I would place the potting soil in only part of the bin so the worms can choose to live in it or avoid in favor of the other bedding material. You would likly get equal results by adding castings to the potting soil.
If it's any consolation,everyone is impatient with their first bin but it never seems to make the worms work faster.

I admire your aspirations, and hope you do well right away.

I'm also always in awe of newbies who plan to start from scratch at a graduate school level. This ain't rocket science, but it's all new and a lot easier if started at a little less multi-layered complexity.

It seems to be kinda a genetic trait of people who are attracted to worming to want to jump into it at maximum velocity expecting maximum results.....and really, it all depends on what the worms are comfortable with....regardless of the system.

I tell everyone who I help get started in this glorious endeavor to be patient...because we're dancing with Mother Nature and it's not nice to step on her toes.

In the fall, I dump spent pots in a pile and then mix vermicompost in with it in the spring and reuse. The root wads break down during the winter
Unless you have a large bin, you should leave it out as it would not offer much nutrition to the worms.

Good luck, Pete

thanks to all
I'll leave the potting soil out of the worm beds ... actually it might make it easier to judge how much the worm's progress.
Making the bins was easy and fun. I'm hoping the stacked bins will make it easier and less messy to collect the worm poo

Hi good luck with your new worm bins. As I make up new bedding I use some old potting mix as part of the make up.The recipe I am using now is chopped up cardboard, cut up toilet paper and paper towel rolls and shredded egg cartons. I will wet that and mix it in a 5 gal bucket to a point that it is actually too wet. Then I add some of my old potting soil mix to adjust the moisture content. Not really a lot maybe around 4 cups or so for 2 gal of bedding mix. Since I have it available I add a scoop of coffee grounds and a scoop of aged horse manure mix that up well. Thats what I use when I start a new tray and the worms seem to love it. I still add kitchen scraps but have slowed down on that some just to keep the flys and stuff down.

The worms got lost in the mail for a day but arrive safe and sound- or should I say wormy and squirmy.
I ended up tossing a few handfuls of soil from my raised beds... heavy on leaf compost over a clay soil... as I wasn't sure about the perlite/vermiculite/dolomitic lime I add to my potting soil.
I put them in the bedding I had prepared for them without any food in the morning to let them acclimate, and when checked on them that evening they were all trying to escape up the sides, on the lid and through the bottom vent holes.
Figuring I had nothing to lose, I went ahead and gave them some coffee grounds and wilted lettuce leaves. I'm happy to say that the worms are no longer climbing the walls and are actively wriggling through their first meal in their new home.
Note to other newbies like me... your worms will be looking for their next meal as soon as you let them out of the bag.

edited to remove double post

This post was edited by solst1ce on Thu, Aug 15, 13 at 10:10

The worms got lost in the mail for a day but arrive safe and sound- or should I say wormy and squirmy.
I ended up tossing a few handfuls of soil from my raised beds... heavy on leaf compost over a clay soil... as I wasn't sure about the perlite/vermiculite/dolomitic lime I add to my potting soil.
I put them in the bedding I had prepared for them without any food in the morning to let them acclimate, and when checked on them that evening they were all trying to escape up the sides, on the lid and through the bottom vent holes.
Figuring I had nothing to lose, I went ahead and gave them some coffee grounds and wilted lettuce leaves. I'm happy to say that the worms are no longer climbing the walls and are actively wriggling through their first meal in their new home.
Note to other newbies like me... your worms will be looking for their next meal as soon as you let them out of the bag.

We usually suggest putting together a new worm bin with food in it a few days before the worms arrive. That way the worms already have food available to them. I also suggest adding something to get the microherd going, such as finished compost or horse manure.

You did well diagnosing and fixing your problem.