I recently replied to a post that took me a half hour but I think was a scam. The warning signs I missed were "hawking a website" and being a "brand new poster" and not posting "any wormy stuff". I could be totally wrong. I am reporting them. I am a long time forum moderator on boards with way different topics. I must be slipping. Their first post was just so sweet. I think I was tricked. I guess I should report them along with my .... hey I could be wrong. I hope so.

My reply however was generic. Thus I post it here in case there is some usefulness.

Welcome to the forum.

Are you presently shopping for a system? If so I would recommend a system similar to the Worm Inn. This design idea started with a pair of blue jeans. Perhaps some on the forum have designed their own similar type systems with a stronger base. There is also round or square tray systems. These too posters have raised worms in and made vermicompost and recycled their kitchen waste using low cost homemade versions of the $$systems. Not that purchased systems are not way cool and effective. Maybe 25%? of posters use a purchased system as their main bin.

I invite and encourage you to read back and back and back in this forum. Then check out other similar sites and read them. Every site as a bit of a twist to raising worms that you will want to know about. There are even some sites that sell worms that have varying amounts of valuable information. Some of it is great information.

To win the big prize video tape your journey into vermicomposting. We love watching everything about vermicomnposting even horrible, terrible failure. That is how we learn as a group. However, you, after having taken the time to study the board for a while I suspect you may be able to avoid the worst chances of that. Reading and learning online are ages past just reading a single book and having to make due. You can ask questions and get an answer back in an instant. Isn't the internet great?

I congratulate you on being brave enough to post to our forum. Sometimes some of us, cough, cough, me, cough are a bit crabby. Luckily everyone else, is very cheery and actually very helpful. You will find people will take a lot of time out of their day at all hours of the day to help a beginner or not a beginner over worm issues. We sure do know that some worm issues need to be handled right away. If you are in a rarely populated time zone and need help right away I hope lurkers will lurch into the fray to help save the worms in a timely manner. Note to Lurkers: Prepare to lurch.

If you are thinking of increasing the size of your garden this spring and are thinking a wee bit of vermicompost would get the seedlings off to a good start but you don't want to pay a lot of money for the system or the worms then here is your place. As you may want to vermicompost kitchen scraps start now by composting them. Find a nice out of the way, nature type of place. In the spring you can grab back up the compost to start your vermicompost system and along with it possibly gobs of vermicomposting worms. Well maybe not gobs but a few anyways.

I promise or maybe I betcha, you will not loose anything by not buying worms. Why? Because everybody kills their first worms. So why not practice with free worms in a smaller quantity. . . Why? Because dead worms smell. They smell way bad. After practicing on the free worms you can decide if worming is really for you.

All, some or none of the above may or may not be true. We will see what the wisdom of the web has to say. The value of a forum is in the different opinions. Sometimes the least agreed upon opinion may be the right one. We need you to tell us. Again Welcome to the Forum. Nooooo Pressure.