It seems that most on this board are beginners just like you and me. Do yourself a favor and read all the posts that you can. Certainly read my threads since I just asked basically what you did a week or so ago. Unfortunately, my bin seems to be having difficulties. Read read read.

The worms are settling in. Don't feed them any more until they've eaten what you've already given them (they won't starve- they can eat the bedding) and DO NOT MIX the FOOD WITH THE BEDDING. (at least as a beginner, until you get used to the biology and tolerances of your system. )

Don't allow the system to get too dry or too wet either. "as damp as a wrung out sponge" is the general advice. Any pooling at the bottom of your bin is a sign you might be too wet. Not a huge problem at this stage but it might be later if you add more food with water in it (like veg scraps). A layer of dry shredded cardboard and newspaper(about an inch) on top of your food can help keep moisture and air-flow balanced.

AIR is the key to the whole vermicomposting system. The worms need air to breath, and the food needs air to break down so that the worms can 'eat' it. (They feed mainly on the bugs that break down the food).
If you put in too much food- especially if it's mixed in through the bedding, it uses up the worms' air as it rots, making things uncomfortable or even lethal for them. Then the food (and bedding) decompose anaerobically leading to a big stink.

Leaving a worm bin in the sun will just cook your worms!

Please keep in mind that worms eat the rotting part of the food, so it will take a few days for the food to break down where they can eat it.

Don't feed any more till you see them in the food that's already there.

Absolutely don't leave your bin outdoors in the sun. You'll cook them. They can be summered outdoors as long as they are in the shade all day. Most outdoor bins don't have a bottom so the worms can go into the ground when the bin conditions don't suit them.

Your bin should have more browns than green. They eat the bedding too, so they won't starve.

Thank you so much for your advice.

I will continue to read other posts and ask questions as I continue on this journey of vermicomposting!

Best,
Just

oh no i may have messed up too!I have an indoor bin in my basement.which we use as a den- anyway I put in shredded newspaper, cardboard and salad that had wilted before I got to it (it was a big bin) anyway... not to mix it together? I put it all together for a week before I got the worms! yikes- just started and already messing up!

There is nothing wrong with mixing food with the bedding.

I think the concern is that if you mix carbon-rich (bedding) and nitrogen-rich (food) materials in a standard compost bin, it will heat up. With the small amounts of food that are usually fed to a worm bin, this should not be a problem. Some foods, such as grains, will heat up anyway. When in doubt, feed only in a small area of the bin and wait for a couple of days to see what happens. If the food heats up, the worms will be able to move away from it.

You should not have any problem with wilted salad mixed into your bedding, as long as there was no cheese, meat, oil or vinegar. If it had been rice or bread crumbs, your worms would already be dead.

I got my original 3 pounds of worms(for 5 people) from a rabbit farmer 25 years ago and their off spring are still going strong.
I put the food scraps and lime in layers in the bin with an occasional handful of ground lime stone or sand, alternated with a layer of paper bedding(wet newspaper or brown cardboard).
I do think it is important to feed them.The amount of food put in the bin should be related to the number of worms in the in. A handful of scraps isn't enough food for a pound of worms.
They need to eat every day and a pound if worms will eat 1/2 pound of food in a day or two when they are active. If I'm short on scraps I give them a little cornmeal or chicken feed meal sprinkled on some moist newspaper.
If they're staying in the bedding and alive you're probably doing fine.

Ah, relax, they are worms and would be quite happy living in a pile of manure, on the forest floor under leaves, in your flower pots. A new batch of worms in a brand new worm bin will not be eating anywhere near half their weight a day. it will take some time for the bacteria colony to build up so the worms can eat them. So only feeding a small amount and not feeding again till the previous food is mostly gone is proper for a new bin. As the bin matures a bit, you will likely feed much more but it is always a good idea to leave a "safe" area of the bin where you don't feed so if the "food" does heat up, the worms have a moist cool area to escape to while they wait for the food to cool down again.

Overfeeding might not hurt the worms but it could make the bin so nasty and smelly that you decide to give up on the idea, so take it slow. The worms won't starve since they will eat the bedding if they have to.

And having a little food sitting in the bin working on the process of rotting before the worms arrive is ok, it means the bacteria have a chance to get going before the worms are in place, still ok.

Worms are pretty darn easy. Just enough moisture like a wrung out sponge and add food when the previous feed is disappearing. Add bedding on occasion and once there is some nice dirt looking stuff, harvest some of it and add more bedding. Have fun!

Re mixing food with bedding-
I should probably have qualified that by saying not too much food, and not after adding worms unless you're sure what you're doing. If you pre-age food, and then before adding worms, you give the system a bit of a mix, you re- introduce oxygen.
My main worry with mixing food with bedding is that you don't see whether or not the previous food is gone, and that food which is not have access to air at the top of your bin, has to draw the air needed to decompose it from the bedding surrounding it or rot anaerobically.
Pre-decomposing food is one of the best things you can do for a worm bin. First the worms like the bugs and because hopefully you'll have bypassed the early very oxygen-hungry stage of decomposition by the time you give it to the worms. Also you can add more cardboard or paper if the decomposing food is smelly or too wet.

Amen to tclynx.

Just use the directions on Vcompost.com and you will have plenty of sucess.

Here is a link that might be useful: Vcompost.com