An Indoor Worm Condo that's Fast, Cheap and Good part 2 by MCR Dan K.

A good rule of thumb for any kind of project is that you can't do it fast, cheaply and have a good result. You can have any two out of these three, but not all of them. It's not always true though, especially if the project is simple enough, like a worm bin made from stackable plastic storage containers.

For my fast, cheap and good worm condo, I used three small Trofast containers from IKEA. They're especially good for a worm bin because they have a recessed channel that runs all around the inner edge. Liquids and worms will go in there. A few 1/4" holes drilled in the corners will allow fluid to drain down to the bottom bin. (Don't drill any holes in the bottom bin.)  Holes allow worms and air to move through the bins as well.

Mark where you want to put the holes.

Then drill. Any drill bit with a diameter of about 3-5mm will do, since that's the size of most red wigglers.

The smallest Trofast bins make a very compact worm condo that you could fit under a kitchen sink, and you can easily add more levels to for more volume. It's also an easy bin to pick up and take with you for demos and workshops.
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Since these bins are semi-transparent, you may want to keep them in a dark or shaded area, or else cover them.
I also got one of the larger Trofast containers, which has a really nice cover. I didn't pay attention to the measurements when I ordered these online; I thought the bigger bin was only deeper and not wider than the smaller ones. Wrong -- It's actually a totally different size.

I decided to put this large bin outside by our garbage cans with a bit of fresh scraps and compost my worms have been working on since early March.

I topped it off with some dry leaves that were stuck around the border of our small garden.

I can see this being a good place to put our Bokashi compost in the warm months, and any extra fresh stuff when I run out of room in my indoor bins.

The only thing these bins lack, that commercial worm bins often have, is a drain at the bottom. It would be simple to add a base and plastic spigot. Brewing supply stores are a good place to get these. It's even simpler to lift out the upper bins when you periodically "fluff" them and drain the bottom bin by pouring any collected leachate into a watering can for use on your plants.

-All photos provided by Dan K.

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Dan is a freelance web developer and father of four relatively efficient, non-wasteful young women. Originally from New York, Dan moved to Edmonton in 2016 and joined the MCR Program straightaway to influence peple to let worms eat their garbage. Waste reduction tip: If you can get food and paper out of your trash, you may find you have very little garbage going to the curb every week.

Every Homeowner Should Have a Composter! By MCR Trish H.

I bought a house last year moving from an apartment. What a lifestyle change! I was looking forward to having a garden, making the yard aesthetic, and growing food to eat. I was excited to learn composting as part of the experience. If I was getting a house, I wanted the whole package! I also wanted to get to know some of my neighbours. I was extremely fortunate to get into the Edmonton Master Composter Recycler Program ... like a dream come true.

During the winter, I found that the garbage in the house would get smelly because of the food waste thrown into it. In the apartment, I had just a small kitchen catcher that I would throw  into the outdoor bin. In a house, I had to have a larger garbage container and keep it in black bags for pickup once a week. As soon as I entered the house, I could smell the garbage. Once spring came, I obtained a free

black plastic composter and collected food wastes separately. Guess what? No more smell!

In the fall, I had the huge deck cut back to make more room for a garden. Being the thrifty person I
am, I thought about how I could reuse the wood. I had a garbage bin built from it, but there was still lots of wood left. I also used it to make a new matching back fence so had leftover wood from the newish but ugly previous back fence. I got new side fences built as they were a shambles. I had a few new fence boards leftover as well. All in all, I had a big pile of lumber taking up valuable space in my garage.

With a yard to care for, I quickly realized that a small compost bin just wasn’t going to be enough. I wanted a place to put my leaves in the fall and a place to throw garden waste, like greens and dying plants, and wanted to

keep the yard tidy throughout the year. As for the household food scraps, the black bin is sufficing for

the summer, but what about the winter household food scraps, what would I do with them? I am just starting a home business in natural therapies. What kind of impression would people have if they entered the house to smell garbage? That would be darn embarrassing and I didn’t want to go back to that! I tried worm composting but it didn’t suit me. What would I do? I was also enjoying having less garbage to dispose of as well. Another problem was that the quality of the garden soil wasn’t that great so the plants need something better.

Well, all of the problems have been solved! I used up the most of the leftover wood to build a bigger composter. In the fall, I will throw the leaves in it. I also plan to invite both of my immediate neighbours to put their leaves in the bin as well. There will be less mess with wind blowing leaves in my yard. I will have enough leaves to save some for use next summer to put in the black compost bin. I will stockpile the food scraps over the winter by letting them freeze outdoors, in the composter, or in the garage. I won’t have to bag any garden waste in the fall, and my plants will enjoy the rich soil from the composter. I also have the pride of knowing that I built it all by myself and proudly display it to others. I saved the scrap wood (previously living trees) from going to the dump and put it to good use! ... and my yard is tidy!

"Trish H. is a recent 2014 graduate from our MCR program and has hit the ground running. She's participated in our grasscycling championship, trade shows and loves to chat with friends and neighbours about waste."

Compost Crafts - One-Way Worm Elevator By Megan Miller, MCRP 2012

With winter well on its way, and our outdoor compost heap nearly frozen through already, we decided to give our worms a bit more attention. Winter composting outdoors is slow, and while we'll probably still toss quite a bit of kitchen scraps on the pile over the winter, I really want to shift into using indoor compost methods. And that means getting our worms working a bit harder.

Of course, we could hardly expect them to increase their workload under their current living conditions. Nope, these guys need a new home, and I need an easier way to harvest their precious poop. (Ahem. Excrement ) It also needed to be something I could complete in less than an hour.

The One-Way Worm Elevator is born!

The idea is that by stacking containers, one with food, one without, the worms will migrate to the bucket with food in it, and away from the finished compost.

To be fair, I got this idea from a friend, who used much bigger containers, and made three layers, which I'll explain later. Hers is a Luxury Condo for worms. Here's how we made our mid-range version:

1. First, gather all your tools and supplies:

Two nesting buckets, a drill, drill bit and a Lovely Assistant. (Hey, you didn't expect me to operate a drill AND take pictures, did you?)

2. Stack your buckets and start drilling holes in the bottom of the top bucket:

Our bucket looks like this:

3. Make some nice worm bedding for the bottom bucket.

Here, we're ripping up newsprint for “browns,” we also threw in a sprinkle of sand, a handful of garden dirt, and some vegetable peels:

4. Get out your hungry worms. 

I had stopped feeding them a week earlier, hoping to finish off the compost. As you can see there are still plenty of big chunks left, meaning plenty to eat. Regardless, we plowed on with the plan, hopeful.

5. Stack the buckets (the one with holes on TOP!) and dump in your worms:

6. Put on a lid and you're done!

We also drilled holes in the lid, of course, so the worms and compost can both breathe. Making sure enough air can circulate is very important, especially for keeping away smells.

Getting the Compost

In time, the worms will migrate to the bottom bucket, leaving the top one empty of critters. When this happens, the top bucket (finished compost) can be removed and used for compost teas, as fertilizer or mulch for houseplants, lawn conditioner, anywhere you want nutrients in the soil.

After emptying the top bucket, we will take the bottom layer and move it to the top. Holes on top and bottom provide great circulation and the empty bottom bucket can catch any excess moisture drips.

When it looks almost done, we stop feeding the top and bait the bottom bucket, starting over again. This should allow me to continuously add food waste to the worms, and still make harvesting easy-peasy.
A friend of ours has made a three tier tower, with a second bucket with holes. Same idea, rotating fresh and almost-done compost between the top two, but with improved air flow in the middle layer and a bottom bucket to catch excess moisture (which, by the way is an amazing liquid fertilizer).

We did not, however, put on a lid.

Now, remember, the whole point of this craft is to allow the worms to migrate, so that no one has to pick through the finished compost and harvesting becomes easy and guilt-free.

My Lovely Assistant, however, seems to believe our worms need a head start on migration. It started out innocently enough, picking out a few big ones...

But quickly turned into a more serious matter.

Happy winter composting!

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Megan Miller is a 2012 grad of the MCR Course. Megan is very interested in re-skilling for sustainability and a large part of that is growing, harvesting and processing her own food. She has also been learning other living skills including leather crafting for clothing, soap making, and sustainable building. Megan and her family have been experimenting with composting for four years.