Worms are best left alone, so there's no real need to mix it. If you keep things as they are, worms will go to the places where there's food and keep away from any areas they don't like. Mixing might put fresh feedings down into areas where there is little oxygen and it can turn anerobic. So unless there's a specific reason for it (like an emergency adding of more bedding) best to leave them as they are and just add from the top.

No soggy bottom in the bin is a good thing, don't really want water draining out or even worse standing water. Condensation is normal. Basically as long as it's damp (the wet sponge example) you're fine. Worms are actually shipped in pretty dry peatmoss so it's not like they'll drop dead at any hint of dryness. Sounds like you're doing fine on the moisture.

Thank you for the reply. I'll leave them alone then. I have a bad habit of wanting to "look" and see what they are up to lol.

Nothing wrong with looking here or there in your bin, just don't stir it up to much. Just peek carefully. :)

Moni

I only recommend stirring the bin once every two weeks.
Worms like to be left alone to do their business.

You should not have leachate runoff, that is a sign of overfeeding and/or overwatering.

I always have a few worms crawling around the tops of my bins, totally normal.
I attached one of my videos about this topic.

Here is a link that might be useful: worms escaping video

I recommend stirring the bin about once every 2 or 3 months. This will bring undecomposed bedding from the bottom of the bin up to where it will break down faster. The worms will forgive you soon enough. Turning more often isn't necessary.

Thank you everyone for your help

A couple more questions. I noticed the compost is cool, not warm. Shouldn't it be warm? And when do I know it's time to start another?
Thanks, Celia

Every couple of months I have a party with my worms. Sometimes I move them and all their belongings to a new house. At that time, in the world as they know it, the top becomes the bottom and the bottom becomes the top. Sometimes I will fork them back into their original home. It is informative to see were they are all hanging out and the state of decomposition various materials are in. Sometimes I will put forkfulls of material into a basket with holes in it and shake out the vermicompost. The not finished compost goes back in the bin. This is a good time to add new material so as to cover it over with once through the bin material.

lilcee, I am no expert at all. I raised them 6 years ago, and started up again recently. But nobody has answered your question about cool and warm, so I'll tell you what I think. Keep in mind I could be wrong!

If compost heats up a lot, worms can't go into it. But if it slowly rots, then they can and do. When mine felt too hot, I worried, and dug to look and the worms were far away from the warm/hot spot. So I deduced that a slow rot is better for worms than a hot compost.

By slowly, I don't mean weeks and months. I mean a few days. and sometimes even one day. When I bury stuff, I also leave a drib or drab on top. (I freeze all fruit and veggies that carry fruit flies. So they're already broken down before I put them in.) When I lift the lid to look, there are worms at it within a day. So I'm thinking the rot doesn't take long to set in.

On the other hand, if you crave heat to know composting is going on, put a concentrated bunch of (whatever) in a corner or edge, and let it heat up. Nobody's going to go into it until it cools down. Just don't put a whole bunch in and expect the worms to be happy. I prefer to waste a day or two, and keep the kids safe. So my bin is never really warm, unless the temperature outside it is.

I hope this helps, and if not, I hope somebody corrects my false assertions! :D

Yes, that helped a lot. They seem to be surviving ok lol.