Showing off my new worm bins!!!

I have a store that I pick up expired produce and my current worm bin was completely full, so I had to expand. I found these 2"x10"x12' for $9.50/ea @lowes, so I had to take advantage. The only problem that I have is that wood won't last too long, so these are not exactly permanent fixtures. Anyways, these bins are 12ft long, 4ft wide, 18.5" deep and that will make 2.67 cubic yards per bin. 7.48gal=1 cu.ft and 27 cu.ft in 1 cu.yard = 540 Gallons per bin... Basically, I just brought an old lawnmower to the woodline and started mowing.

***If anyone knows of a good wood preserver(non-toxic), let me know. My wife suggested Hemp or Linseed oil because wood stain, most paint, and water sealer won't work. Paint will chip off when I shovel and the others are too toxic, so I am thinking that Hemp oil will be my best bet***

They are not perfect by any means but they will def work!


I'm just showing that I made sliding doors for the ends and that I didn't screw them in place. I'm not really a carpenter, so I was proud of the little things.



For the main support, I used carriage bolts instead of screws. Again, proud of the little things that I do right.



This is some compost that I have started already. This is on the ground and it's full of worms already, so I'll use it to inoculate my wooden bins. I probably should have turned my compost, but it still composting fast considering that I started this pile in March.

I had a blow-out driving this back home and the workers at the tire store was laughing at me for having a trailer full of rotten bananas. They looked like stoners too, so it just shows how closed minded people can be. I'm going to pick up compost from the city compost facility for $10 for 3cu.yds. Do the math and I can fill 3x of my worm bins for $30 including produce, I just have to pick it up. I was worried to post this because it's easy to steal this idea and put me out of business. Anyways, that's how the cool people roll anyways, I'll share my secrets... Everyone wish me the best of luck because my goal this summer is to raise enough money for a hoop house and wet-wall. I'm going to call my farm "Ground-Up" because I had to start from the ground up and it's a pun because you can grind up the flowers that I will make too. Anyways, my over-head cost is going to be way lower than most farmer's around me. They can go buy the "Cow Town" compost that is not fully composted(manure and wood chips), but I'll be making my own compost for a fraction of the cost.

I'd use some wood putty to fill any/all crevices between boards and in corners, sand everything smooth, then flex seal everything that will be in contact with worms/medium.

OR you could buy rubber shower pan liner and staple it in.. but staples would be points for water seepage and they'll eventually rust.

Regardless though, a heavy rubberized lining would be better than doing a natural sealant.. that sealant will be good for a whole 1-2 years before your wood starts to rot.

Should also set the bins on a bit of an angle toward one corner, and put a drainage hole. Could pick up a threaded bulkhead and a quarter turn valve so you can release any excess moisture buildup in the bins

MustangStudFarm said:

I had a blow-out driving this back home and the workers at the tire store was laughing at me for having a trailer full of rotten bananas. They looked like stoners too, so it just shows how closed minded people can be. I'm going to pick up compost from the city compost facility for $10 for 3cu.yds. Do the math and I can fill 3x of my worm bins for $30 including produce, I just have to pick it up. I was worried to post this because it's easy to steal this idea and put me out of business. Anyways, that's how the cool people roll anyways, I'll share my secrets... Everyone wish me the best of luck because my goal this summer is to raise enough money for a hoop house and wet-wall. I'm going to call my farm "Ground-Up" because I had to start from the ground up and it's a pun because you can grind up the flowers that I will make too. Anyways, my over-head cost is going to be way lower than most farmer's around me. They can go buy the "Cow Town" compost that is not fully composted(manure and wood chips), but I'll be making my own compost for a fraction of the cost.
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That's awesome man. I'm impressed.

BluntMoniker said:

Regardless though, a heavy rubberized lining would be better than doing a natural sealant.. that sealant will be good for a whole 1-2 years before your wood starts to rot.

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I've made peace with this. I think that I can make some high quality worm castings within these few years that I have them and they will have served their purpose. Plus, Hemp oil is food contact safe and it probably works better than most realize. https://www.realmilkpaint.com/shop/oils/hemp/

PadawanWarrior said:

That's awesome man. I'm impressed.

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Thanks!!!

BluntMoniker said:

I'd use some wood putty to fill any/all crevices between boards and in corners, sand everything smooth, then flex seal everything that will be in contact with worms/medium.

OR you could buy rubber shower pan liner and staple it in.. but staples would be points for water seepage and they'll eventually rust.

Regardless though, a heavy rubberized lining would be better than doing a natural sealant.. that sealant will be good for a whole 1-2 years before your wood starts to rot.

Should also set the bins on a bit of an angle toward one corner, and put a drainage hole. Could pick up a threaded bulkhead and a quarter turn valve so you can release any excess moisture buildup in the bins

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Don't let me get you down, you had good ideas. That's the beauty of doing this, there is not only one way to do this stuff. My first worm bin is made out of plastic pallets and some creativity. I wish that I had help that was as motivated as you are! I have been relying on one of my wife's friends to help out because my friends and family suck...

MustangStudFarm said:

Don't let me get you down, you had good ideas. That's the beauty of doing this, there is not only one way to do this stuff. My first worm bin is made out of plastic pallets and some creativity. I wish that I had help that was as motivated as you are! I have been relying on one of my wife's friends to help out because my friends and family suck...

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Lol your good, just giving you some of my building experience.. whether you take it or not is your prerogative. Sometimes it's more fun to just build things your own way.. I do it all the time when I make improvements to the garage or chicken coops or w.e.

Anyway, even ground contact wood will rot fairly quickly if its constantly wet, and wood sealer needs to be reapplied regularly to be effective long term.

You cant exactly reseal the inside of your bins when they're full, so rot is garunteed. And when the wood roots, it's going to release the chemicals in the wood into your medium (heavy metals and arsenic), and your castings.

That's the only reason I mentioned a rubberized seal opposed to a wood sealer. Although, I'm sure the amount of bad chemicals that make it into your end products will be minute.. so it's probably not the end of the world either way

Could use bath tubs.

BluntMoniker said:

Lol your good, just giving you some of my building experience.. whether you take it or not is your prerogative. Sometimes it's more fun to just build things your own way.. I do it all the time when I make improvements to the garage or chicken coops or w.e.

Anyway, even ground contact wood will rot fairly quickly if its constantly wet, and wood sealer needs to be reapplied regularly to be effective long term.

You cant exactly reseal the inside of your bins when they're full, so rot is garunteed. And when the wood roots, it's going to release the chemicals in the wood into your medium (heavy metals and arsenic), and your castings.

That's the only reason I mentioned a rubberized seal opposed to a wood sealer. Although, I'm sure the amount of bad chemicals that make it into your end products will be minute.. so it's probably not the end of the world either way

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I'm not sold on the design either and I think that my next worm bins will be on the ground.

WinterSoldier89 said:

Could use bath tubs.

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I remodeled my bathroom and I have 1 bathtub that I am using. It's just so tiny compared to my other bins.

BluntMoniker said:

You cant exactly reseal the inside of your bins when they're full, so rot is garunteed. And when the wood roots, it's going to release the chemicals in the wood into your medium (heavy metals and arsenic), and your castings.

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You have a good point and that's why I'm here. I am not the best carpenter and all of my tools/skills are for auto mechanics. However, I find myself "wingin' it" on a lot of these projects that I have. I just found a good source of produce for free and forced a plan together.

BluntMoniker said:

That's the only reason I mentioned a rubberized seal opposed to a wood sealer.

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Ok, I missed this the first time. I thought you were talking about a rubber mat. Tell me more about this stuff. If it's the same stuff that's on that infomercial, then my plumber friend swears by it.

MustangStudFarm said:

You have a good point and that's why I'm here. I am not the best carpenter and all of my tools/skills are for auto mechanics. However, I find myself "wingin' it" on a lot of these projects that I have. I just found a good source of produce for free and forced a plan together.

Ok, I missed this the first time. I thought you were talking about a rubber mat. Tell me more about this stuff. If it's the same stuff that's on that infomercial, then my plumber friend swears by it.

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Yea the stuff on the infomercial lol.. it's good stuff.

A gallon costs about 40$, but you'll be able to seal the inside of the bin permanently. Could get 10-20 years out of your bins instead of 3-4.

And again, a drain hole with a valve for drainage is something to think about as well. Between rain, and moisture buildup from the rotting materials you'll be adding for the worms, there will be a lot of moisture buildup that will need to be drained off.

MustangStudFarm said:

I've made peace with this. I think that I can make some high quality worm castings within these few years that I have them and they will have served their purpose. Plus, Hemp oil is food contact safe and it probably works better than most realize. https://www.realmilkpaint.com/shop/oils/hemp/

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I was going to suggest Linseed oil because that's what I have experience with and none with hemp oil. Natural sealants
just seem to work a bit more in harmony with wood. I use it on all wooden handled garden tools that may get left out in the weather and Boiled Linseed Oil for older gunstocks/grips, that haven't been urathaned or, covered in plastic.

From your experience with growing outside with wood, you realize it's going to rot eventually. Hemp/Linseed oil should work well to that *eventually*.

Your wife is a very insightfull lady.

Wet

I'm a very novice to composting worm vermiculture but don't you need cardboard, leaves, and "brown" stuff in there too? The containers are fabulous; I'm envious.

potpimp said:

I'm a very novice to composting worm vermiculture but don't you need cardboard, leaves, and "brown" stuff in there too? The containers are fabulous; I'm envious.

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My worm bedding mix is a basic peat moss/perlite/pine bark mulch and limed with dolo to match the combined amount of the peat moss and pine bark. Perlite is inert and also makes up close to 20/30% of my bedding mix. No real need to add lime for it.

Anyway, the peat moss is brown AND the worms consume it as it slowly breaks down.

The pine bark mulch is brown/grey and goes in ALL my mixes and has for well over 40+ years. It just works. Used to be known as Pine Bark Fines. Now, the closest thing to it is Pine Bark Mulch at HD or Lowes. No Nuggets, you want fingernail size.

Anyway, for me, Those 2 things pretty much covers the browns for me for the bins.

Do keep cardboard handy because worms just seem to love making and laying eggs in it.

Leaves were a bit problematic for me, but what I do is take the leaves and 'deep mulch' my raised bed soil gardens in the fall and let the worms keep working the stuff at the bottom of the pile.

Come Spring, or whenever you can plant, simply move the leaves aside and transplant the seedling that you started a month before, indoors. Didn't you? Fast sprouting/growing stuff like corn will work also. Just don't bury it till it's above the mulch layer.

Besides, look at the background in the pics. I doubt that Stang will have any brown shortages in this lifetime.

Don't over complicate worm wrangling, it's pretty simple once you get the basics down and the worms are happy.

Wet

Wetdog said:

I was going to suggest Linseed oil because that's what I have experience with and none with hemp oil. Natural sealants
just seem to work a bit more in harmony with wood. I use it on all wooden handled garden tools that may get left out in the weather and Boiled Linseed Oil for older gunstocks/grips, that haven't been urathaned or, covered in plastic.

From your experience with growing outside with wood, you realize it's going to rot eventually. Hemp/Linseed oil should work well to that *eventually*.

Your wife is a very insightfull lady.

Wet

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My keyboard broke, so typing is painful lol... I bought this the same night that I made this post: http://www.hempshield.net/

The "clear" formula is VOC free and is supposed to be a green product.

over here in the uk we like our tigerworms, but the usa tend to go wriggles. Funny cause tiger worms are considered better here.

WinterSoldier89 said:

over here in the uk we like our tigerworms, but the usa tend to go wriggles. Funny cause tiger worms are considered better here.

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This is some little dick energy you got going here! BTW, I used black soldier flies...

Wetdog said:

The pine bark mulch is brown/grey and goes in ALL my mixes and has for well over 40+ years. It just works. Used to be known as Pine Bark Fines. Now, the closest thing to it is Pine Bark Mulch at HD or Lowes. No Nuggets, you want fingernail size.

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I'm with you on the pine bark fines. I keep reading that the lower Ph loving plants have manganese built up in plant tissue, but pine is not that common around here, it's all oak and cedar. So, I have been looking into other acid loving plants like blueberries, azaleas, and others. I'm also growing comfrey to compost with, so I'm trying to keep the Ph lower(5.8-6) on my composting plants so that they will be higher in mineral content. Also, I feel that I figured out the problem that I had for several years. I always had an extreme excess of phosphorus in my compost, so I found out that I need to add more iron. A lot of these composting companion plants are high in iron and calcium and they will form bonds with the phosphorus, making it less available. Anyways, you got me using greensand on a regular basis now and it goes in my worm bin. I am using Azomite, greensand, basalt, and barley seed. The bedding was just peatmoss this time, but I am looking at the city compost facility for the cheap compost. I know that it is not fully composted yet, but I heard Dr. Faust on a podcast and he said that city compost is fine if you compost it longer, so that's what I'm looking into. It only cost $10 for 3 cubic yards for the compost, but it still smells like cow manure and has large wood chips. However, I can make a mountain of this stuff and it will be ready in another 6 months. Then, I can start using it in my worm bin for $3.33 a yard. The produce is free too, so I am turning trash into treasure. Yeah, this is what it looks like when I fix my keyboard lol... Sorry for being so crabby before, but I was going through some major growing pains...