I finally got my worm composter built!
It took me a couple of tries to get the right trays. I tried to make them out of plastic flats from when my fiance bought flowers at Meijer. The plastic ended up being to thin and the sides were to short. We only produce about 2 - 3 lbs of compostable waste per week.
Here is how I made it.
I took a Rubbermade tote (I have seen them at Target for $5.99) and drilled holes in the lid and the top of the sides. I drilled a large hole in the bottom of one of the sides, inserted a hose end clamp ($0.99 at Meijer), and super glued it in place to seal it. I cut (2' length) and attached a hose (found in garage when we moved in and was only 4' long) to the hose end clamp. I put a zip tie in the handle of the tote to hold up the hose. This keeps the worm tea from draining out of the hose. For the trays, I went to the rubbermade and sterilite section of Target and found two 12" W x 18" L x 4" deep sterilite trays ($2.99 each). I drilled small holes in the bottom of the trays to allow the water to drain and to allow the worms to migrate between trays. I ripped newspaper into 1/2" wide strips and dipped them in a bucket of water. I squeezed the excess water out of the newspaper. I added organic potting soil (about 25% of tray), grass clippings (25%) and burried my first 1/2 lbs of compostables (banana peels, pepper cores, and crushed egg shells) to the first tray and covered with the damp newspaper. I went to the local bait shop and bought one dozen jumbo red wigglers (side bonus: can be used for fishing too
) for $3.49. I added the jumbos to the tray. I placed the tray in the tote on top of one of the thin plastic flats from Meijer flower purchase. I keep the worm composter in my garage and it does have a slight smell (coffee grounds smell so not a bad smell) since the worm population needs to grow to match our waste.
I checked on the worms last night and they are doing great.