Jean, be careful with manures as worms are sensitive to even low amounts of sodium and other ... ammonium, maybe?

As you're going along do things with "just a touch" and only in certain sections of the bin to test the reactions of the worms. Always put food or "stuff" or bedding in such a way they can get away from it should it be offensive to them.

As I always recommend: Set up another smaller portable worm bin with live worms and basic care while you're starting the adventure on a larger bin. If you end up killing all your worms in the larger bin you'll have wormies to rejuvenate things. As the saying goes, 'Don't put all your eggs in one basket." We shouldn't "put all our wormies in one bin."

Here is a pretty useful site full of expert wormy peeps that might help ya. It is a fairly active forum, too.

http://vermicomposters.ning.com/

I've seen a few vids of this guys set up. I can't really speak to any answers as the bins I have are significantly different and I have no experience with something like this. Many others may not be posting because they also do much smaller indoor bins.

I did manage to make a 7' by 4' worm bin quite unintentionally and it is thriving. I have a raised bed garden built on a concrete pad. When making it I started with straw bales and placed compost over the tops of them as done in bale type gardens. I then bought some leaf worms at the local bait shop and tossed them on it. Now I have more worms than could be counted. Each year I toss about half a cubic yard of chopped fall leafs on top of my garden.

Have you found the blog at
http://www.redwormcomposting.com/
this has a huge amount of info that has helped me a lot.

I will echo the suggestion that you have a second smaller bin with a second population of worms as a backup.

Gut feel an 8" diameter circle filled with holes may be fine as long as there is a cover to shed the rain. Rather than drilling it may work well to use a punch (like a framing nail) and hammer to punch holes from the inside out. Again this is gut feel and I have no experience.

I don't know if the drain hole there will work or not because I have no clue how it is mounted or how easily it will clog. More holes allow for more to fail without a failure of the drain system.

Red worms are a rather resilient animal and will live in a large variety of conditions.

Have you read the thread "Three Big Mistakes" started by morgan_3?

jeanwedding: My comments on the youtube link: It makes about as much sense to put holes into a New 6 ft galv stock tank as it does to put holes in the floorboards of a new car. I could see using an old leaking stock tank.

Q: Why is metal galvanized? A: To stop it from rusting. It is a coating. What happens when a galvanized bucket gets a dent? The galvanization cracks and rust starts followed by a hole in the bucket. Drilling holes in the bottom of the galvenized stock tank will start the rust process nicely.

"why would anyone want BSF?" Because they are maybe the most efficient composters on the planet. Way faster than worms. At times of high volume of waste or meat waste BSFL can assist the worms. Plus there is the astetic adorability.

I agree with equinox about the galvinized tank. But if you already got it, it will work fine. I would tip the tank toard the drain and not drill.

About the video- that was leachate not worm pee or worm tea.It comes from using wet feedstocks or watering your bin. Some folks warn against using it and have had BAD results! Others say it works for them.

About the horse manure... get it and use it! You can ask about when they were last dewormed and they will tell you. I have worms and a horse. You do not need to age it if no dewormer used in the previous couple of weeks. I feed my worms pure FRESH manure, less than 24 hours old and sometimes still steaming:), and it is consumed in 7-10 days. Worm candy!!! If the manure is mixed with bedding (shavings or straw/hay) then it will heat up a bit.

Good luck and I hope I helped. Pete

Now I assume the tank is galvanized
ordered ONE pound of euro and one lb of red wigglers,
Started... partly fill bin with straw, crunched dry leaves gonna not drill new tub , what about little week old chicken manure with shavings ???? and some shredded newspapers on top???
may remove drain plug and tilt. may try to get coconut fiber,too... will keep some worms back like yall suggested.
will cover tank with plywood or scrap sheet of metal roofing what yall suggest for a divider?
Thanks all
Jean

You should mix those dry leaves and straw with all those wet veggie scraps. Get it all damp so it starts to compost and break down BEFORE putting your new worms in there! Pre-compost everything first until your bin is established. After it is established you can feed fresh scraps in corners and cover with more bedding.The worms need a safe and stable home to retreat from heat ect..

Also, do not use fresh chicken manure.... it must be well aged or it will heat up, release ammonia, and kill your worms!!!! Horse poop and rabbit poop are the only manures I know of that can be used fresh.Use in moderation - a little on top as food.
I would not use paper. Card board or coir would be much better bedding material. I would put LOTS of shredded cardboard in the bottom. If you can get AGED horse manure, it would make great bedding also. You need stable materials at first to get your bin established.

To divide maybe old oven racks? Maybe use another over rack to seperate the drain end. Put cardboard there to sop up the wet. Then when cardboard is nice and precharged with microbes use it to cover the worms. Put new dry bedding in the drain end. Keep the plug in to use this method.

hey all
I just posted what I did....last Friday. worms seem okay....the setup was just hours old...but they seem okay
I was just so ansy pansy to get going
The drain is in the middle... Please yall read my post....
equinoxequinox
Dont know if they will fit? racks are opened wired... I have several of those but prob not here plus they arent solid or do you mean pans?
thanks all
Jean

oh it was a handful of scraps or peelings

The open wire racks are what he meant. Not something like cookie sheets.

Once the vermi compost is really going it will cling together well. At first you may want to put a sheet of cardboard or newspapers over the wire rack to keep the little bits in.

Using these to divide a bin will allow you to start to build up the other side with materials and let the worms naturally migrate over to the new side.