Homemade Compost Bin for Raised Garden Beds

In this video I will demonstrate how I built a Compost Bin for some of my raised beds using nothing but a Food Grade Bucket, Worms, and Tools from around the house.
Once complete using limited kitchen scraps will allow for feeding worms which will break down these kitchen scraps and then spread them as nutrients throughout the whole bed.
Below are the links to the major products discussed in the video:
House Naturals 1 Gallon Food Grade BPA Free Bucket Container with Lids:
www.amazon.com...
COMOWARE Step Drill Bit (Set of 4):
www.amazon.com...
HomeGrownWorks - 250+ Red Wiggler Earthworms:
www.amazon.com...
Enjoy the video!
Background music credit:
Song: “Sunny Travel” by Artist: Nico Staf
Licensed to KZbin by: KZbin Music (No Copyright)
Copyright Disclaimer: Copyright Disclaimer under Section 107 of the copyright act 1976, allowance is made for fair use for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statutes that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational, or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
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Music Credit Of Video: Music Used From: youtube.com
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This video was shot using a GoPro Hero 8 and a DJI Mavic Air Drone and an iPhone 10XR for Photos…
DaVinci Resolve 17 Editing Software was used for great audio and video!!!!
Enjoy the video!!! Click Like and Subscribe for more videos!

[@Jglivermr2]

This is a freaking amazing idea dude. I haven't heard of anyone doing it. But I have been putting scraps directly in the garden all season with great results. I'll be setting one of these up for sure.

[@emmarriner3430]

I do the same and works as good, if not better, and no plastic.

[@Jglivermr2]

@@emmarriner3430 I'd rather have a place to put them, and not need to dig a hole every time....

[@pjliving]

Thanks. I also got this idea online. I found it to be a great idea, however modified it to a smaller size and much cheaper than the commercial items doing the same thing! Thanks for watching!

[@margaretdavis5695]

Shredded paper and dry leaves may be fine to add to compost, but worms need more fresh produce and green leaves, etc. to eat. If they spread out into your beds for lack of food and don't find enough plant matter in there either, they will die.

[@pjliving]

Thanks for letting me know! Enjoy the videos!

[@geneeddleman2132]

Great idea! gotta try this in my raised beds. btw, long ago I was keeping nightcrawlers for fishing in a half barrel. If you need to feed them, they absolutely love a sprinkling of corn meal on top.

[@pjliving]

Good Idea will try thanks for the insight and watching!

[@jasontoolan3816]

it’s worth looking into. Im a handyman with a leaf blower, a tarp and a garden hose. Making high value Biodiverse compost.

[@pjliving]

Good Luck. I find gardening more rewarding than I imagined that I would.

[@janebishop5885]

You have a great little set up for your shop. I like the way you clean up the trash. Those llittle plastic particles don't need to get in the environment for birds and other creatures to somehow ingest. Appreciate the tips for the worm bin inside the planter. I believe I have heard that worms don't like citrus or onions. good luck.

[@pjliving]

Thanks for the input. I am just learning and taking everyone along for the discussion. Thanks for watching!

[@Panda283-j2d]

Great idea about composting thank you, always looking for better ways to raised beds, great job 👏

[@pjliving]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Pamsgarden213]

I use a soldering iron to make my holes in my buckets.

[@pjliving]

Great Idea! Thanks for watching!

[@jushave2say]

I tried this in 2 of my 8x4 beds. Unfortunately the roots from my vegetable plants took that compost bin over on both. Another downside was the birds were all in my beds doing there thing but also eating most of the worms. I tried this twice already with no luck. Hopefully others will have better luck than I did.

[@pjliving]

Thanks for the comment. I have not yet had any issues with roots in these compost buckets, maybe the small size, the very deep bed and large growing space or not enough time growing. I do see a lot more birds in my beds, so I may need to watch out for the worms being food now that you mention it.

[@MichaelJosephJr934]

Nice job. I did something similar. I used 6 inch black corrugated with a tee fitting at the bottom. Takes less surface space. Also feel with the tee big openings they have easier access but who knows what's going on down there now. LOL.

[@pjliving]

Thanks for the comment and thanks for watching.

[@robm1066]

When you're using a hole saw to fill plastic like that run the drill in reverse. Much easier to drill your holes.

[@pjliving]

Great Idea. I will try that. Thanks for watching!

[@Cynsome1]

Worms love grass clippings too.

[@pjliving]

Thanks for letting me know. They will get some grass the next time I mow the lawn! Thanks for watching.

[@sweetengland99]

I really enjoyed your video. Thank you for sharing. 💚🦔

[@pjliving]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@jujubee7351]

Nice job ! Can’t wait to set a small one up on my patio , you are the first person to use Hardware Cloth instead of chicken coop wire lol . Im trying to learn as much as I can , so thank you.

[@pjliving]

Good luck! This year’s yield is awesome. Probably because of the new soil and nutrients. Watch for an upcoming video!

[@gbltheolechurch5acrehomestead]

Great job with the composting bin!

[@pjliving]

Thank you! Cheers! Hopefully the new worms love their new home!

[@Crochetedpossum]

Genius! Thanks for the idea!!

[@pjliving]

Have Fun and thanks for watching!

[@angelamoulton1170]

Brilliant!

[@pjliving]

Glad you enjoyed the Video!

[@farmervee_yt]

Good job! They have a free cafeteria.

[@pjliving]

I hope they enjoy my diet! Thanks for watching!

[@nancyseery2213]

Hey Paula Ammott, you are right, I got mine from Publix just by asking for some in the bakery. They gave me four that were about two gallons.

[@pjliving]

Thanks for the ideas!

[@peggyhelblingsgardenwhatyo7920]

Hi Paul, Nice video and explanation 👍 Have you just begun your Vermiculture hobby? Or just started your channel? Wishing you success 👩‍🌾👍 We seem to be developing a really nice group of Gardening and Vermiculture friends. I'm Gardening over 50 years and raising worms since 2009. Red Wigglers only for me 👩‍🌾👍

[@pjliving]

I have been collecting videos for a year or two, but just started video editing. Learning gardening, composting, and into travel (when funds allow). I really just started putting videos on the channel a year ago and learning the video editing process.

[@gwenkilby]

Cool! I do this on a smaller scale in my tote bin beds, besides my large worm farms. Castings are poop, not dead worms, though they will become poop eventually too 😆

[@pjliving]

Thanks for the correction.

[@CoconutbuttA]

I subscribed bec I found your video very interesting! 👍

[@pjliving]

Welcome aboard! Thanks for letting me know and enjoy the Channel. I will try to upload video once a week or two.

[@susanneziebarth8379]

I'm gonna try putting a bottomed out clay pot in my composting bed and pour blended food scraps mixed with paper and cover it with something. I haven't seen any worms in my composting bin so hopefully this helps! Thanks!

[@pjliving]

That's a great idea and Good Luck!

[@danielleandrews3960]

Love your idea, thank you.

[@pjliving]

Thanks for watching!

[@michaelmosley1385]

Thank God that bucket was only a gallon Andre the giant was no match.. Me and the wife thought when we first saw the video you had a five gallon bucket in your hands.🤣. But we kept watching and learned a lot from you. We have to try this and where did you get the worms?

[@pjliving]

I ordered the worms from Amazon and spit them between two beds at a time.

[@libbyholt3863]

I'm doing this, too, but I'm hoping native earthworms will find it since they burrow deeper than red wrigglers do. I just don't know where to find them! My soil was dead before I moved here.

[@pjliving]

I have very bad soil, Hard Georgia Clay, so all the soil in my beds was a mixture of several different varieties of Garden Soil, Peat Moss, and Vermiculite along with additives such as Worm Castings. That I believe is the advantage of having a raised garden bed as you can better control the soil. As the years go by, I also add compost made from leaves, grass and kitchen scraps from a larger compost pile to fill up the raised beds. Check out Raised Garden Bed Videos for how I filled them and with the garden, it appears to be a great success. I am just learning and thanks for watching!

[@MetaView7]

Worms don't like light; if you paint the cover black, the worm will come up to the surface. they like to breathe fresh air too. alternatively, you can add a piece of burlap to the top of the compost to keep the light out.

[@pjliving]

I will get ahold of burlap and try that. Thanks

[@emmarriner3430]

I just gig a hole in the veggie garden, our in my compost, dont even worry about newspaper, come back in a few months, the food is completely gone and in its place is hundreds of worms and great soil. Quicker and easier and NO plastic.

[@pjliving]

Awesome. Thanks for watching!

[@peggyhelblingsgardenwhatyo7920]

Just subscribed 👩‍🌾👍

[@pjliving]

Welcome aboard! Thanks for subscribing.

[@vasilisk-66]

Интересная идея. Попробую у себя.

[@pjliving]

Thanks for watching!

[@jasontoolan3816]

Love this one, thx. Will you teach us about aerated static composting? How much easier it’s creation is compared to the old manual rotation methods. Please share why this Biodiverse Compost helps create resilient crops, according to Elain Engam Food Soil Web, founder.

[@rcat32]

I'm going to look this up. Thanks for your guidance!

[@jasontoolan3816]

@@rcat32 My chat with a famous Utuber, Hehe. That’s not all, John. Modern science agree’s. Our waist can be turned into High biodiversity Compost. High biodiversity Compost must be kept alive and moist. After only 30 mins oxygen levels in an unaerated compost pile will have dropped and the anaerobic bacteria emerge. Only living aerated static made type composts have large enough amounts of required biodiversity including: Nematodes, fungi, and anthropoids to name a few. In order to have a regenerative restart on most of our depleted American/worlds farmland soils and help insure National/world future food recourse. It’s Composts that will secure our food, not just money. So Make a pile and Donate it to ur farmer today!

[@pjliving]

I don't know about that but will have to look into Aerated Static Composting.

[@IMOO1896]

At my local fish and bait store, an 8 Oz tub of worms is less than $5.00

[@janebishop5885]

You want to get the right kind of worm. they're not all equal.

[@pjliving]

Thanks for the info. I will check those out.

[@urrigongreyjoy]

What about using a cardboard box or some other type of biodegradable container instead of a plastic bucket?

[@notalkjustnails6101]

The worms will eat it sooner or later

[@pjliving]

I am sure that will work also, however the box will lose its integrity when wet, but you can also add a new one later. Thanks for watching!

[@geraldinemryan]

Rats will devour all your worms they love them

[@greenfingers9437]

Hi there, quick question, do you have to empty the bucket at all? If so how often?

[@pjliving]

You would every so often want to add kitchen scraps to the bucket to add more food for compost. When it is full of "dirt/compost" spread that and add more contents.

[@patriciasummers8881]

Hi Paul. I like your raised beds. Could you make a video of how you made them? Or what they are made of? They look so ideal. Especially the one in the greenhouse and the one with the tubes (for water?) around the top. And did you build your greenhouse from scratch? How did you do the frame? It looks kinda like you have double layers of plastic but I can't tell for sure. I keep examining different methods for beds and greenhouses hoping to find one I can afford and do myself. Thank you!

[@pjliving]

Patricia, thanks for asking. Look at other videos on my channel and I show you how I built my Greenhouse from parts I purchased from amazon, a local feed store, and wood I had laying around. I build my greenhouse from scratch (however not as good with video production at the time). The beds in the greenhouse were built using lumber I had laying around. The Silver and Green Garden beds outside the greenhouse I purchased online, and they worked out very well. I will try to put together a video showing how the irrigation system was set up. I set up automatic watering for all my raised garden beds and they are watered twice daily for four minutes to keep me from forgetting to water. I ran the tubing and made the connections using parts from a local big box store. Thanks for watching!

[@montyshinn8704]

Rats here. This would be great for them.

[@pjliving]

I have not had an issue with the squirrels, and don't have a rat problem yet, but each area has its own animals that may enjoy the feast.

[@giojibear1114]

Great info! I plan on making the bins soon, so thank you for the links to the supplies. Where can I get a greenhou6 like yours? It seems to be the size and style that work for me.

[@pjliving]

I built the greenhouse using lumber, Cattle Panels and Greenhouse Plastic. Sorry, but was not good at making videos at that time. I may have to make a more detailed video on the process. Enjoy!

[@nosheeple2751]

Homestead heart has a great video on making a cattle panel Greenhouse and materials were about $600 for hers. You can find the video on KZbin. Good luck

[@NothingBtBlueskies]

Do critters remove the lid and eat the compost?

[@jayescreations489]

If I make this Im thinking the worms I already have will find this food. Its worth a try. I dont know where to buy nightcrawlers anyway.

[@tracycrider7778]

Walmart in fishing section

[@sandracuellar7722]

I ordered red wigglers online they arrived in a couple of days alive and wiggling!

[@pjliving]

I ordered the worms from Amazon online and they arrived alive and ready to explore! Thanks for watching!

[@johnthomas5806]

I appalade your efforts to build these bins for the worms but I wouls suggest you don't put in citrus (orange-lemon-lime waste) in with them as they will not eat it until it begins to breakdown from natural decomposting...but it does help to keep the ants out...

[@pjliving]

Thanks for the insight. I am learning, but it does explain why the ants went away. Thanks for watching!

[@susanquinlan7426]

No citrus or tomatoes. Remember they need some grit(coffee grounds or simply sand is helpful-you man have sandy soil.

[@notalkjustnails6101]

Worms eat it all, no matter if citrus or tomatoes. Mine get everything except milk product, meat product. Just make sure it's organic quality. Citrus just takes a bit longer, but you can always blend or freeze it to speed up the process

[@pjliving]

Thanks for the correction; looks like I have learning to do. And yes, I definitely will put coffee grounds in. Thanks for watching.

[@fredgillis591]

What is the purpose of the bucket? Why not just put the worms in the bin?

[@pjliving]

That will work. The buckets give you a place to dump household scraps for the worms to eat and spread their waste and castings through the bed. You could also put the scraps in under the soil. But these allow access to see the composting in progress. Thanks for watching!

[@e5581]

When you get ready to plant in the spring do you leave the compost bin in the Garden bed?

[@pjliving]

I plan to leave the composting bin in year-round. Thanks for watching.

[@danhowell2871]

what happens over winter?

[@pjliving]

I don't yet know as I built these in March. First, I live in zone 7A in Georgia, so our winters are not usually very cold, so I would expect they would just dig deeper down. I will update you and thanks for watching.

[@Varee.]

shouldn't they have more air

[@thisnthatwithYaya]

Guacamole peel 🤣

[@pjliving]

Even the worms deserve Guacamole!!! Thanks for watching!

[@earthmagic1]

I'm curious...Did the worms eat their bedding? Mine always do. Shredded Amazon boxes are perfect for the job 😂

[@pjliving]

Yes, the worms ate the shredded paper then moved on deep in the bed to eat leaves. Thanks for watching!

[@dlighted8861]

You should mention worms in the title genius. 😉

[@pjliving]

Did not expect the enthusiasm. I will change the title. Thanks for watching!

[@sandrabrown6860]

How do you not attract rats or mice or rodents?? I've been doing what you've suggested and I am over run with RATS 🐀 🐀 🐁 🐭 🐀 I am trying to get rid of Rats for a good 7 months now. Rats are all over my garden to eat the "compost" pile :/ :(

[@pjliving]

I guess I have been lucky. I did see evidence of a larger animal eating a tomato. Probably a chipmunk as I have a lot of those and squirrels, but I also have seen a snake (or a couple of different snakes in the greenhouse, so maybe they help control the population. Thanks for watching!

[@bartwilloughby2909]

First man I’ve seen using gloves 🧤 to Garden 😳

[@pjliving]

Really. I like wearing gloves when gardening, but there are many times that i have dirty fingernails!

[@RocketPipeTV]

You can just dig a hole or ditch and throw in the food scraps. No need to buy any worms, they will find the scraps and settle in all by themselves. No need for all this fuss

[@mresmith4302]

Not if you have a raised garden bed.

[@sherimetschan961]

I've been doing this in my raised beds. Whenever I have bare spots I dig a hole, add a good amount of water and let it absorb, add my food scraps, cover and water again. Also I always remember to water that spot. My raised beds are 2 ft tall but I would think it would also work on any raised bed.

[@pjliving]

Thanks for the info. My raised garden bed has steel cloth on the bottom to prevent rodents from digging in from below, so while worms may be able to get in or out, I take the work from them. I have also just buried compost in the soil of the other beds, and it also worked fine, but you don't get to see the results as often. Thanks for watching and enjoy gardening!

[@michelleh7133]

Too dry!

[@neetanand9230]

What do you mean?

[@michelleh7133]

@@neetanand9230 Worms need much more moisture. They will dry up and die if it's not wet enough.

[@jayescreations489]

moisture will get in as you water.

[@michelleh7133]

@@jayescreations489 they need a very moist environment at all times! They will also not go out into the bed as long as there is food available ( and moisture) in the bucket. Red Wigglers are not ordinary north American native soil earthworms.

[@pjliving]

Thanks for the input. I will watch that. I have an irrigation system set to water the top of the bed twice a day and the soil appears to be moist down below, but at the time of these videos it was very dry (not much rain) so I may need to add a little more water in the drier times. Happy Gardening and thanks for watching!

[@desertedenblooms]

please do not buy buckets that are 35 bucks...seriously?

[@pjliving]

Many have also stated the same. You could also just bury your kitchen scraps which I also learned. Thanks for watching!