraps, they make more castings. The elevation rises, and you add more food and living space. When it gets to the top, you put the third bucket with a new layer of food and living space. When the worms have evacuated the full bucket, you harvest the castings and reuse it.
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Wow. So simple....yet so effective. Love these DIY solutions espec when you get buckets for free..
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@quochuy is the worm king too - he's got an awesome set up! What ya reckon about this, Q?
Ooh! I shall look at his blog!
His header says "worm farmer," so he sounds like exactly the professional I'm looking for!
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This was a really great post. I've thought about wormeries, but haven't done any investigation. For people in the UK, you can get worms through the organic gardening catalogue.
Oh, this project was so easy!!! Highly recommend it if you've got buckets sitting around. I even saw one online where a guy tucked his under the cabinet and put a real trash can lid on it. It looked really sharp!
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Are you doing vermicomposting? I always wanted to but there's no way that's coming in side the house in the winter
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Yes!!! Bout to start cause I've been wanting to for forever. Sam had a little one but Melissa decided they all died and she threw it away! Murderer.
Supposedly they don't stink, but you can keep em in a garage too. Or build up leaves and compost around them in the winter.
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Dont forget i get like negafive 15 for all of Jan. My garage even freezes, not that i have any space i there. In the gouse will happen right after I move out.
Whaaaat!!! Too cold for humanity. People shouldn't live in places like that.
Keep it in one of the kids' rooms. Then blame it on them. Tell they wife they're growing weed or something. They're kids, she'll be less mad about them ;)
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That's terrible Nate! 😭
Yes, they arent supposed to smell if done right. And yes.....that cold is just not natural. I wish I was back in Texas! :-(
Come on back! Lol I'm hurting for a homesteady friend to help.
awesome post bro! resteemed! awwww sophie is so cute! pure joy! i feel worms are such a great pet for little ones. our little boy...just loves our worm farms. worms in general lol! pets that help us produce food and soil!
They're way better than a dog that'll eat our chickens and dig up all our plants! They'll feed the chickens and grow the plants! You're right, they'll be great pets! I hadn't thought of them that way, but I guess I should.
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i've ordered worms from so many different suppliers. there used to be a few vermicomposters and worm suppliers on steemit. they would make great suppliers for the co-op. ;) maybe you melissa and sophie can be the steem ...red wiggler suppliers! :)
Woah, I would love that! I've really been trying to think of something I could contribute to the co-op. Worms and castings would be perfect!! I'm gonna go build a bunch more buckets and start getting set up!!! Opening a business!!!!!! :D
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