My Worm System are Worm Towers made of 5 gallon buckets

by Kim Vigil
(Yuba City, California)

My worm system consists of making worm towers out of 5 gallon buckets (free buckets from restaurants or purchased for a little over 2 dollars at big box stores)These are placed at least 10 inches deep in my Garden beds plus my in-ground beds.

The buckets have about 30-40 1/2 holes around the buckets and in the bottom. A lid goes on the top with a weight to hold it down. Lids can be for 5 gallon buckets, an upside down saucer or a piece of wood.

The worms go in and out the tower eating what I have fed them each week; usually a kitchen scrap smoothie along with shredded paper and cardboard, also once in a while, composted horse or chicken manure.

Every other month I harvest the worm casting to use for compost/worm casting tea. I usually stop feeding them so they will leave the tower before harvesting the compost as I don't want to harvest worms.

They come back in the tower when it is re installed and there is food in it for them. The additional benefit is them fertilizing the garden boxes where my vegetables love the soil!

I had several worm totes in my house but wanted them outside so the worms went from the totes to the towers, these were Red wigglers and ordinary earth worms.

This is a great way to have worms and get the casting/compost. I don't think I would change a thing, it is working out very well.

It takes very little time for each tower, approx. 10-20 min. My idea came from wanting the worms outside, seeing some different worm towers on YT and thinking there needs to be an easier and more productive way to use them.

Making my worm towers: https://youtu.be/37yz2sMjHlE
Harvesting worm tower compost: https://youtu.be/hlOKwEk_kw0

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