Worm Cafe - Compost with earthworms right in your garden

Earthworms are fantastic for gardens because they aerate the soil and their castings improve soil fertility, water holding ability, and drainage.

I had seen this idea somewhere else but wanted to make some changes that would work better for my situation. I hope it helps someone else also.

This is installed in my Square Foot Garden bed but would work in other gardens also. For more information about Square Foot Gardening contact me.

Composting is a way to reduce what is thrown away while adding to the health of your garden soil. Although I compost otherwise I was excited about the idea of composting right in the garden. Compost should be ready much sooner this way with less work: no turning compost, and no moving compost to the garden.

If you are not able to have a traditional compost bin this may be a way you could still make compost.
 

Step 1 Gather materials

Find or purchase wood. 
I found four, 1"x5" pieces of 2' long lumber around my house - three cedar, and one Douglas Fir.  Any kind of wood should be fine, but I advise against using pressure treated, painted, or stained lumber.  You could use 2 1/2' or 3' long lumber instead of 2'.
You will also need a drill, bits and screws, about 2 cups of peat moss, kitchen scraps, a board or post cap for a cover, and a few earthworms.

Comments

[bruc33ef]

There is a basic flaw in this:   Earthworms are not composting worms!  You need red worms for that.  

All you are likely to get is a bigger and bigger pile of garbage.  

[Just Bill]

I've had something similar in my garden for the past few years (a small plastic garbage bucket with holes drilled below the soil line) and my wife and I cannot outpace the earthworms. We use it in the asparagus bed and it works just fine from early spring until hard freeze in the fall.

We throw garbage in. And then we throw garbage in. And then we throw more garbage in ... and that little pail never gets much over half full. I don't think it would get even half full if the earthworms didn't have to wait until the bacteria had a chance to get things broken down somewhat.

This guy posted an instructable of a working system. Ergo: no basic flaw.

[Beuna]

There are earthworms that live only in composting materials and earthworms that compost kitchen scraps but live in the soil.  Since the worms are not living in the compost but using it as a food supply there should not be a problem with using worms from your garden.

[kenoconnor]

Does the cafe have a bottom piece? Nice instructable!

[Beuna]

There is no bottom and no need for one. Just the four sides and a top to keep out the rain and sun. Glad you enjoyed it!

[BonifaceJ]

This looks like a great plan. The worms will naturally spread their casings, so in theory you shouldn't ever have to empty it unless you put too much material in there for them to keep up on. I'm going to make one for each of my raised beds in my garden - see if I can get a whole production line going.

[MissFruitfly]

Thanks for posting. I made one out of a 1 gallon plastic jar using your instructables. http://www.flickr.com/photos/missfina/sets/72157626968943062/

thanks for the help

[bikeboy]

Nice! I wonder if anyone's tried yet to incorporate this into an "earthbox? I just made one and I'm definitely going to give your idea a go. Seems so much nicer than adding a strip of granulated fertilizer to the soil. And them wormzies will keep it all nice and fluffy. And I don't have to buy worms, just pullin' them out of the ground!

[Beuna]

The Earthbox I have has a water reservoir in the bottom which would drown the worms. Otherwise it sounds like it could be a good idea. You could still add compost (and make it yourself) instead of granular fertilizer. For information about composting check my blog

[bikeboy]

My E.B. doesn't have a grate but uses wicking cups with holes too small for worms. I never flood the main soil volume. I guess the worms will avoid the wicking area and never be drowned by surprise or fall into the water tank. But I'll keep your remark in the back of my head.

I'm now thinking of replacing my mulch plastic by layers of kitchen scrappings, brown mulch and worms. I'll cover it with perforated cardboard. Do you think such a vermiculture mulch layer would keep the worms happy and active?

[Beuna]

As long as it doesn't attract other varmints it would not hurt to try it.

[bikeboy]

Will give it a try.

[vcramer]

Sounds awesome! This was the simplest instructable I've found for this, so I'll be trying it.

[ladieu]

This is called a worm tower. Look it up on youtube and you can see some videos about it from the permaculture movement. Cook idea to use wood. I have a lot of scrap, most other designs i saw use PVC

[unclecp]

Smart idea. I am going to try it with different mixes of materials in each box to see which compost seems to do the best with my native soil and by type of plant.

I saw the comment about the gentleman who wondered about the type of worms you used. I have three places where I get worms but one in particular is quite unique. They are called Vermipods. Bill Kreitzer sells them and I bought some last year and used them in a worm bed I set up (of ground up leaves and rabbit manure). The worms did the trick but some varmint got in and ate more than half the worms. I should have put a screen over the bed. The link to the Vermipods is here:

http://www.billkreitzer.com/VermiPods.html

[sparkleponytx]

Congrats on your win. I have done vermicomposting off and on for several years but, I have never used regular earthworms. Furthermore, every instruction I have ever read says not to use regular earthworms but to use red wigglers ((Lumbricus rubellus) or brandling worms (Eisenia foetida) in vermicompost bins. Regular earthworms live in the soil and red wigglers live in the "compost." The vermicompost process not only produces worm castings but also "tea" which is liquid gold for plants. So, when I saw your project I thought it seemed a neat idea but had a major flaw, not in construction but in function...at least for use in my part of the country. What is the flaw? Well red wiggler worms can only survive in temps between 40-80°F and will only compost and breed between 55-77°F. Vegetable gardens require full sun for several hours a day. In Texas, if you were to place your worms in a full sun garden they would bake in minutes! In fact, I was only able to keep my worms outside in the late Spring and early Summer if I kept them in a cool, shady spot, like under my fig tree. In mid-summer I even had to hose down their bin to keep them from overheating. I can't imagine having them smack in the middle of the garden! As I said, they would have cooked. As for composting in full sun, yes, compost itself will break down better in full sun heat--it will speed the process in fact. But you don't need worms for that. So, if you have managed to find a way to overcome the heat problem in your worm cafe, I would love to hear about it.

[eyerobot]

I dont know what kind of worms are natural to texas, But the solution to the problem in michigan was to use actual nightcrawlers. They are capable of hibernating in winter, And can travel quite a distance in the summer to avoid heat, But then we dont have any deserts either. So find out whats indiginous to your area, And go with that. I had no problem getting the nightcrawlers to eat their way through all of my compost, And I have a lot.

[eyerobot]

I use nightcrawlers from the sporting goods store. Having them, Is like having your own herd of pigs, That devour everything in site. I put everything from dead waste, To still living weeds in there, That have gone to seed, And they leave nothing behind. I built two of these composters, And placed them in pure sand, Now after One summer of operation, I have sand with a small layer of black dirt on top of it, About 1/4 in thick, And my grass has turned from brown, To a dark green color. Yes I put them in the yard too. My gardening area was a mish mash of grey looking sandy soil, But now the area with the composter has a complete layer of black dirt on it, And the soil under that is about one third black now, with a lot of grey still in it. The big question is, Will it create a hotspot of nurtients? The answer is... yes it will. But the hotspot is huge, In my garden I can clearly define the area of travel that my worms use, And its a circle of 25 feet in diameter. Around the edges, The black dirt is thin enough that i cant measure it. But in the center, next to the composter, Its as deep as six inches or more, but only because thats how deep i planted the composter. So will it work?....Absolutely! This is the best use of a composter that I have ever seen, Not only did it cure my garden and lawn problems, But I can move them after a month or two to a new location, And the hole it leaves behind, Is already full of high grade compost, So the lawn actually repaired itself in just a couple weeks. Once again, This is a great idea, Good job.

[Beuna]

Thanks for the update! I am happy to hear you had such success.

[Beuna]

The worms are able to travel through the garden bed and into lower areas of the soil to escape the heat. Red wigglers are not necessary because in the Worm Cafe they are not living in compost or manure. The earthworms are living in the soil and come into the box to feed.

[TXsouthrngrl]

The worms are still in your garden doing their good work but still get fed and you cut down on your trash output. You could also decorate your bin to look a little more pleasing to the eye. Fantastic! I'm definitely going to try this when we plow for our garden. Would you say having one on each corner would work or should I also put a couple in the middle? Couldn't really tell you how big it will be but it will be a good size. I have a rabbit rescue and my veggie bills are killing me.

[Beuna]

I put one in a corner of a 4 x 4 foot bed. My guess is that that is enough for that size space. You may want to check into Square Foot Gardening. There is a forum with some Square Foot Gardeners from Texas if you want to talk to someone locally. http://www.squarefootgardening.com The forum is http://squarefoot.creatingforum.com/forum.htm

[TXsouthrngrl]

One to a 4 x4 space...well I will need quite a bit more as I am looking at maybe an 1/2 acre garden...I have 6 acres. thanks for replying so fast and thanks for the link.

[ubermama]

How do you turn the compost in this case? What about emptying it?

[Beuna]

There is no need to turn it - the earthworms do that for you. The earthworms also will spread it around your garden as castings. You can temporarily remove it and empty it if you have much in there to empty.

[eyerobot]

I got my composting bins built finally. They measure 11x11x24, But we do have a lot of biowaste at my house. I will attach some pictures soon, With some comments as to how fast they work using nightcrawlers, And whatever local worms we have here in michigan. Our lawn appears to be sand and clay, And is terrible for growing crops or grass. So now the big test begins, To see what these little critters can actually do. Great idea!

[eyerobot]

All worms are composting worms. The idea of creating a self spreading nutrient source, that is both heat and cold tolerant is great. For years ive wanted to create both a compost pile, And a worm farm, but i'm not overly fond of stirring rotting trash, Or the idea of carrying compost to the garden. This project removes the need for anything but placing paper, And plant products in the bin. Now I only need to install spikes around the bin to bring the worms to the top (by shocking them), So I can pick them up without digging through the compost. Great instructible, And the answer I have been looking for.

[nawiha]

Clever concept. This seems like a great and convenient spot to put non-infected garden trimmings, such as weeds that haven't gone to seed, vegetation from plants that are done producing garden food, etc. Given that the unit is buried, have you found an easy way to get to the finished compost for use in other portions of the yard/garden? It seems that one drawback to this design is that it would leave a hotspot of nutrients and thus isn't the most efficient use of castings. Any thoughts on that? Thanks, Beuna!

[Beuna]

The earthworms travel throughout the garden distributing their castings as they go. This prevents a hotspot of nutrients and eliminates the need for me to spread the castings.

[spoonietreasures]

instead of peat moss which takes forever to regenerate, try shredded newsprint, cardboard bits, coconut coir, even dry leaves.

[Beuna]

Good suggestion! I have added it to the directions.

[1-2BGardening]

Beautifully simple... certainly worth a try no matter what kind of worms... the proof will be in the pudding... or worm poo, I suppose. Thanks for sharing!

[ourmoneypit]

Actually, I kind of prefer Beuna's idea to use regular worms. Since they don't live in the compost, but in the garden, they perform two tasks for you: they aerate the soil, and they distribute the compost by leaving their castings elsewhere than in the compost container. Certainly for a situation where you need compost developed in an accessible container, ie for houseplants, a self-contained red wriggler operation would be more appropriate. But for outdoor gardening, the Earthworm Café certainly seems to be much less maintenance. Spaced regularly throughout the garden, and fed the leavings of your daily gardening break snacks, this could be almost effortless! Excellent 'ible, Beuna!

[depotdevoid]

Congratulations, a first prize for your first instructable, I'm impressed!

[Beuna]

Thanks for the congratulations!

[amber1]

Absolutely awesome! We all know we'll be growing our own food soon if not supplementing it. I am starting to square foot garden but now,.....meet me at the Worm Cafe!

[Beuna]

Glad to hear you like the idea and that you are beginning a Square Foot Garden!

[1ofakindwork]

Actually I've read that both red worm and earthworms do make compost.  Earthworms live deeper in the soil then Red worms.  So red worms are a better candidate for surface composting, I see this design actually is buried which will put the food source lower so the worms will be attracted to it..  Great Idea and good job....You've got my gear working as we speak, I may have to do a spin off your design thanks again....Jeffrey

[Beuna]

Thanks for your comments.  Let me know how yours works out.  I plan to add some comments later about how mine is working.

[gardenchick]

This is  a great idea. I will post it on my blog as well
www.gardenchick.com/garden-blog