Upcycled Esky Wormfarm

Fergzter

Active Member
Premium Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2020
Messages
20
Location
Ballarat VIC
Climate
Temperate (all seasons)
Hi all,

Just wanted to share my worm farm, made from and old esky that was sadly broken a few years ago. As I was generating more green waste that my worms and compost containers could handle I decided to increase my worm farm capacity by using this old esky and a few scrap materials from my garden.

I set it up next to my old worm farm, in a shady spot at the back of our block.

3988-690a939564236024b02279ce4cf7e4cc.jpg

As you can see, the esky has seen better days

3989-b6833181a8640179b0aeff2c3cdbf393.jpg

I levelled the esky on top of a few old milk crates. It does have a slight slope to the hole. I made sure to flood test, then dribble test to make sure that the worm tea will end up in the bucket

Flood Test:

3990-3d9b47d8271bc65df32b3cda4d54370a.jpg

Dribble Test:

3991-98386b60f984a2c9a0d235fb1fa38a27.jpg

I added in some old garden stakes and then some seed trays (forgot to photograph that sorry) to allow free drainage and air flow.

3992-89b69bf6eb088f53e5e420982911b838.jpg

I had some very old and dead shadecloth left by the last owner that I used as a filter layer.

Apologies about sideways picture

3993-28d2bb4b2e3593170ec04b4a8b127216.jpg

I added some shredded paper and watered to make damp.

3994-3ea98cfb45d278950e2c553657579056.jpg

Then a few shovels of compot and manure mix (home grown of course)

3995-b6ed63379d7760e6cc444e17f5eba5e1.jpg

Convinced some worms to move into the new worm farm from the old worm farm

3996-c893b389519ef472c77f3e35c1412275.jpg

Added a layer of cardboard to make the space dark for the worms as I am fresh out of heshion sacks at the moment.

3997-e3410605ae62fb4380499b02a079affc.jpg

Added the old broken lid back on the top. I left the clips up, to allow about 5mm breathing gap at the top of the esky. I can close this down if I find things dry out too much.

3998-5d9e5c2ae6938b972958b74431a9c2dd.jpg

All in all it took about 45 minutes to make... mostly delayed by going to wash my hands to take photos.

I will hold off adding fresh food for the worms for about a week until they are settled. Then I will post more updates as things progress.

As always, happy for feedback on improvements.

Best thing about this little project was that everything was recycled or reclaimed. Cost $0
 

Attachments

  • Farm 1 - Copy.jpg
    Farm 1 - Copy.jpg
    304.3 KB · Views: 459
  • Farm 2 - Copy.jpg
    Farm 2 - Copy.jpg
    181.3 KB · Views: 446
  • Farm 3 Flood Test - Copy.jpg
    Farm 3 Flood Test - Copy.jpg
    187.4 KB · Views: 507
  • Farm 4 Dribble test - Copy.jpg
    Farm 4 Dribble test - Copy.jpg
    159.1 KB · Views: 490
  • Farm 5 Drainage Layer 1 - Copy.jpg
    Farm 5 Drainage Layer 1 - Copy.jpg
    161.8 KB · Views: 469
  • Farm 6 Filter Shade Cloth - Copy.jpg
    Farm 6 Filter Shade Cloth - Copy.jpg
    207.1 KB · Views: 445
  • Farm 7 Wetted Paper - Copy.jpg
    Farm 7 Wetted Paper - Copy.jpg
    230 KB · Views: 352
  • Farm 8 Added Compost Manure Mix - Copy.jpg
    Farm 8 Added Compost Manure Mix - Copy.jpg
    244.2 KB · Views: 350
  • Farm 9 Donor Worms from old Farm - Copy.jpg
    Farm 9 Donor Worms from old Farm - Copy.jpg
    426.6 KB · Views: 320
  • Farm 10 Cardboard Dark Layer - Copy.jpg
    Farm 10 Cardboard Dark Layer - Copy.jpg
    195.1 KB · Views: 359
  • Farm 11 Lid sits on top - Copy.jpg
    Farm 11 Lid sits on top - Copy.jpg
    263.2 KB · Views: 336
Last edited:

GKW

Valued Member
Premium Member
GOLD
Joined
Dec 22, 2019
Messages
317
Location
Sydney
Climate
Temperate (all seasons)
Hi all,

Just wanted to share my worm farm, made from and old esky that was sadly broken a few years ago. As I was generating more green waste that my worms and compost containers could handle I decided to increase my worm farm capacity by using this old esky and a few scrap materials from my garden.

I set it up next to my old worm farm, in a shady spot at the back of our block.

3988-690a939564236024b02279ce4cf7e4cc.jpg

As you can see, the esky has seen better days

3989-b6833181a8640179b0aeff2c3cdbf393.jpg

I levelled the esky on top of a few old milk crates. It does have a slight slope to the hole. I made sure to flood test, then dribble test to make sure that the worm tea will end up in the bucket

Flood Test:

3990-3d9b47d8271bc65df32b3cda4d54370a.jpg

Dribble Test:

3991-98386b60f984a2c9a0d235fb1fa38a27.jpg

I added in some old garden stakes and then some seed trays (forgot to photograph that sorry) to allow free drainage and air flow.

3992-89b69bf6eb088f53e5e420982911b838.jpg

I had some very old and dead shadecloth left by the last owner that I used as a filter layer.

Apologies about sideways picture

3993-28d2bb4b2e3593170ec04b4a8b127216.jpg

I added some shredded paper and watered to make damp.

3994-3ea98cfb45d278950e2c553657579056.jpg

Then a few shovels of compot and manure mix (home grown of course)

3995-b6ed63379d7760e6cc444e17f5eba5e1.jpg

Convinced some worms to move into the new worm farm from the old worm farm

3996-c893b389519ef472c77f3e35c1412275.jpg

Added a layer of cardboard to maket the space dark for the worms as I am fresh out of heshion sacks at the moment.

3997-e3410605ae62fb4380499b02a079affc.jpg

Added the old broken lid back on the top. I left the clips up, to allow about 5mm breathing gap at the top of the esky. I can close this down if I find things dry out too much.

3998-5d9e5c2ae6938b972958b74431a9c2dd.jpg

All in all it took about 45 minutes to make... mostly delayed by going to wash my hands to take photos.

I will hold off adding fresh food for the worms for about a week until they are settled. Then I will post more updates as things progress.

As always, happy for feedback on improvements.

Best thing about this little project was that everything was recycled or reclaimed. Cost $0

That deserves a "like", an "informative" and DIY star!

Well done!:twothumbsup:
 

Cheryl Smyth

Active Member
Premium Member
GOLD
Joined
Jan 17, 2020
Messages
68
Climate
Sub-Tropical
Wonderful job! I believe that will be better than store bought for many reasons. First and most important to me. Those trays can become to heavy to lift after filed with castings!!! I have to wait for a man to come by and remember to ask him to lift tray for emptying and they have a little of a struggle themselves. Again beautiful job thinking of recycling your cooler ( what we call it in the United States). Worm composting is my favorite composting. Every one waste food that could be composted!
Composting is the Heartbeat Of Organic Gardening
 

Burga

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
Joined
Feb 8, 2020
Messages
10
Location
Mandurah
Climate
Temperate (all seasons)
Awesome job. Thanks for sharing. :thumbsup:

Now to go search the shed for a broken esky. :)
 

Jake Monteleone

Active Member
Premium Member
GOLD
Joined
Feb 7, 2020
Messages
28
Climate
Sub-Tropical
Hi all,

Just wanted to share my worm farm, made from and old esky that was sadly broken a few years ago. As I was generating more green waste that my worms and compost containers could handle I decided to increase my worm farm capacity by using this old esky and a few scrap materials from my garden.

I set it up next to my old worm farm, in a shady spot at the back of our block.

3988-690a939564236024b02279ce4cf7e4cc.jpg

As you can see, the esky has seen better days

3989-b6833181a8640179b0aeff2c3cdbf393.jpg

I levelled the esky on top of a few old milk crates. It does have a slight slope to the hole. I made sure to flood test, then dribble test to make sure that the worm tea will end up in the bucket

Flood Test:

3990-3d9b47d8271bc65df32b3cda4d54370a.jpg

Dribble Test:

3991-98386b60f984a2c9a0d235fb1fa38a27.jpg

I added in some old garden stakes and then some seed trays (forgot to photograph that sorry) to allow free drainage and air flow.

3992-89b69bf6eb088f53e5e420982911b838.jpg

I had some very old and dead shadecloth left by the last owner that I used as a filter layer.

Apologies about sideways picture

3993-28d2bb4b2e3593170ec04b4a8b127216.jpg

I added some shredded paper and watered to make damp.

3994-3ea98cfb45d278950e2c553657579056.jpg

Then a few shovels of compot and manure mix (home grown of course)

3995-b6ed63379d7760e6cc444e17f5eba5e1.jpg

Convinced some worms to move into the new worm farm from the old worm farm

3996-c893b389519ef472c77f3e35c1412275.jpg

Added a layer of cardboard to make the space dark for the worms as I am fresh out of heshion sacks at the moment.

3997-e3410605ae62fb4380499b02a079affc.jpg

Added the old broken lid back on the top. I left the clips up, to allow about 5mm breathing gap at the top of the esky. I can close this down if I find things dry out too much.

3998-5d9e5c2ae6938b972958b74431a9c2dd.jpg

All in all it took about 45 minutes to make... mostly delayed by going to wash my hands to take photos.

I will hold off adding fresh food for the worms for about a week until they are settled. Then I will post more updates as things progress.

As always, happy for feedback on improvements.

Best thing about this little project was that everything was recycled or reclaimed. Cost $0
 

Cheryl Smyth

Active Member
Premium Member
GOLD
Joined
Jan 17, 2020
Messages
68
Climate
Sub-Tropical
Credit to Costa. It is pretty much his video that I based mine off.

Credit to Costa. It is pretty much his video that I based mine off.

Thanks for sharing :chuffed:
I believe Australia is ahead of United States when it comes to worm composting . I like the cooler idea easier to attain already has lid ,hole for drainage and insulated . Plus you recycled :cheer:Couldn’t get better!
 
Last edited:

William Welch

Member
Premium Member
GOLD
Joined
Feb 11, 2020
Messages
16
Location
Thorndale, Texas
Climate
Temperate (all seasons)
Hi all,

Just wanted to share my worm farm, made from and old esky that was sadly broken a few years ago. As I was generating more green waste that my worms and compost containers could handle I decided to increase my worm farm capacity by using this old esky and a few scrap materials from my garden.

I set it up next to my old worm farm, in a shady spot at the back of our block.

3988-690a939564236024b02279ce4cf7e4cc.jpg

As you can see, the esky has seen better days

3989-b6833181a8640179b0aeff2c3cdbf393.jpg

I levelled the esky on top of a few old milk crates. It does have a slight slope to the hole. I made sure to flood test, then dribble test to make sure that the worm tea will end up in the bucket

Flood Test:

3990-3d9b47d8271bc65df32b3cda4d54370a.jpg

Dribble Test:

3991-98386b60f984a2c9a0d235fb1fa38a27.jpg

I added in some old garden stakes and then some seed trays (forgot to photograph that sorry) to allow free drainage and air flow.

3992-89b69bf6eb088f53e5e420982911b838.jpg

I had some very old and dead shadecloth left by the last owner that I used as a filter layer.

Apologies about sideways picture

3993-28d2bb4b2e3593170ec04b4a8b127216.jpg

I added some shredded paper and watered to make damp.

3994-3ea98cfb45d278950e2c553657579056.jpg

Then a few shovels of compot and manure mix (home grown of course)

3995-b6ed63379d7760e6cc444e17f5eba5e1.jpg

Convinced some worms to move into the new worm farm from the old worm farm

3996-c893b389519ef472c77f3e35c1412275.jpg

Added a layer of cardboard to make the space dark for the worms as I am fresh out of heshion sacks at the moment.

3997-e3410605ae62fb4380499b02a079affc.jpg

Added the old broken lid back on the top. I left the clips up, to allow about 5mm breathing gap at the top of the esky. I can close this down if I find things dry out too much.

3998-5d9e5c2ae6938b972958b74431a9c2dd.jpg

All in all it took about 45 minutes to make... mostly delayed by going to wash my hands to take photos.

I will hold off adding fresh food for the worms for about a week until they are settled. Then I will post more updates as things progress.

As always, happy for feedback on improvements.

Best thing about this little project was that everything was recycled or reclaimed. Cost $0
Well done indeed! I have a few old coolers that I will try this in. Thanks
 

Gaz

Member
Premium Member
GOLD
Joined
Feb 7, 2020
Messages
9
Climate
Sub-Tropical
Good job, I haven’t had a worm farm for a while but, this has inspired me to give it a go again when I return home from work in a couple of weeks.
 

Jake Monteleone

Active Member
Premium Member
GOLD
Joined
Feb 7, 2020
Messages
28
Climate
Sub-Tropical
Thanks for sharing :chuffed:
I believe Australia is ahead of United States when it comes to worm composting . I like the cooler idea easier to attain already has lid ,hole for drainage and insulated . Plus you recycled :cheer:Couldn’t get better!
thanks for videos cheryl
cheers Jake
 

Karla

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
GOLD
Joined
Feb 7, 2020
Messages
65
Location
Oklahoma
Climate
Temperate (all seasons)
Hi all,

Just wanted to share my worm farm, made from and old esky that was sadly broken a few years ago. As I was generating more green waste that my worms and compost containers could handle I decided to increase my worm farm capacity by using this old esky and a few scrap materials from my garden.

I set it up next to my old worm farm, in a shady spot at the back of our block.

3988-690a939564236024b02279ce4cf7e4cc.jpg

As you can see, the esky has seen better days

3989-b6833181a8640179b0aeff2c3cdbf393.jpg

I levelled the esky on top of a few old milk crates. It does have a slight slope to the hole. I made sure to flood test, then dribble test to make sure that the worm tea will end up in the bucket

Flood Test:

3990-3d9b47d8271bc65df32b3cda4d54370a.jpg

Dribble Test:

3991-98386b60f984a2c9a0d235fb1fa38a27.jpg

I added in some old garden stakes and then some seed trays (forgot to photograph that sorry) to allow free drainage and air flow.

3992-89b69bf6eb088f53e5e420982911b838.jpg

I had some very old and dead shadecloth left by the last owner that I used as a filter layer.

Apologies about sideways picture

3993-28d2bb4b2e3593170ec04b4a8b127216.jpg

I added some shredded paper and watered to make damp.

3994-3ea98cfb45d278950e2c553657579056.jpg

Then a few shovels of compot and manure mix (home grown of course)

3995-b6ed63379d7760e6cc444e17f5eba5e1.jpg

Convinced some worms to move into the new worm farm from the old worm farm

3996-c893b389519ef472c77f3e35c1412275.jpg

Added a layer of cardboard to make the space dark for the worms as I am fresh out of heshion sacks at the moment.

3997-e3410605ae62fb4380499b02a079affc.jpg

Added the old broken lid back on the top. I left the clips up, to allow about 5mm breathing gap at the top of the esky. I can close this down if I find things dry out too much.

3998-5d9e5c2ae6938b972958b74431a9c2dd.jpg

All in all it took about 45 minutes to make... mostly delayed by going to wash my hands to take photos.

I will hold off adding fresh food for the worms for about a week until they are settled. Then I will post more updates as things progress.

As always, happy for feedback on improvements.

Best thing about this little project was that everything was recycled or reclaimed. Cost $0
What do you do with them in winter?
 

Cheryl Smyth

Active Member
Premium Member
GOLD
Joined
Jan 17, 2020
Messages
68
Climate
Sub-Tropical
I have worms in laundry room and outside. I live in Louisiana so not to many freezing weather and they do just fine. Cover with shedded leaves , compost, or cardboard. Feed heavy. Been worm composting over a decade.
Composting is the heartbeat of organic gardening
 

Fergzter

Active Member
Premium Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2020
Messages
20
Location
Ballarat VIC
Climate
Temperate (all seasons)
What do you do with them in winter?

For our climate we can let them stay outside. While we do get cold, its not like it is snow on the ground type cold. Our worm farms do slow right down over winter however. Thus making a second one to get us through those slow times.

I hear people in the UK bring them inside, or into the garage over winter.
 

Jake Monteleone

Active Member
Premium Member
GOLD
Joined
Feb 7, 2020
Messages
28
Climate
Sub-Tropical
I have worms in laundry room and outside. I live in Louisiana so not to many freezing weather and they do just fine. Cover with shedded leaves , compost, or cardboard. Feed heavy. Been worm composting over a decade.
Composting is the heartbeat of organic gardening
i believe you because i have a worm farm and they are hard to look . after but mine are going really well Cheryl
Cheers Jake
 

ClissAT

Valued Member
Premium Member
GOLD
Joined
Sep 27, 2015
Messages
1,842
Location
Pomona, Qld
Climate
Sub-Tropical
Turning the Esky into a worm farm is a really logical method of upcycling, congrats!:thumbsup:

When it comes time to harvest some compost out of the farm there are a few ways to encourage the worms to vacate your chosen handfuls.
One is to add a handful of bran to one far corner which draws all the worms over to there.
Second method is to expose half the compost by pulling all the course material to one end. Then also leave the lid off which lets light in. The worms head for the darker end within minutes leaving your chosen section free of worms.

However, remember to have enough new material to go in after you harvest compost so they don't get overcrowded or they will climb out!
 
Top Bottom