I’ve had similar ideas about those plastic drawer sets – I’d love to hear how it works for you if you try it out. Definitely cover it up though – those would let in a LOT of light. I think another potential issue would be getting the material in one drawer up flush against the next drawer (to encourage migration). Also – unlike the tightly fitting stacking systems, the worms could get out from the drawers themselves and end up falling down to the bottom of the outer shell – might get a little messing trying to open and close the drawers (squished worms and falling materials). Just some thoughts.

I definitely recommend “tried and true” for at least one of your systems – this should be a good insurance policy in case something goes wrong with the drawer system.

Drying out vermicompost is pretty straight-forward. (not sure which of my plastic bins you are talking about though). I tend to be pretty lazy about it, simply leaving it to sit in an open bin. If you laid out some corrugated cardboard (multiple layers if really wet stuff) on a basement floor and dumped the material on top, it should be in good shape relatively quickly. For longer term storage you might want to put it in plastic bags with air holes or some other type of ‘breathable’ bag.

Hope this helps!

Very compelling site you have here – I have read the archives almost nonstop for the past two days. After having read Worms Eat My Garbage and The Worm Book, I found I still had questions that had me hesitating to get cranked up with my own little worm farm, but your site has answered a lot of my questions. I’m going container shopping this weekend, and then will order some worms! Yay!

Couple of things – one, I recognize your drip bottle there! I used one myself once, and it was miserable, and I think I like your usage of it a lot better. Do you reckon an empty water bottle with some very small holes poked in it, put in or on the bin would work to hydrate gradually? Kind of like a drip hose but without the water pressure? (I no longer have a “worm waterer” like yours in the picture.)

Also, I’ve been putting a lot of thought into what kind of worm bin to use, since right now, space is at a premium for me, and I like the flow-through concept. I’d like to have multiple bins, or at least multiple trays, but I’m just too cheap to buy one at the prices they’re going for. I was wondering about your opinion on this idea:

Around here, at almost any big-box store, you can find these little two-drawer or three-drawer containers made of plastic for about twenty bucks. The drawers are made of translucent plastic, and they fit into a plastic outer frame. There aren’t any rollers or anything for the drawers to slide on. It’s very low-tech, good for holding papers and office supplies, great for college kids or adding extra drawers cheaply to closets. Anyway, I was wondering if perhaps I could convert one of those into a flow-through worm system, if I drilled holes in the sides and around the tops and in the bottoms of each drawer. Pop a tray with a lip underneath the whole shebang, maybe cover the outside of the drawers with landscaping cloth to give the worms a little darkness and privacy. Pull out the drawers to add bedding and food, close ‘em back up when you’re done, etc. etc. Do you know the kinds of drawers I’m talking about? If so, with your worm farming experience, do you think that would work?

I’m torn between trying this for my first batch of worms, or going with the tried and true Rubbermaid bin. I can only order a pound of two of worms right now, and until I have a better stock of worms, am hesitant to experiment too wildly with alternate bin systems.

One more thing: the vermicompost from your plastic bins – how did you dry it? How long did you dry it? Do you want it to retain roughly the same moisture level that you find in pre-bagged potting soil? Can you dry it out completely without ruining it or weakening its efficacy? I would like to bag up some of my vermicompost – you know, when I have some three months from now – to give to my gardener brother, and I want to know how to properly process it since it won’t be going straight from bin to garden.

Sorry for such a long-winded comment, but man, big ups for such a fantastic site!

Once the worms are added, the other creatures should decline in numbers somewhat, but it will be tough to completely erradicate them unfortunately. I would probably just let the bin sit without disturbing it for several weeks or more (perhaps starting a new one, using the preventative measures mentioned above). Or try putting it in a freezer for a few days (before adding worms obviously) – this should kill off all the invaders.

Hope this helps

B

I’m a big fan of your websites , I find a lot of useful information regarding vermicomposting and helps me a lot starting my own vermicompost here at Malaysia ( the other side of world ) . I did tried out your worm bin setup ( from your youtube vidoe ) but sadly I find a lot of maggots in my worm bin after I let it rot for a week as per your advise. FYI , I used cardboard as bedding and add food scrap from our local wet market ( no meat or dairy product ) such as fruits and vegetables . I also use EM , mix with water to moist the cardboard and food scrap mixture . I did notice some fruit flies flying on top of my bin. What went wrong pls advise.