Vermicomposting 101: How to Create & Maintain a Simple Worm Bin

Vermicomposting, or composting with worms, is easy, fun, and sustainable! Create amazing "black gold" organic fertilizer for your garden by setting up a simple worm bin! Watch along to learn how to create and maintain a simple worm bin at home. For more details, photos, and information on supplies, check out the related blog post:

For a follow-up, here is a video on how we harvest and screen finished worm castings from the worm bin:

And here is how we turn worm castings into actively aerated compost tea to water the garden with!

Thanks for tuning in!

[ricksmoove]

I just watched 459 bajillion vids on all aspects of worm composting. You really are the only one that actually looks like you’ve done this in real life, and not just to generate clicks. Thank you VERY much !

[berlinallen-clark]

So I’ve expressed wanting to compost for a while to my father, without really having any idea how to start. But today he bought me a small container of worms, because I called him so excited about a few worms I found while repotting a plant. And I’m so glad you had made this video so I know how to start. Thank you so much! I’m so excited!

[CaptCutler]

Just binge watched 20 videos on this topic, and now have 20 different ways to do this.

[greencm]

I started my worm vermicomposting back in March, after doing a lot of research. Research included watching this video and your harvesting worm compost video. I am so happy to report that I harvested my black gold a couple of weeks ago! The black gold was absolutely amazing! I had both red wigglers and nightcrawlers. I fed them coffee grounds. I now will have six worm bins feeding them blended fruits, greens, coffee grounds, and worm chow. Thank you so much for your videos!!!! You are the real deal and your approach absolutely works! Thank you again!!!

[kristine]

I had never heard of worm bins until like 10 minutes ago, but now I really want one

[bjb]

"Welcome, worms!" 💕 Sooo sweet. I think this may be the best worm composting video on Youtube. Everything you need quickly and clearly. No fluff. Excellent! Thank you! And, hello, Ginger!

[ziyuchan]

Yes, this is an excellent worm bin tutorial with well balanced knowledge about the worm and their living conditions. This sharing can only come from years of living with worms and working with harvesting their castings. Thank you for sharing this invaluable knowledge which will help others to keep things simple and reap the fruit of their labour.

[mbrech]

I, too, have watch many many vermicomposting videos and have wondered about the two layer systems vs the one box. A couple days ago, I watched a vermibag video and that gentleman said he'd never have drainage for the same reason you said it. So, I thought, that's decided - and it makes sense. You went through a lot of info in that 25 minutes - thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge!

[ruthautumn]

This is the best video I've ever watched on composting. I feel like I can actually do it now. So simple. Thank you!

[mamamountin]

I usually don’t retain information well, but three days later I remember everything as I’m writing it down in my notebook after watching your video! It goes to show you learn so easily if it’s something that you find interesting. I can’t wait to try this. Also, I LOVE your garden and aspire to have something similar in the coming years. I’d love to see more videos too.

[kcoker]

Layers from bottom to top:
- Hydrated coco coir
- shredded paper, cardboard, dry leaves
- soil w/sand for grit
- food scraps
- worms (bury)
- cover with newspaper and dampen

[subdivisiongardenette]

We followed your directions and our worm bin is working out great! I’ve tagged you in so many posts for people wanting to start a worm bin. 👍👍👍

[Jnchverse]

This video is a lifesaver. my neighbor just gave me some of her worms and I needed this video to help me set up their new home.

[ally]

As a teenager I had my own worm farm and I kept it inside underneath the kitchen sink. I'm looking to start one up again to compost things and also to feed our pet turtles worms.

[annsalty]

Great video on worm composting. Been studying a bezillion of videos on this subject and have come to the conclusion, after trying various methods, this is the way to go. Simple. Inexpensive. Successful. My first try at this a few years ago, I made the mistake of drilling holes on the bottom to allow leachate to drip out. It just invited other things to crawl in and allowed for some worms to escape. So, now will redo this method without holes on the bottom and see how it goes. Thanks!

[Ellie-zkyc]

Best video I've seen on the subject. Simplicity and low cost. Way too many people overcomplicate this subject. An easy just do it tutorial for people looking to make the leap with little effort or cost. This lady knows what she's doing.

[MethuselahWinter]

I can’t wait to start vermicomposting and growing mushrooms. Those are the main things I really want to “farm” because it’s so environmentally beneficial. I hope to expand up to root veggies and greens using the castings. Also, love Ginger giving her commentary, very informative lol

[thevulturelives]

This is one of the most well done instructional videos I have seen ever on youtube. Thank you for all the extremely useful information on worm bedding. My grandparents let me run the worm bed 30 years ago. I now live in a heavy red clay area, the southeast, and Im slowly amending the soil for my garden. I really wanted to add a ton of worm castings, and I was just about to throw out about 10 big totes. Now I know what to do with them. I've built a "well house" because we are on well water, and I insulated the holy crap out of it. So there will be a bunch of totes in there from now on lol. Thank you for your video!!!!

[sangkim]

We do everything big in Texas. Our worm bin is just 4x8 ft unused raised bed. Cover with tarp to keep it moist and add kitchen scraps daily. We just shovel the soil inside, and replace with Texas clay soil.

[rosemaryogilvie]

I used this method to set up four worm bins about three years ago. It was easy to set them up and has worked perfectly, thank you.