Hello All,

I have been vermicomposting for about 2 months now. I have a homemade multi-level bin setup and just added my second bin as my first is starting to look like primarily castings and just scraps of bedding. The worms look happy and healthy and there are tons of tiny baby worms and they are going through their food very fast. (btw, I just harvested my first strawberries of the season and added a couple pounds of over-ripened/bug eaten strawberries, and that is by far my worms favorite food to date).

My question is: worms have apparently been falling into my leachate bin and the leachate material stinks: is this normal, does this ruin whatever benefit the leachate material could provide, should I redesign system so that no worms can fall through, or should I just assume some worms are suicidal and let it go?

I followed DIY directions online that advised me to cut holes in the bottom of the bins, so that when you stack the bins, the worms can pass from level to level. It directed me to even drill holes on the bottom of the first bin that sits above the leachate bin level, and worms are falling through into the leachate. I looked at the leachate bin a few times when I first started and didn't see any leachate, but noticed a couple wigglers in that bin. For the past 6 weeks or so, I haven't removed the worm bin to look at the leachate, until yesterday when I added the second tier and noticed the nasty looking/smelling leachate...