I store mine in a rubbermaid bin (my old worm bin) that already has vents in it. I've stored it for months this way and it stays moist. You can check it every month or so and add a little water if you want.

I also don't get every single worm or cocoon either when I harvest, so some get into the storage bin. Being vented, I find the eggs still hatch and the baby worms along with the ones I missed keep processing the compost. You can tell as it goes flat as a table over time as they work it over. As my working bin as tons of worms, I just let these be in the storage bin as opposed to spending time to get every single worm/egg. That's just my method.

It's nice to build a VC supply up as once you start using it on a spring garden, you'll find you never have enough.

Okay, so I dumped my VC out of the bucket into an empty bin and saw on the inside of the emptied bucket that there were already probably half a dozen newly hatched worms climbing around in there. They are so tiny! So I realize now that my thoughts of "picking them out" and moving them to the working bin is a little rediculous... at least until they have a chance to get a little bigger and I can actually see them and pick them up without hurting them. Which makes me want to know even more if you think I should be creating a little sanctuary within the finished VC bin with some food and fresh bedding. Anyone have experience with incubating worm eggs that could offer some advice? How long does it take them to grow big enough to see and handle, but before they reach breeding age? I'd like to try to move them to a new bin before they breed back into the finished VC. I know, I know, at some point I'm just going to have to use the finished VC with some babies and eggs mixed in, and that is okay, but for now I'm trying to collect as many of these new little composters as possible so I can put them to work! Thanks again for any help you can offer.

You don't need bedding or food for them to hatch (just being moist), at least I didn't. They will also grow while finishing off your VC. For just trying to keep down the number of worms dumped into the garden I just do a quick light seperation of the stored VC before I use it. Any worms left I dump back into the real bin.

For getting max number of worms, yeah you can add some bedding and food. I'd keep it very light as otherwise you're starting a second bin really. Might be easier to check every week or so in the feeding for big worms and move those over as opposed to trying and time the hatching and cocoon making cycles. As the bigger ones are the ones getting old enough to make cocoons, moving them out regularly will keep the cocoon numbers down.

A worm's size does not always indicate its age, nor is the quantity of cocoons an indicator of happiness.

You will not likely get every last worm out of your finished compost, but I would try this in order to get better VC with more worms to put back in your main bin...

First, make a secondary bin for your 'finished compost' as you've done, but don't give it any food or bedding whatsoever. This will allow the cocoons to hatch, and the new worms will not likely grow large because there is not enough food to do so. They will mature early instead of growing. After several weeks, you can put some melon rind or some other favorite food on the surface. Let it remain there for a week or so and then scoop out the area around that single piece of food, putting it where you want these worms to be.

The small worms will still be able to grow to full size when they get to a bin with space and food (takes 2 weeks), but keeping them in the food-depleted bin will help to get every last morsel of food broken down.

Thanks for all the info. I think I'll try waiting a few weeks then adding a melon rind as suggested. Already as I turn the VC in the bin over I notice that many of the eggs are darkening or look like they've hatched already, so hopefully in a few weeks when I add a rind they'll start to show up to eat it and I can move them back into the main bin. I appreciate the help!