Worm Bin Set up, Weight Table and Materials

Worm Bin Set up, Weight Table and Materials

ITEM	WEIGHT, POUNDS	ACCUMULATIVE WEIGHT, POUNDS
EMPTY BIN	1 3/4
LID	1/2
BASE	2	4 1/4
½ INCH DRY NEWSPAPER, FOLDED , on top of base for sponge to soak up leachate and excess moisture	1	5 1/4
NEXT 8 INCHES DRY NEWSPAPER STRIPS TORN ½ INCH WIDE, for bedding	1 1/4	6 1/2
NEXT 3 PINTS WATER TO DAMPEN NEWSPAPER STRIPS, to wet bedding to 70% moisture	3	9 1/2
THEN ADD ONE POUND WORMS OR	1
FIVE POUNDS OF VERMICULTURE WITH WORMS	5
COVER WORMS OR VERMICULTURE WITH SHALLOW LAYER OF WET STRIPS OF NEWSPAPER
¼ INCH DRY NEWSPAPER FOLDED, top dressing to keep moisture in bedding	1/2

The empty bin weighs about 1 ¾ pounds.  The lid weighs about ½ pound and the base weighs about 2 pounds.  Before you start adding newspaper, the total weight is 4 ¼ pounds.

On top of the base you put a layer of folded dry newspaper ½ inch thick which weighs about 1 pound. 

Next you tear up about 1 ¼ pounds of newspaper into strip ½ to 1 inch wide for bedding.  Tear the newspaper with the grain for uniform strips and ease of tearing – not cross grain.  To the strips add 3 pints of water which brings the moisture content of the newspaper strips to about 70%.

Add one pound of worms to the bedding or five pounds of vermiculture from another worm bin.

Cover the worms or vermiculture with a thin layer of wet newspaper strips – about one inch thick and then cover that with several layers of dry folded newspaper to keep the moisture in the vermiculture.