We all poke around too much. I have had my worms for about 1 1/2 years, and I still poke around several times a day. (Yes, I know. I need to get a life.)

When you first start a new bin, you have few worms in a large space. It will look like there aren't many worms. That is just because they spread out in the bin, and a lot of them like to crawl around in the wet areas at the bottom of the bin below the area where you are doing the poking. In a few months you will poke around and find worms everywhere.

We all see worms die. I have had a couple of near misses, but have not lost my worms completely. The first time I figured out what I did wrong, did my best to fix it, and let the worms take it from there. It took some time, but the worms did their thing, and came back in force. I am dealing with a problem now that I cannot diagnose, though I have an educated guess, and the worms are still hanging in.

Several years ago I tried to start a bin, and lost all of my worms. It was a matter of trying to do too much too quickly. I started out with a home made flowthrough bin that was 6 square feet of surface, and 5 lbs of worms. If I had started with one pound of worms in a RubberMaid tote, they would still be around and going gang busters by now.

What you are doing now sounds good. I would put the lid on, and try my hardest to leave the guys alone for a week or so. If you are like me, that week will last about 2 hours. Worms really do like to be left alone.

Change happens in a bin slowly, but it does happen. You want to see your new bin really take off. It will, but it could take two or three months to get there. Be patient, and let your worms do what worms do.

If you have specific questions, ask. We don't always have answers, but we almost always have opinions that we think are answers, and we like to share them.

Ok, I put the lid on and I had to just take a little peak and I found a big mass of worms. 20-30 at least. I couldn't tell what they were going after but there was a lot of dark brown/black stuff around them. I don't know if they found a chunk of old horse manure, coffee grounds or if they're actually eating and pooping already. There is a strong, earthy smell coming from the box though so I'm guessing that's a good sign.

If you have horse manure in your bin, that is probably what the worms are attracted to. They love that stuff. If you have horse manure and coffee grounds in your bin, but what you are smelling smells earthy, then you are doing something right.

I figure that if I add horse manure, coffee grounds or onions to my bins, I can expect the bins to smell like them for a day or two.

Follow Equinox's advice on the other thread and let your nose be your guide. Just take off the lid and give it a quick sniff. If it doesn't knock you on your butt, things are going well.

That will give you some piece of mind and help you keep from rooting around and disturbing the worms too much. I know how hard that is. I have 2 bins that I can not disturb at all (see my girt experiment thread.)

The lid does not keep the worms in. The lid keeps in moisture. The worms like the moisture and to hang out in it. Worms you find in the condensation above the vermicompost (that is what you have now) soon to be vermicastings, are not trying to escape unless there are a bunch. Worms can escape out of any cracks between the container and the lid if they want. I have no covers on my worm containers. No worms leave.

You started your worms off tons better than I ever did or have. The 5 days and then adding cardboard was probably just the right thing to get them off on the right foot. Add more cardboard as you add more food to absorbe the mositure given off by the decomposing food.

Whenever I disturb the worms, which I do all the time, I keep the light on that night and maybe the next, and peek at them just in case.