Editor's note: "Weekly DIY" is a new Green Options blog series that will show you green projects, both small and large, that you can do yourself with readily available materials.

Worm composting is one of those practices that's going to earn you strange looks — mention your "worm bin," and you'll inevitably see a raised eyebrow, often followed by the question "What's a worm bin?"

If you live in an urban or suburban setting, though, using red worms to transform your organic trash (fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, tea bags, egg shells, etc.) into usable compost (in this case, worm poop… or "castings") takes us a lot less space than the traditional pile or bin, and will likely keep your neighbors happier.

While a number of worm bins are available for sale, I found that it was much cheaper to make my own. After digging around online, I found a great plan at the Whatcom County (Washington) Agriculture site.

So let's build a worm bin!

What You Need:

• Two 8-10 gallon plastic storage boxes (dark, not see-through). I took a trip to Target and picked up two Rubbermaid containers with lids. Don't remember the price offhand, but very reasonable.
• A drill with 1/4" and 1/16" bits
• Shredded newspaper (for bedding)
• A pound of redworms. You can order these online, but I went to the local bait shop.

Make Your Worm Bin

From the Whatcom County site:

1. Drill about twenty evenly spaced 1/4 inch holes in the bottom of each bin. These holes will provide drainage and allow the worms to crawl into the second bin when you are ready to harvest the castings.
2. Drill ventilation holes about 1 – 1 ½ inches apart on each side of the bin near the top edge using the 1/16 inch bit. Also drill about 30 small holes in the top of one of the lids.
3. Prepare bedding for the worms by shredding Newspaper into 1 inch strips. Worms need bedding that is moist but not soggy. Moisten the newspaper by soaking it in water and then squeezing out the excess water. Cover the bottom of the bin with 3-4 inches of moist newspaper, fluffed up. If you have any old leaves or leaf litter, that can be added also. Throw in a handful of dirt for "grit" to help the worms digest their food.
4. Add your worms to the bedding. One way to gather redworms, is to put out a large piece of wet cardboard on your lawn or garden at night. The redworms live in the top 3 inches of organic material, and like to come up and feast on the wet cardboard! Lift up cardboard to gather the redworms. For example, if your food waste averages 1/2 lb. per day, you will need 1 lb. of worms or a 2:1 ratio. There are roughly 500 worms in one pound. If you start out with less than one pound, don't worry they multiply very quickly. Just adjust the amount that you feed them for your worm population.
5. Cut a piece of cardboard to fit over the bedding, and get it wet. Then cover the bedding with the Step 5cardboard. (Worms love cardboard, and it breaks down within months.)
6. Place your bin in a well-ventilated area such as a laundry room, garage, balcony, under the kitchen sink, or outside in the shade. Place the bin on Step 6top of blocks or bricks or upside down plastic containers to allow for drainage. You can use the lid of the second bin as a tray to catch any moisture that may drain from the bin. This "worm tea" is a great liquid fertilizer.
7. Feed your worms slowly at first. As the worms multiply, you can begin to add more food. Gently bury the food in a different section of the bin each week, under the cardboard. The worms will follow the food scraps around the bin. Burying the food scraps will help to keep fruit flys away. What do worms like to eat? Feed your worms a vegetarian diet. Most things that would normally go down the garbage disposal can go into your worm bin (see the list below). You will notice that some foods will be eaten faster than others. Worms have their preferences just like us.

The Whatcom County site also has information on what to feed your worms (and what not to), and some troubleshooting tips. For more information on worm composting, you can also visit my Composting with Worms Squidoo lens.