Worm Bed

[tntitans21399]

I'm not sure where to post this, so the moderators can move it to where ever it needs to go.

I am about to buy a new house and I was thinking about adding a compost bin, and then as I looked around the web I then started to think about a worm bed since I fish from time to time. What I have learned and researched, it is pretty easy. My question is I was going to build it in a breeze of the house. I was thinking about putting it in the back right on the side of garage not the house. I was going to build a wooden frame, I haven't decided on the size yet. My question is what has been the best to put on the bottom, to keep worms from going underground and escaping and on top from keeping them from crawling out?

[Hammer 4]

you could line it with 6 mil plastic, but if you keep the worms happy, i.e. add lots of goodies for them, they'll stay put. i use to grow roses, and the soil was kept alive with organics, the worms loved it..when it rained some of the beds flooded and I'd have a zillion worms all over the driveway..lol

[RobbyZ5001]

I'm not sure where to post this, so the moderators can move it to where ever it needs to go.

I am about to buy a new house and I was thinking about adding a compost bin, and then as I looked around the web I then started to think about a worm bed since I fish from time to time. What I have learned and researched, it is pretty easy. My question is I was going to build it in a breeze of the house, . I was thinking about putting it in the back right on the side of garage not the house. I was going to build a wooden frame, I haven't decided on the size yet. My question is what has been the best to put on the bottom, to keep worms from going underground and escaping and on top from keeping them from crawling out?

I have tried it.. I will admit to this at my own risk. It is a pain in the butt man good luck. The worms die, crawl out, freeze, and are a pain in the butt. I probably dumped around 3000 worms into my yard. I tried putting a light on top of the soil and it seemed to work well. The best situation in my opinion would be to follow a compost bin diagram and use red wigglers or European worms. Don't expect a ton of worms or fast results, but that would be my suggestion.

[bilgerat]

I've had a compost pile for the better part of twenty years now, this is my advice to you.

Don't put it anywhere near the house. You risk unwanted critters getting into your house - termites, ants, spiders, etc.

My compost pile consists of nothing more than "chicken wire" fence to contain the contents. I've tried the wooden frame thing. Unless you want to spend top dollar on pressure treated lumber, it will rot quickly. I've found the wire fence to work the best, as it allows airflow around the pile. Now you're wondering how do you keep worms in a chicken wire enclosure ? It's all in what you put inside of it to attract and keep them.

DO use grass clippings, leaves, any organic kitchen waste such as coffee grounds, eggshells, fruit rinds, stale bread, etc. You get the idea. Tip - worms love cornmeal. Shredded up newspaper is good also.

DO NOT use meat scraps, bones, dog crap or anything like that. It will make your pile stink and attract critters you don't want. It also will produce harmful bacteria that can damage any plants you may end up putting the compost on.

Make sure you "turn" the pile often, once a week should do. This is nothing more than using a pitchfork to work the undecayed matter from the top down towards the bottom. Compost piles generate a lot of heat that helps break down things faster. You will notice little to no odor at all. You don't want plastic on the bottom, as the worms need to go underground at times to escape the heat. If it's been a while since rain, soak the pile with a hose a day before you need the worms.

Doing this ensures me a steady supply of worms throughout the season, generally April through October here on the east coast. I rarely use worms for fishing, but getting a dozen or so for taking the kids out is never a problem, especially since bait shops are far and few between where I'm at.