some things to consider as i'm sure know or many will point out. humidity and temperature dramatically affect how much a bin will accommodate.

i use two totes, one as a catchment, one with the bottom drilled out at w/e 2 inch intervals to allow drainage. the bins get rotated from top to bottom over the winter.

i've seen a lot of refuse move through a 2 bin tote system. for the price of 4 or 6 or 8 totes i feel it's well worth the effort. the finished totes either get screened or used as seed totes for the big bin.

get the totes. for the price of rubbermaids you will find you will be using them to age/cure your castings or mix bedding or store/precompost food-stuffs.

just be sure to rotate your bins and try to leave them alone at the same time.

just some random thoughts - bokashi bran in the bottom bin if it gets a bit 'unhealthy'/anaerobic helps

Larry, here are the main variables that affect food waste consumption:

* worm mass: more worms eat more food
* basic worm needs: warmth, moisture, dark, enough food
* population density: ideally 1-2 lbs. of worms per ft2

Although you may have up to 5 WF trays, ideally 80% of your worms will be in the top feeding tray. That means it maxes out at about 5 lbs. of worms in all trays with 4 lbs. working on new food. If you pre-compost the food scraps, you can probably feed the top tray of a well-established system 10-12 lbs. per week depending on conditions.

A standard 18 gal. tote has more surface area than a WF tray. Worm population density probably maxes out at 4 lbs. before you should split the bin. Start two RM bins with a pound of worms each and they could eventually process more waste than a 5 tray WF.

JMO, but I'd spend more money on worms and less on plastic. How many pounds of food waste do you want to process? What is your budget? Indoor or outdoor?

Example #1: 2 lbs. E. fetida $50 + 2 lbs. E. hortensis $50 + 2 RM totes $10 = $110

Example #2: 4 tray Worm Factory $90 + 1 lbs. E. fetida $30 = $120

Andrew

I agree the two previous contributors that plastic totes are a far better bet, as you get more cu ft per buck and it is so easy to add extra layers to manage the set-up optimally. It's hardly a DIY project as such - the bins are so easy to set up. The only tool you'll need is a drill with a quarter inch bit.

Here is a link that might be useful: DIY Worm Farm

Thank you all for the great feedback. With the Worm Factory, moisture has always been the limiting factor. When I try to feed more than 1 or 2 pounds each week, no matter how much cardboard I add, it gets too wet and the population of mites and other critters takes off.

I've considered drilling extra holes in the sides of the WF to provide more circulation.

For now, I'll set up some Rubbermaid totes. I was planning to use this "deluxe" 2-bin design (http://www.redwormcomposting.com/getting-started/). I hadn't seen the 3-bin design (http://www.working-worms.com/) before.

I doubt very much the workingworm design will work as advertised. Vermicompost needs to be harvested manually. If anything accumulates over time in that middle bin, it will be very silty, mucky, almost pure worm castings. Most of us don't need 100% castings; vermicompost with 10-20% worm poo arguably works better than pure castings.

My earlier suggestion was to use two separate totes with no drain holes. This doubles the surface area of the stacking system, which still only has a single feeding bin. Add a third separate bin and you triple the surface area, along with possibly tripling worm mass and food consumption.

I haven't put this into practice yet, but I'm becoming more convinced that frequent (every 4-6 weeks) harvesting of VC is better for the worms and for VC production. Simply set aside the top half of a given wormery (where most of the worms will be) and run the remaining half through a 1/4" screen. Add new pre-dampened bedding before returning the larger chunks and the top half back into the bin.

If such harvesting is done frequently, I think you can avoid the excess moisture and compaction problems that often come with these bins. The harvested VC will undoubtedly have many cocoons, so most folks will probably want to let it sit for a while to give the babies time to hatch out.

Andrew

I vote for totes. There is a learning curve with worms- it is the difference between what you read and what works in your location with your worms. All worm systems are different mini-ecosystems, so what works in Michigan will maybe not work in Miami. JMHO
Agreeing with Andrew about money wasted on 'fancy' systems and I do a lateral harvest every week when I feed the worms. I do not screen the VC, but put it in a 55 gallon FT so the babies can hatch. Whatever comes out the bottom of the FT is done. I could easily expand this 'system', but I don't want to haul garbage/manure to feed the hoard. I just gave away 1# of worms yesterday but they should be replaced by the end of the month in the 'Box O'Rot'.