Worm tube

I worm compost directly in my garden, you can use it in a SFG or a traditional garden.
I took a 4 inch pvc pipe and my dad drilled some inch holes in the bottom 6 inches of the pipe.

I buried the tube in the garden in the 6 inches of the SFG

I drove a stake in the tube to keep it from falling over.

I added some compost

added some red wiggler worms

added some food scraps and some more compost

for a lid cover to keep insects and small animals out of the tube, I put a flower pot on top of the tube, I glued a piece of screen over the hole in the pot


I just add food scraps to the tube, and the worms go in and out of the holes in the bottom and go out into the garden and leave worm castings that are good for the garden, and then they return to the tube for food.

So just curious on the length of pipe you are using. Also, how many of these set ups do you have in your gardens?

I just have the one worm tube. Last year I read an article on the worm tube in a traditional garden, and I looked it over and thought why not use it in my SFG. The tube comes in that length and that was how long they had it in the article, I think it could be shorter and would still work, but I've found that having it that tall helps to keep critters out of it. It is about 3 feet counting the 6 inches in the SFG.

I have used it two years in just my SFG to see how it would do compared to the SFGs without one, mine has always produced the best, but maybe I have a green thumb...

I live in zone 6 so I was concerned about the worms surviving the winter. I checked my SFG for worms in the early spring and yes they were there! I don't have any weed cloth on the bottom of my SFG. I used newspaper on top of the grass when I first made it and I've never had a need for the weed cloth. The tube is only in the 6 inchs of Mel's Mix. I checked my Mel's Mix over the past two years and have found many worms in it, and in the tube.

Now that we know the tube works and the worms survived the winter, we will be putting a worm tube in each SFG.

Thanks for the great reply! Freezing has been a concern as well. I put down double layer of weed barrier and a cardboard layer. So I dont know that they could go deeper into the ground.

How about this idea, cut a hole in the cloth and cardboard the size of the tube and sit the tube on it. It will give the worms a place to escape in the winter and to come back in the spring. Isn't it funny how they know how to find the food? But they do!

How do you have your weed fabric attached to the bottom of your SFG?

That is a really good idea.
I stapled the weed barrier to the bottom of the frame.

I think they might just slide out in the space between the staples, they like to get in tight places. I have a friend and she just leaves her worm bin outside in winter, and we have some really cold winters, and her worms still lived. I'm not sure that mine leave the SFG in winter either, because I have seen them in Mel's Mix when it was cold and snowing.