This is just a wild guess at the size of my rubbermaids, maybe 15" wide x 24" long x 12" high. I might be a little off, but that gives you an idea.

I like the depth of the rubbermaids I use, and I don't think shallower would be a good idea because you would have spillage when adding scraps or just checking out what's going on in the bin. Shallower might dry out too quickly too, and it would be difficult to add in larger things like the rinds from a cantaloupe. I always bury my scraps completely.

I usually start off with 1,000 worms because that's the smallest amount I've seen a vendor sell, but you can go with less as they will multiply! You just feed less scraps because there are fewer worms. As you see more worms, you can add more and more kitchen scraps.

I don't know about the worm tea. Never made it.

Have fun, and good luck.

Hi J,

I'd echo the sentiments expressed in the previous post. Everything I've read says take something deeper rather than shallow. I'm not sure if this is helpful in a US context but I've got a 68 liter bin, which fits into cupboard under my kitchen sink.
I bought about 1/2 lb of worms for C$23 dollars (I didn't count'em) and of course they've procreated to suit the food supply and bin size.

There's lots written on worm tea in this forum so you may want to do a search and read the extensive previous posts.

But one thing I've noticed is that some people claim that the liquid that drips from the bin, without doing anything to it, is good for your house plants and other people, Bill aka Squeeze on this forum, who seems very scientifically knowledge, didn't think it was a good idea and so I've stopped pouring this 'leachate' on my house plants. I don't have the time to make the tea.

the 17 gallon rubbermaid tub is about the best size - smaller creates problems, and shallow isn't good either - start with whatever amount of worms you can get cheap, they breed :)

Bill

I've heard it said that 1 lb of worms is aprox 1000 worms. When I first built my bin I got 2 lbs of worms but I didn't try to count them, they were mostly hidden in the bedding in the box they came in. Our bin is currently about 2 ft by 2 ft and the bedding probably 12 to 16 inches deep. The bin is actually 2 ft by 4 ft but we have it divided right now so the worms will stay close enough together to mate more. I know it is rather deep but it is an outdoor bin and this helps keep it from drying out.
Anyway, the two pounds of worms seem to have spread out in the bin and when we check on them there seem to be lots of em. They and the other critters that have turned up in the bin make short work of most food scraps we are putting in now.

The worms are surface feeders. Surface area is more important than depth. I use the 10 gallon rubbermaid roughnecks (Lowes) which are not more than 12"deep. You can use a bigger deeper bin, but once it starts to fill with compost, it will be very heavy and hard to move.