There are several web pages and YouTube videos that describe how to start a worm bin. I don't like any that I have seen. If you can find a copy of Worms Eat my Garbage at a local library, that will give you a good start.

Worms need a balance of moisture, oxygen and decomposing organic matter. Decomposition requires a balance of high-carbon materials and high-nitrogen materials, but balancing the two too well results in hot decomposition, which will kill your worms. We generally start with a lot of high-carbon organic matter and gradually add high-nitrogen organic matter to it over time. We refer to these as bedding and food, respectively, though both are really both.

You should drill holes in the bottom of the tote to allow excess moisture to drain out. Also drill some holes around the the top edge of the tote to allow air in. Fill the tote about 6 inches deep with moist bedding. Bedding can be shredded paper, shredded cardboard, dead leaves, coconut coir, peat moss, etc. I like shredded cardboard, but I mix it with shredded office paper, because I generate a lot of paper trash in the course of my work.

Add some high nitrogen material as food. This will probably be kitchen scraps. If you can toss in some partially finished compost or aged manure, this will get the microbe herd growing quickly. I found a place where a neighbor tosses his yard trimmings over the fence. I dug into the pile to find the dark, crumbly stuff in the middle of the pile and took enough to fill up a quart sized ziplock. The worms loved it.

You may want to toss in a handful of fine sand or dirt. Worms have gizzards, so they need the grit to digest their food. I have some sand collected near a river in an old salt shaker.

Let the whole thing sit for a week or so to give the food time to start decomposing. Add your worms. That is about all there is to it.

Excellent summary by sbryce, as always.

Here's the web site that I used to start my composter almost 2 years ago.

And here are the plans I used (from the same web site).

And here is my Gardenweb post on my system and how it works.

Good luck!

I have made a few kitchen trash can flow-thru bins that don't cost much to put together and they work really well. I would go that route if you can. I have both bins and these and really prefer these. I sent you info on these. Good luck.

I went looking for a good video on YouTube. The best one I could find is this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxhEQEA0GN8

Just a few comments:

Bentley made supports out of milk cartons. I cut 2 liter pop bottles down to 4 inches high.

I don't drill holes in the lid. Part of the reason for that is that worms will migrate down to the catch basin. You will need to lift out the worm bin and remove the worms from the catch basin every week or so. Having a lid with no holes in it gives you something to set the worm bin on so that you don't get vermicast on your floor.

I drill more holes around the side of the bin, about one hole every inch. I also drill them right up near to top edge of the bin. With more holes around the side of the bin, you don't need holes in the lid.

I drill a lot more holes in the bottom of the bin. Part of the reason for this is that I harvest using a stacking bin system. You need lots of holes that the worms can crawl through as they migrate up into the upper bin. But, as Bentley points out, the worms will also migrate down into the catch basin.

Unlike Bentley, I like to get the bedding wet from the start. Because of this, I let the bin sit in my bathtub overnight to drain off excess water. The hand held shower head is a great way to wet down the bedding very quickly.

Bentley starts with a LOT of food. I would not start with so much.

Bentley only adds a small amount of soil to the bin. Most of the videos I can find on YouTube start with way too much, and include soil with rocks in it. I don't know how they expect the rocks to decompose. Part of the reason for adding soil is to kick start the microbe herd. I prefer to use compost for that.

I like to start with damp bedding. Bentley starts with dry bedding, and uses the moisture in the food to dampen the bedding. I get a lot of fluid draining out of my bins, so Bentley's method may be better than mine.

I found from experience that if the initial depth of the bedding is over 6 inches, the bedding at the bottom of the bin will not break down. You can add more bedding as the bin settles.

Here are more examples of flow throughs bins: DIY flow through bins

Andrew

Andrew - I'm curious about these flow-through bins. If you use one, can you post some photos (maybe in a new thread?) of the one you've had running for the longest period of time?

Photos of its current condition and use, not construction photos. Thanks.

Rick, only one of those bins is mine. I had come across the different flow throughs during my research, so decided to compile a list others could refer to before building one.

Below is a link to a video update of my bin.

Andrew

Here is a link that might be useful: 3 month update of flow through bin

Hey Andrew! Your worm bin is looking great!!! So many worms and they are so active. How many did you start the bin with? Do you feel like they have increased a lot within these 3 months?

Good job and thanks for sharing.

Sandra

Thanks Andrew. I'm suspicious of any worm bin that hasn't been used for at least a year or two.

I suspect that many people (not you, of course) get into vermicomposting for a short period of time, and then give it up. Lots of designs can work for a few months. The real deal, IMO, is something that fits with your lifestyle, that is practical enough for people to use every day, year after year. Not where you're constantly fighting off fruit flies, or your kitchen smells all the time, or you're finding renegade worms under your carpet, or you're driving around town begging for coffee grounds, or you have to spend 10 hours a week on maintenance, or something that works only 6 months/year. For most people, vermicomposting has to be as easy as taking out the garbage or they won't do it.

Sandra: Thanks. My very rough guess is that I started with about a pound of "wild" red wrigglers from my compost bin. I gradually added worms until I estimated 2 lbs. of worms by the end of the 2nd month. The above video was shot over a month ago, so now after just over 4 months, my impression is the population really exploded in recent weeks. A random handful of material today will be teeming with worms and I've culled some worms to start or add to other bins.

Rick: I definitely fall into the "lazy" vermicomposter group. I currently spend a lot of time messing around (experimenting) with various worm setups, but I know a time will come when my wormeries will need to survive periods of neglect. I've tried to keep that in mind as I develop my vermicomposting routine.

Prior to the flow through bin I seriously neglected a Wriggly Wranch (stackable) system for several years. I forgot the worms for long stretches of time and fed them scraps straight from the kitchen. I didn't keep track of anything, but eventually ended up harvesting nearly pure castings using this routine.

What I've decided will work for me long-term is to have all my bins outdoors. I won't freeze my scraps, so fruit flies will always be there. They don't bother me outside. I dump kitchen scraps into a compost bin and harvest pre-composted material from this bin to feed the dedicated worm bins.

I've also decided to spend very little time harvesting VC. I will simply take material from the wormeries (including worms & cocoons) and put them directly into garden worm towers.

Andrew

Thanks for all the info everyone! I appreciate your help

Ellie

"I forgot the worms for long stretches of time and fed them scraps straight from the kitchen."

This is my standard operating procedure, and I think the worms prefer this kind of treatment! It's only when I hang out on the VC Forum that I get all amped up and have to go out and dig into my bins.

Keep up the good work, Andrew.