As many of you know by now, I am a big fan of Robyn Crispe’s ‘Worm Inn’ continuous flow vermicomposting system. It is very easy to use, and as I discovered recently, it produces beautiful vermicompost!
As much as I have loved my Inns, there was still one suggestion I had for Robyn in terms of potentially improving the design. Her screen over top, while very aesthetically pleasing, unfortunately doesn’t do much to prevent flying critters from getting in and out since it is attached via velcro patches in only four spots. I thought perhaps a zippered screen could work really nicely. Robyn agreed, and went to work immediately to see if she could make it happen.
I am happy to report that she was indeed successful (I should mention however, that adding a zipper like this is not nearly as easy as it might seem!), and now has a ‘Pro’ version of the Worm Inn available. It costs $10 more than the regular Worm Inn since there is extra work involved (along with the cost of the zipper), but in my mind the improvement in design is DEFINITELY worth the small additional expense. So for $75 USD you can get one of these delivered to any address in U.S.A.
I have not yet added them to the Worm Inn page – if you think you might be interested in buying one, please send me an email (with “Worm Inn” included in the subject header) and I’ll set up a special order page for you. [UPDATE: I no longer sell Worm Inns]
Hi,
The Stand shown with the Worm Inn Pro looks very convenient. Is it included in the price?
Hi Rosy – looks like a TOTALLY missed this comment. Sorry about that.
The Worm Inn does not come with a stand, or any sort of hanging apparatus, but either of these is pretty easy to come by. You can hang the system up quite well using bungee cords, and as Robyn demonstrates in the picture above, a cheap laundry hamper stand (from Target, I believe) works great as well. I personally prefer the stand option since the system can then be moved around easily.
What are the size and volume of the system? How long is it estimated before the worms reproduce too much to be comfortable in that space? How does drainage happen? where does liquid from the drainage flow to?
What are the dimensions of the Worm Inn Pro?
and
Would you advise for/against setting the Inn up in my large pantry during our very cold (northern New England) winter months?
KATE – The upper dimensions are 15″ x 15″ and the volume is approx 2 cu ft. Worms will never reproduce so much that they will completely outgrow their space. Breeding will slow down once conditions are starting to get crowded. A system like this could likely be kept going indefinitely – although you could certainly freshen it up by periodically removing a proportion of the material/worms and replacing with new food/bedding.
When enough liquid builds up it will drain out the bottom. I’ve had Worm Inns that have never drained anything, but my most recent one has drained a fair bit due to the fact that I added a LOT of fruit/veggie waste for the first little while. I put a small tub below it to catch the drain liquid.
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JOAN – It measures 15 x 15″ (just in case you miss what I wrote to Kate). You could likely have it in your pantry so long as it never gets cold enough that everything freezes solid. Keep in mind though – the colder it is the slower the composting process will be. If you are down below 60 F the worms will be very sluggish