The tote style bin works great and is a good way to learn without much monetary investment. I would get a second tote of the same size and something you can put in the bottom of it to raise it a few inches, I used four plastic ashtrays upside down. This way when your main tote starts to get heavy it will not be impossible to lift it out of the drain tote. Your main tote should have holes drilled in the bottom for drainage, however if you are getting a lot of drainage you may be running too wet. Mine has had little to none in the past month or two.

You should have both green nitrogen rich foods for the worms(veggies,horse manure,coffee grounds) and brown carbon rich (hay,shredded paper,cardboard,dead dry leaves). For the beginning you should always have more brown and bury your greens. After you get your system going you can add about the same greens and cover with an equal amount of browns. If it gets smelly or too wet, you are not adding enough browns.

Keep it anywhere you can offer the worms somewhat stable temperatures. If your garage gets over 85 degrees during the summer or freezes in the winter, that would be a bad location. My worm bin is in my house, right next to my tv. Never smell a thing and it just looks like a storage container. If you live somewhere that it never gets too hot or too cold, outside in shade would work, but then you may need to deal with critters and other challenges we do not face keeping them indoors.

I don't chop anything up. Worms do their thing without it. Maybe I'm wrong, but they've lived fine for me for almost 3 years this way. I have red wigglers.

I also want to start vermicomposting, but our winters are very cold--frost goes 4 ft deep. I know the red worms will die, but will the cocoons still be viable in spring? Or will I have to buy new worms every spring?

I would like to sheet compost in situ where my hedges will go in a couple years, and use red wigglers. Would this work? for the 4 months of warm temps? Thanks.

Iowagirl, here's some info on winter composting. Haven't done it myself but this guys tried lots of different stuff (great site) and he's in Canada so... ;)

http://www.redwormcomposting.com/category/winter-composting/

Also if you're doing rows, this is another thing he's tried.

http://www.redwormcomposting.com/gardening/sandbox-trench-excavation/

Cheers

Great reply bluedood. You are way ahead of me greenepastures as I only have two 6 gallons. Having two means if I mess up on one and the worms die, I do not have to purchase, or actually rescavange new worms. It is great you have access to "horse manure" the perfect food. I do not. Once I added a single puck and it really seemed to get the worms going.

Correction I have two 4 gallon bins.