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There are a lot of uses for plastic bins for storage that you probably are familiar with—but did you know that plastic bins make great habitats for worm composting? Worm composting provides you with an excellent fertilizer and soil treatment you can use in your yard which is natural and eco-friendly. Be sure to start by reading Parts 1 and 2 in my series for an introduction to this topic as well as a discussion about the benefits of worm composting.

Now I want to talk about the types of worm composting bins. There are four common systems you can set up:

• Stacked Systems. With this type of system, you stack a series of plastic bins for composting. You bore holes in them so that the worms can migrate upward, eating as they go. This is a great system if you have limited space.

• Flow-Through Systems. If you are looking for the most technical arrangement, this is probably it. With this system of bins, the worms reside in the top bin. Their waste falls through and can be harvested on the bottom. You can make a flow-through system yourself, or you can purchase one ready-made.

• Worm Trays. This is a shallow version of standard worm bins (see the entry below). Usually worm trays are used for breeding worms rather than producing compost. So that isn’t the solution you’re going to want to go with if your main goal is to feed your garden.

• Standard Worm Bins. This is your most basic type of worm composting system consisting of a single bin which you fill with bedding and food for worms. Harvesting the compost involves separating the worms from their waste (it’s easier than it sounds). You don’t have to construct anything for this or buy any specialty products. Your regular old run-of-the-mill plastic containers for gardening will do just fine. You can repurpose any large plastic tote. The only modifications you need to make are some holes for drainage and air circulation.

You may feel tempted to go out and purchase something fancy like a flow-through or stacking compost system, but this is probably unnecessary. Even commercial worm farmers usually stick with simple plastic containers—the same types which can be used all around the household for a hundred other purposes. As you are probably thinking of composting for your own garden, you don’t need anything special. You may as well save on costs and stick with a simple method which is easy to learn and implement.

In Part 4, which will be the last article in my worm composting series, I will teach you how you can set up a plastic bin to create a composting system of your own. It only takes a few steps, and once you have everything ready, it takes only about ten minutes each week to maintain your composting system. You’ll finally have an eco-friendly, effective, completely natural treatment for your soil that will help your garden grow!