You've got worms! Welcome to the wonderful world of Vermicomposting. I think it is great you are so excited. I have been worming for just about a year, so I am fairly new at this too. But, I am just as excited now about them as I was when I first started. I check on my worms once every 1-2 days. I have a three-tier bin that is running great.

On to your questions. I am no where near being a pro at this. There are others on the boards who have been worming for years and can offer much better advice than me. But, here goes:

How much and how often do I feed? I feed when I fluff up the bed and see they have eaten most all of what I gave them. This varies in time. The wet/mushy food (i.e. soupy pinapple) go fast. Within a couple of days. Others take longer. I have carot shavings in my bin that I put in well over 2 weeks ago. They have eaten everything but! So, feed them once it appears that they have gotten throught most all of what you fed them before. You do not want to over-feed. Your bin may start to smell and attract other types of bugs. Typically, I feed my worms a hand-full of veggie/fruit scraps 1 - 2 times per week. Some people like to keep the scraps in a bucket under their sink until the scraps get soupy. I do not. I just toss it in the bin once I produce.

You should be able to see that they are multiplying. I've read that worm will multiply until their environment can not handle any more and then stop. As long as it appears as if your worms are not going away, you should be fine. It will take time for them to multiply. It also may take them some time to get used to their new home.

As you have read, be careful of what you add. Though eggshells are good to add, they do not digest. Eggshells are used to controll pH and the worms use for "grit." I wouldn't over-do the eggshells. I do not feed mine meat and dairy (some people do), but those bins tend to stink. Overly acidic items tend to mess with pH (i.e. citrus). I also do not add avocados and banan stems (they love the banana peals though).

You will get into your grove and be fine. From the sound of it, you may need to start up a few more!

I hope you can get at least some useful information out of that.

Good luck and welcome again!

I chuckled when i read your post i also just started a week ago,so i have no helpful advice. i just wanted to say it's great to know their are others out there like me. I don't think anyone near me, but thank to the internet i am not alone. :)

feed as much as you generate as you generate it, the worms will use it as fast as they can, and breed freely to add more crew, if the bin isn't big enough make a bigger one or set up a 2nd, just make sure you're not making the bedding too wet because food waste generally is about 85% water

ANY food waste including citrus is fine providing you mix it around in the bedding so you don't have a large enough mass of mixed carbon:nitrogen to start active bacterial hot decomposition - avocado skins and seeds will not decompose for years, and the eggshells are better spread in the garden [or fed back to chickens], as they're just a mild long lasting calcium, not useful once the bin is working

OTOH, what the worms eat is actually the decomposer microbes, so the 'already rotting' stuff is helpful, because worms won't work on anything until it's started to decompose and is bacterially active

Bill

When I first started I "fed" my worms every other day and the breakdown was really good (but it could be partly attributed to the climate in Hawaii). I had a good population explosion and graduated to one of those big rubbermaid square tubs with cover. Punched full of holes and a couple of PVC with holes running thru the tub for aeration.

I now feed once a week but "they" can tolerate twice a month as long as the habitat stays damp.

Good luck - and never mind feeding them everyday just so you can dig around and stare at them! =)

Nelly

Thanks so much for all the helpful suggestions! The moisture content appears to be constant so far...damp, but not soggy. I'll keep adding more food as I generate it and monitoring the moisture levels and the temperature and smell. I really appreciate the suggestion of mixing it into the bedding well - I had been burying it in big lumps, using a system I'd found online where you divide the bin into 6 sections and fill one at a time, around in a circle. I don't think I mentioned that I'm using 18 gallon rubbermaid tubs, with holes drilled in the bottom, and a double row drilled below the top.

I'm going to add some wet, wrung-out dried leaves to the second bin, the one with store-bought worms in it. It currently has only shredded newspaper in it, which seems to collapse more and than the one with a mixture of newspaper and leaves. The bins smell fine so far, and their temperature varies between cool and maybe lukewarm, depending on the time of day. They're outside on a covered porch, but out of direct sunlight.

The ones I got from a freecycler are still hanging around in their original bedding. Very few have migrated over to the food. But they're still wiggly when I pick them up to check on them.

The store-bought worms are mixed in throughout the food I've put in there, and seem to be hanging around the coffee filter filled with grounds. I'm wondering if there are still remnants of oatmeal on there (they seemed to love that) or if they're just caffeine junkies. haha

I can't wait until I see my first cocoons!!

I didn't see where anyone gave you a number. I have been at it for about 5 months now and have several bins. I too have used the scale here is what I came up with.

I think adding a half your worms weight of food is B.S.
Even my best bins with good conditions do at the most 1/2 that. So far I think a realistic number would be 1/4 lb of food for each pound of worms per day average. I know people may reply to this saying that they are eating bedding as well, and thats true. But everything I have read leads you on to thinking that you can dump half thier weight in kitchen scaps daily. And I think this isen't correct data.

Can anyone that knows thier actual worms weight say that they are eating half thier weight of kitchen scraps a day??

a few of things about the 1/2# per # figure:
it applies to mature worms in soil [no "edible bedding"]
the feedstock must be microbially active, which takes hours for some things, days for other things, weeks for a few
worms "reprocess" their castings almost indefinitely

just because you add a precisely measured amount, and see some of it [you think] there the next day, or even a couple days later, doesn't mean the stated volume hasn't been consumed
it's a good base figure for an established large active bin

Bill

I have had red wigglers in a bin in the basement for a LONG time (maybe fifteen or sixteen years?). For me, they have been a great way to compost my kitchen waste because my yard was too small for a regular compost bin, and besides I live in New England where it is too dark and icy for much of the year to really have a flourishing compost bin--at least not a small one.
Anyway, that was long before I had access to the internet and wonderful resources like this forum, and even before Mary Appelhof's book (which later became my bible!)
All I knew was that these red wigglers could consume my peelings, eggshells, corncobs, and leftovers, and that I should tear some newspapers into strips and throw the strips in too. And it worked!
Over the years I have set quite a few people up with their own Rubbermaid tubs and a starter set of worms, and once when I did lose my worms (I moved during the winter and they ended up freezing) I was able to start up again with a cottage cheese container full of worm-filled compost from an old friend whose worms were the progeny of my original ones!
So I am an old-timer at this, and despite that fact, I have only recently joined this forum and am absolutely amazed at how much I have learned. I love it!
And I just love the fact that so many people are getting worms. I think they are terrific, and I don't understand why everybody doesn't have them! (Well, maybe the fruit flies might explain a lot.)
To those of you new to vermiculture, I say welcome! Thank you for your enthusiasm, and for contributing to making our world a better one.
And please don't worry too much about what to give your worms or not to give them. They are sturdy and forgiving little creatures, and even if you have a set-back, you (and they) can recover. And I know from personal experience that not everything people warn you about is that much of an issue. My worms have always had to contend with the fact that I view them as responsible for taking care of ALL my kitchen waste and turning it into lovely castings. I had no idea that oatmeal was verboten! And neither did they, apparently.
And I think vermicomposterchild is very wise to have two bins, because that way of one of them has a melt-down, she will still have plenty to reintroduce to the process. Probably that won't happen, but it's comforting to know. (To me, anyway!)
Worms are great, and so is this forum. When I have a problem or a question, I know just where to come. Keep up the good work, everybody!
Betts

I understand your excitement COMPLETELY! I ordered my first bin yesterday, it will be delivered next week and I CAN'T WAIT!!! I'm so excited to get started. I have bedding ready and am collecting scraps. I have the scraps in the fridge which I will remove tonight because my understanding is that they must start to rot. So I'll have food ready when my worms get here. This forum is just amazing. I'm so grateful for all the tips and info I've gotten so far and hopefully in a few months I will be able to contribute more. Thanks everyone:)

As a Newbie myself, I can tell you that the two hardest things about starting this project is *not* overfeeding and fussing with the worms. The whole concept is so fascinating to me that it's hard not to check on them several times a day. They need darkness and time to get used to their new home.

I've only fed them three times, a week apart. but even that might be too much as they are getting established. (The Worm Factory tray looks awfully full.) I also saved, froze, then pureed the first two times to try to speed up the decomposition process. This week I only froze and hand-chopped the food.

I'm being careful about adding paper each time I feed and when things have started to smell or when I first started seeing flies. But with these trays is it possible to add too much bedding?

Relatively newbie also here.

But I think the overfeeding/watering rules are more to comfort the humans caretakers.

My observations so far is that, to a point, the worms dont really mind; in fact they seem to reproduce faster (though I will concede this may be circumstancial).

But you end up with a messier bin with more flying guests and foul odors (temporary, assuming you let the worms catchup).