Need advice on perparing my wooden worm box

I have a wooden worm box made from untreated lumber. I'm painting the outside but am trying to decide how to protect the inside. I'm thinking pond liner, but that would be pretty expensive. Any other ideas/ options/ do I really need to worry about it???
Thanks,
Barb

Beach_Barbie...back in the 60's I had just moved into a house of campus and I was looking for a way to feed my native fish collections. The next door neighbors, and older couple about my age now, had a huge leaf compost pile and they suggested I use some of their 'leaf worms' as a food source. They worked fine so I set about figuring out a way to cultiate them. I went to a local worm farmer who had bins made of red wood and corregate tin bottoms with holes. I made several smaller version of these bins out of untreated wood. A few months later a got a frantic call from my landlady about my worm flats destroying her hard wood floor in the upstair bedroom where I had been keeping them. I ended up replacing the flooring...object lesson learned. Anyway point being I no longer use wood for indoor bins and I don't poke holes in my plastic tubs either.

If you are dead set on using untreated wood you could try stapling clear plastic to the sides like I do for one of my outdoor above ground worm bins. I have been using this one for four years now and it is working fine. Each year I empty the bin and staple another layer of plastic sheeting over the old layers and place a new sheet on the ground. If I over water there is still some leakage on the ground but not a problem since its outside. If yours is inside, be careful where you place it. No guarantees against leakage when using wood, and the leakage can be a bit nasty.

morgan

Oh my! That was an expensive lesson learned!
The reason I'm using untreated is because the box was given to me and I don't want to "waste" it. Also, it is going to be outside.
Whatever I used to line the interior, I was going to cut holes where the drain holes are and put some weed block over the holes; that way, keeping the compost and worms in and letting the moisture leak out.
Clear plastic is a great idea. Why didn't I think of that???? I'm pretty sure I have some.....
Sweet!
Barb

Might try garbage bags.

Actually, I used the plastic fabric used to ship motorcycles from the factory to the dealership (my husband found some when he went to get a part for his bike). We stapled it on and I cut holes where the holes are in the bottom of the box. Then, I cut short pieces of PVC and stuck them through the holes, chalking around the pipe.
I shredded some newspaper and hopefully will finish getting things ready for the worms in a few days!
Barb

Barb, aren't you afraid the worms will use the pvc for an escape route? You might want to put a piece of screening over the holes.

I started an outdoor bin this time last year and found things were very slow over the winter but as soon as the weather warmed up in the spring the worms got very active - and hungry.
alice

Alice, yes I had thought of that. I'm going to cover the holes,
I'm going to pick up some red wigglers day after tomorrow. Then, let the worm games begin!
Barb

Pick up some cantaloupe also then they will be very happy wigglers.

Will do!

For what its worth, I have found that if you keep your media moist enough that you are getting leachate through your bottom holes, you will more than likely have worms escaping out of these holes regardless of the added screening. They are like mice in that they can squeeze through the tiniest holes.

Ah....
Well then, let the battle of wills begin.....

Beach Barbie,
Unless you are dead set on keeping only one species of earthworms, then (I firmly believe) that the quality of your feeding takes care of the worm exodus. Any time I move mulch that has been on the ground for a year or more and is moist, I find worms. These are native earth worms, not red worms. If you only have sand in your yard (I've been to Kure Beach!) then you may have to ask someone inland a few miles for a half bucket of their older mulch and a couple of their earthworms. They multiply quickly if you treat them right and it's not hard!

My red worms demand kitchen scraps and coffee grounds. (They all started with a $2.25 Styrofoam cup of fishing worms I bought at a county store nearby.) If you put all (except onions & garlic) vegetative kitchen scraps into your worm box, the correct number will stay there! I always throw last year's potting soil in there too but after a couple of years, it's amazing how the red worms build up my pile. My pile is on the ground - no plastic! It is outside, behind my garage, so not in full sun. I'm sure the red worms would prefer that I heated them in the Winter but I don't. They survived (at least the eggs did) two Winters so far and came back strong when heat and food came back in the Spring. I would imagine that if you buy the mail order red worms they may not be as hardy for your and my hot summers, so look for a not so fancy service station that sells "bait" and ask for red worms - no night crawlers.

If you want native earthworms, adding leaves that are cut up with you lawn mower mixed in any kind of soil (except beach sand) is always a great plan. But, if you want to keep native earthworms, remember they need to go away if it's too dry, too wet or not enough food. They will come back when you clean up your act!

Just remember the saying "If you build it, they will come".

pbyrley,
Great advice. I was going to get my worms from a friend who has a pile. They're red wigglers.
Barb

Beach_Barbie,
I'm sure that will work well for you. I thought of putting the plastic "garden fabric" at the bottom. It lets drainage occur but would keep at least any larger worms from fleeing. As I said, I never worried about that and it has been fine. The red worm people recommend tearing LOTS of regular newspapers in long 1 to 2 inch strips (use the B&W part of the newspaper). Then dampen it and alternate several layers of it with an inch or two of vegetation & kitchen scraps. I think I used the lawn mower over leaves in the lawn so I got brown and green into the catcher.

There is lots on Dave's to tell you how to do "Vermicomposting" which is very good info, but is a little more elegant than I care to be. I'm in it for the high quality "dirt". See my 6 month old fig tree from last Summer below.

After you get several layers of damp news paper and vegetation down, wait a week or so and then get a small amount (a cup or two - more if she wants to give it) of your friend's worm pile dirt to carry the starter microbes and scatter it over the top of the vegetation/ scraps layer. You could put a few worms in after another week. (remember, I started with a Styrofoam cup - maybe 15 worms!). Not so much will happen in the Winter but keep adding your kitchen scraps and coffee grounds. I have never added any more newspaper but could have if I wanted to avoid the recycle bin.

I am always amazed at how hard it is for some people to raise worms - I guess its the colder weather they have.

Paul

Cool.
I have lots of newspaper that I was saving for to mulch a friends new gardens, but I've decided my worms are more important.
Good to know about using some of the mixture the worms are in now. I'm sure she'll share.
I'm realizing not much will happen this winter, but my compost pile is full to overflowing. I can't fit anymore on it and I've buried pretty much all I can. Worm time it is!
Barb