Worms are the guts of the earth, and without them, many believe we would live in a barren landscape with compact, lifeless soil. So what better way to reward these friends of the earth than building an all-you-can eat buffet in your home for these slimy critters.

Great for home owners and apartment dwellers alike, a worm composting bin is easy to set-up, compact enough for small spaces, cool to show off to friends, and a great way to keep tons of organic waste from winding up in the local landfill.

The “worm of choice” for at-home composting is the red wiggler (or Eisenia foetida for all you science geeks). A single red wiggler can eat up to three times its weight in garbage every week. And what goes in one end as garbage comes out as nutrient rich worm poop (or “castings” for those of us who still giggle when someone says “poop”). Not only are they big eaters and fast breeders (doubling their population every 90 days in ideal conditions), but you’ve gotta admit, they’re kinda cute. Trust us! The longer you spend with them, the more you’ll come to love them. 

Once started, a healthy bin can handle approximately one pound of food waste per day for every two pounds of worms. A pound of worms is approximately 1000 worms. So what are you waiting for? Let’s get started on building your worm utopia.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 2 Rubbermaid, stackable containers of the same size. Don’t forget the lids. Containers should be at least 12 inches deep as the ideal living space for worms is between 8 and 12 inches. Don’t get a container that is much more than 2 feet deep as worms will seldom venture deeper than about 18 inches. Make sure the containers are longer than they are wide to provide maximum surface area for your worms.
• A drill with a 1/8 inch bit for drilling air and drainage holes in the bin
• 2 to 4 bricks or blocks
• Newspaper and/or cardboard for bedding
• Dirt and brown leaves
• A spray bottle to keep the bin evenly moist
• Food scraps (Here's what worms like to eat)
• WORMS! – Red Wigglers are best
  

Here’s what you do:

1. Thoroughly wash both containers with water only. No soap or bleach!
2. Take the first container and drill 10-20 holes in the lid for air flow. Also drill 10-20 holes around the sides, stay towards the top. These holes are for airflow, NOT drainage, so keep them above your intended fill line for the bin.
3. Now turn the bin over and drill 4-8 holes in the bottom of the bin. These ARE drainage holes.
4. Ta-Da! You just finished the first half of your worm bin. Told you it was easy!
5. Now take the second container and place the 2 to 4 bricks or blocks in the bottom. These will make the first bin sit a little higher in the second bin when you stack them together and will provide more room for drainage.
6. Now place the first bin inside the second bin.
7. Here comes the fun part. Take the newspaper and/or cardboard and go crazy! Shred it up into small pieces. Anywhere from an inch to three inches in size should do. If you want the composting to go really fast, get a cross-shredding paper shredder to do the job for you.
8. Moisten the newspaper and cardboard REALLY WELL. You may have to soak the cardboard overnight to get it good and juicy.
9. Next put all of the shredded newspaper and/or cardboard into the top bin. Mix in leaves and dirt. Not a LOT of dirt, but the worms need some “grit” in their diet to digest properly and will not do well without at least some dirt in the bin. Make sure the dirt is free of chemicals and fertilizers so do NOT use potting soil.
10. Once everything is mixed together, you want to make sure the moisture level is about that of a squeezed-out, wet sponge. Worms need moisture to live, but they don’t like to be really wet. Too much water will drown them… ah ha! That’s what the drainage holes are for!
11. Add in the food scraps at varying levels throughout the top bin. Make it like a scavenger hunt for your worms!
12. Finally, ADD THE WORMS! It will take a week or two for your worms to adjust (especially if you ordered them on the internet… you know, jet lag and all!).
    

So there you have it, twelve easy steps to building your very own worm composting bin.

Make sure you feed your worms regularly (go light on the food for the first several weeks), and keep adding shredded newspaper and/or cardboard as the other stuff turns into dark, rich compost. Also empty the liquid from the lower bin as necessary, but DON’T THROW IT AWAY. This liquid is a wonderful organic fertilizer called Compost Tea. Feed it to your plants, they will LOVE it!