Hey all,

After about a month of planning, I finally put my in-ground worm bin together yesterday. It's an 18-gallon Rubbermaid tote buried neck-deep. My bedding consists of cardboard chunks, peat, compost and hay that have been layered, fluffed, and misted with a sprayer. I wasn't quite sure how high to fill it, so I played it by ear. I'd say it's a hair under 1/2 full of material. Is that too much? From what I understand the worms will be chomping on everything in the bin, with the exception of the hay (it was fresh) and the peat, so most of it should eventually turn into "black-gold" anyway. Is this correct? Also, I buried 8 oz. of finely chopped frozen and sun-defrosted table scraps an inch or two deep. I will be adding scraps regularly. However, when I checked the bin today, I saw that I already have little mites and flies buzzing around the food. Will this be a problem, or will the worms get along with these little guys? The mites were a whitish-clear color, and were straddling the line between tiny and invisible. The flies were also fairly small and looked like baby fruit flies or something. I've since set a piece of cardboard on the ridge wrapping around the inside of the bin about 4" down from the plastic lid, almost like a second lid. Will this help? Either way it's good for moisture control. Anyways, I have included pics, and I'd like to get feedback on possible adjustments and/or improvements. Heck, I'll even take an "all clear" if everything looks kosher. Thanks everybody, KK.