How to start a compost bin

1. Get a Container.

Start with an opaque (not see-through) plastic container + 2 lids.  I purchased a 20-gal tote at the Home Depot for $6.47.  The extra lid will go under the container.  You'll see why in step 2.

Drill air holes in an opaque container

2. Drill Air Holes.

Borrow your boyfriend's drill (thank you D) and drill four rows of small holes (1/8" drill bit) around the top of the bin to let air in.  I started just below the lid and drilled holes 3 to 4 inches apart.  Below each of the holes in this row, I drilled 3 more holes below it, spacing them about 1 inch apart.  For clarity: make 4 rows that are 1-inch apart and columns that are 3-4 inches apart.  It should look something like this:

Then, drill slightly larger holes (1/4" drill bit) on the bottom of the container.  I made a 4 inch x 4 inch matrix.  This allows extra liquid (called "compost tea") to escape out the bottom.  This can be used a liquid fertilizer, to be poured in the soil at the base of plants  that are already in the ground.

3. Prepare a Bed. 

Prepare a bed for your worms. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Vermicomposting website says that you can use shredded newspaper, cardboard, etc for bedding, but  I purchased a huge bag (3 cu. feet) of peat moss at the Home Depot for $9.97.

Why peat moss?

1. Uncle Jim's recommended peat moss over other bedding types.  And they have a great video showing you, step by step, how to prepare the soil here.
2. With natural peat moss, you don't have to worry about colored inks and other toxins in paper that will contaminate your worms and eventually your soil.   If chose to use newspaper, use only black and white pages, never colored!
3. In addition to worm bedding, I also used the peat moss to amend my soil.  (I will explain soil amendments in my next blog post).

Add enough peat moss to your container to fill the bottom 3 inches.  Red wiggler worms only live in the top 3 inches of soil.  This is why we keep them in a long, wide container instead of a tall, deep container.

The worm bed is ready for worms!

Then, add enough water to make the peat moss moist, but not wet.  When you squeeze the peat moss with your hands, a couple small drops of water should come out, but not streams of water.

4. Purchase Your Worms.

Purchase 1000 red wiggler worms.  I used Uncle Jim's Worm Farm because I found a coupon code (ujw20) to get 10% off my purchase (which is helpful, since shipping is a flat rate of $10.95).  My total came to $28.

Why red wigglers?  Red wigglers (Eisenia Foetida) are nature's composters.  Unlike other types of worms, they turn virtually any organic matter into a nutrient rich high grade fertilizer.

Why 1000? According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Vermicomposting website, "One pound of mature worms (approximately 800-1,000) can eat up to half a pound of organic material per day."  At the time of my purchase, I was producing about a pound of food waste a day and figured that, if fed well, the worms would quickly multiply to match the food supply.

5. Add Your Worms to the Bin.

When your worms arrive, they will be small and lethargic.  Which makes sense because they just spent the last 3 to 7 days without food or water!  Immediately give them some water.  I poured about ½ cup into the bag.  Then, dump the worms out of the bag and into the prepared container.

 If this is done in daylight, the worms will quickly bury themselves to avoid the sun.  My worms arrived at night, so I manually teased apart the worm ball to expedite the process.  However, I do not recommend manhandling the worms, as they are more easily damaged in their fragile post-shipment state.

Once the worms bury themselves, feed them.  Uncle Jim's recommends sprinkling some corn meal on top as food.  I didn't have any corn meal, so I ground up some oatmeal and sprinkled that on instead.  But I’m not sure this was a good idea.

I sprinkled ground oatmeal on top as the initial "worm food"

 It takes 24-48 hours for your worms to “come back to life” after shipping.  During the time of worm rejuvenation, the oatmeal I “fed” the worms was eaten by fungus.  In other words, it got moldy.

6. Start Composting!

Once your worms bury themselves, you can start adding foods to the bin such as fruit and vegetable food scraps, tea bags, coffee grounds and ground egg shells.  Avoid adding meats and dairy products as they attract rodents and tend to make the compost smell bad.  I also avoid adding stinky foods like onions and garlic.  While my compost is not odor free, so far the smell is not that bad!

How to compost, garden, and not be a hypocrite

Back in March 2012 I wrote an article encouraging everyone and their brother to start a compost bin because it helps reduce the amount food waste that ends up in landfills but also results in beautiful, nutritious soil to use for your garden.  I also explained how easy it is to start a compost....

And then I realize that I had neither compost bin nor garden.  And I felt like a hypocrite.

So the last three months I have been busy.  I made a compost bin, ordered 1000 red wiggler worms, purchased 10 pounds of sphagnum peat moss, and started composting my food scraps.  I now have beautiful, decomposed nitrogen-rich compost to use as a soil amendment.

I also purchased organic zucchini, pumpkin, and spinach seeds at my local Target, drew a shade map, planned my garden, amended the soil (after doing a soil test), and planted.  The spinach bolted once it got hot (and is inedible), but I now have a fresh zucchini every 3 - 4 days.

The next several blog entries will explain, step by step, how to start a compost bin, how to start a garden, and how to avoid some of the mistakes I made.