You need about a 2 foot section of 4 inch PVC pipe, plus a 2 inch piece cut from one end.
You also need a 4 inch PVC coupler and a small piece of screen or mesh.
A Simple Worm Tube to Feed Your Raised Bed from the Inside Out
A simple in-bed worm composting tube gives your raised bed a place to take in kitchen scraps, build worm activity, and slowly feed the soil over time without making gardening more complicated.
Start here
If you are starting a raised bed from scratch, a good bagged raised bed mix is an easy honest way to get going. After that, it helps to have a simple system that keeps feeding the soil over time.
That is where this little worm tube comes in. It is not glamorous, but it gives kitchen scraps and worm activity a place to work right inside the bed, where your plants can benefit from it.
This may not be the prettiest thing in the garden, but the worms do not seem to mind.
What you need
Build the worm tube
Mark the buried section
Figure out which part of the tube will sit down in the bed.
Drill the holes
Drill plenty of holes so worms, moisture, and soil life can move in and out.
Leave a solid top section
Keep the holes in the buried section, but leave enough solid pipe above the bed to make feeding easy.
Clean it up
Clean the tube up and make sure it is ready to sit securely in the bed.
Set up the top
Set the tube up so feeding scraps later will feel simple instead of awkward.
Ready to install
At this point, you should have a simple tube ready to bury and put to work.
Place the worm tube in the bed
Pick the spot
Choose where you want the tube to live and bury it securely in the bed.
Place it near the roots
Set it where nearby plants can benefit from the slow soil-building happening around it.
Keep it easy to reach
Once it is in, the setup should be easy to feed without tearing the bed apart.
Let it go to work
Now the raised bed has a simple feeding station built right into it.
How to feed and maintain it
Add small amounts of kitchen scraps, soft plant material, and a little bedding like shredded paper, dry leaves, or straw. Keep it moist, but not swampy.
Do not overload it all at once. This works better as a steady little system than a giant dump spot.
Covering it helps keep smells, flies, and extra mess down. Turns out, worms are a lot less picky about kitchen scraps than people are.
Quick do's and don'ts
Do
- Do start with a good raised bed mix if the bed is brand new.
- Do add scraps in smaller amounts.
- Do add bedding like shredded paper, dry leaves, or straw.
- Do keep the system moist, but not soaking wet.
- Do keep it covered.
Don't
- Don't overload it with scraps all at once.
- Don't treat it like a trash can.
- Don't let it dry out completely.
- Don't expect instant miracle soil overnight.
- Don't forget the worms and soil life need air, moisture, and steady feeding.
A couple fun worm facts
Earthworms help break down organic matter into rich castings, and their tunnels can help air and water move through the soil. Healthy worm activity is often a good sign your soil is alive.
If you like this kind of low-maintenance support, an olla watering pot pairs nicely with it too.