soon to be starting a bin

jmdj1994

15 years ago

Hi Everyone

My 8-year old is dying to build a worm bin, and I promised him that we would when he has a month of "good days" at school (he is special needs and I know it won't take long--but I needed something to remind him of every day when he heads off to school). Anyway I have seen all the cool youtube videos and countless others on making worm bin out of plastic storage bins, cloth bags and the like. I have an old wooden dresser that needs to be burned--I have been holding off because I really want to recycle it somehow. It occurred to me today to make a worm bin out of it and keep it in my basement. I know people have suggested making ones out of old dresser drawers but I was wondering if anyone had any experience with recycling a whole dresser into a multi-level vermicomposting condominium. I would love to hear any ideas or suggestions anyone would have, books worth reading, or would gladly pay if some had plans for one they would consider sharing. Thanks so much in advance and have a great night!

Marie

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Comments (5)

mndtrp
15 years ago
I know that someone on here has used a whole dresser. I don't have any idea what thread it would have been in, but it seemed to work well for them. The only thing I can think that might be slightly detrimental, would be the wood will suck moisture out of the compost.

On the other hand, it's unlikely that you would have a problem with too much moisture, which is what most people seem to have trouble with in the beginning.
eric62687
15 years ago
Another problem with wood bins is that enventually the wood decomposes also. But I say try it its better than burning it! I've never had any experience with wood bins but I'm sure it will be at least a couple years before the dresser bin becomes unusable. How do you plan to set it up? A plastic bin with holes drilled in it also works well.
folly_grows
15 years ago
One problem with using the dresser as a worm habitat is that the bottom of each drawer would not be in contact with the VC of the lower drawer and the worms won't be able to move easily from drawer to drawer. And since they would have to climb the walls to move up, they will be all over the inside of the dresser. Then every time you pull open a drawer >squishYou might consider starting a smaller system then enlarging as you and your son get comfortable with the worms. You could get an inexpensive 3-gal storage box from Target or Ikea. A few months ago I started a small experiment in a 2-liter green soda bottle. It's fun because I can get very close to the worms and other critters by just twisting and turning, but don't have to open or dig through the container.
acenjason
15 years ago
I think its a neat idea to repurpose an old dresser! I'm no expert but maybe you could use some plastic sheeting to line the drawers and also to make a lid for each drawer. Than drill some holes in the bottom of each drawer through the sheeting, andd poke holes in the sheeting lid. I don't know if that would work or not but it would be neat to find out.
shermthewerm
15 years ago
I think it would be great to be able to repurpose an old dresser, too. But my concern would be the worms getting squished. I have a worm factory, and every time I pick up one of the trays, there are tons of worms "dangling" from the bottom of the tray. So I imagine they would do the same thing from the bottom of a drawer. The only difference being that when I replace the tray, the worms are unharmed (at least, I assume), but when you would slide a drawer in/out with all the worms dangling out the bottom...

Maybe I'm not picturing correctly how it would work, though.

In any case, good luck & I hope your son enjoys his new pets!