You have some quick work to do before your worms arrive. Not unlike setting up an aquarium, you should set up their environment a week before you introduce the creatures to it. If you are planning to use shredded newspaper, go ahead and shred, soak/drain the newspaper and add it to the bin. (The worms will probably arrive in peat). Put about 3" of paper on the bottom and add about a cup of food scraps. Cover with a 3" layer of damp paper. When your worms arrive, pull back the top 3" layer and add the worms (and bedding they are in). Replace the top 3" layer. Leave the bin in a place with some light on to keep the worms inside the bin until they are settled, (maybe 3 days). Have fun!

Teenee,

I use the 1 qt. trigger type misters most of the time for the bins and sometimes a 2 gal sprayer(I also collect rain water to spray the worms with - our water "Bryan/College Station" is SO salty & the rain water is as pure as I can find). The food (vegie scraps) will have moisture in them too so you probably won't need to add too much moisture.

One thing I'd like to mention - I "have" had worms "stick" to the sides of the bags they were shipped in. Afraid to just pull 'em off for fear of damage- I soaked the bag (misted it heavily ) and let it sit in the dark for an hour or so - the worms worked themselves loose and seemed no worse for wear.

just a thought

bruce

Peat moss is absolutely NOT necessary to help your worms "settle in", nor is it typically advantageous! Keeping initial system set-up simple will be much more likely to help both you and your worms quickly adjust to and appreciate the bin.

From your comments I assume you will be using the "pocket feeding" system management method, so yes, bed your bin now with the bedding material OF YOUR CHOICE. Peat, while frequently used by worm growers, is not a bedding material I would recommend because of it's cost, because it is a poor material for growing the microbiology on which the worms rely, because it is expensive and because it is a resource rather than a waste material. A worm bin functions beautifully on organic waste products that do not need to be purchased and that have little if any value in any other application. The shredded paper you indicate you intend to use is the standard for home vermicomposting and is an excellent choice. If possible, consider mixing it with some old brown leaves or chopped straw to aid in maintaining open space in the bedding, but if other such materials are not available shredded paper alone is just fine. It's also highly advantageous to add some compost from a backyard compost pile to your bedding, if you have it available. Compost has characteristics similar to the environment of a mature worm bin like the one in which the worms were grown, thus, its inclusion in the system makes your bin feel more like home from the worm perspective. For best effect 1/3 of the total bedding can be comprised of compost, but as little as a few handfuls can have a nicely positive impact.

Moisten the bedding before adding it to the bin, working to achieve a moisture level that is a bit wetter than that of a wrung out sponge. When you squeeze the bedding you want about a teaspoon or so of water to ooze from between your fingers, but not much more than that. To wet the paper many people simply dip handfulls of paper shreds in a bucket of water, then mix the wet paper with dry shreds to achieve the desired moisture level. Be aware, too, that when you moisten newspaper it mats down considerably, thus, it will take a LOT of shredded newspaper to fill that bin! Remember to fill the bin to the top with DAMPENED bedding for best results when using the pocket feeding management method.

Even though there are no worms in the system at this point, consider getting some feedstock in the bedding. Adding feedstock before the worms arrive amps the microbiology in the bin, meaning that the food will be more immediately available to them and the system environment more desirable from day one.

It is not at all unusual that an active worm bin rarely need to have water added because there is a great deal of moisture in the kitchen scraps used as feedstock. In many cases the water in the food is more than enough to keep the moisture level ideal. Should you find the bin becoming a bit dry then water should be added by either misting the bin surface and mixing it with contents below, or by laying a piece of wet fabic or newspaper sheets over the surface and allowing the water to be gradually moved into the bedding by gravity and increased humidity. DO NOT POUR WATER THROUGH AN ACTIVE WORM BIN! Saturating the system often, if not usually, leads to decreased oxygen levels and anaerobic conditions.

When your worms arrive, Tina, dig a hole in the bedding and dump them, shipping material and all, into the hole. They will likely remain in the material for a few days as they adjust, with only a few venturing out into the bin and toward the food you added. Keep peeking in at the feedstock pocket you added to see if the worms are becoming active in it. Once you find worms moving actively through that pocket of feedstock, add another, burying it an a hole in the bedding next to the forst pocket of feedstock. The worms do not need to have fully processed the first pocket of feedstock, and not all of the worms need to be in it before adding another. Worms simply need to be active in it. Adding more feedstock at this point ensures new feedstock additions can become biologically active while the worms finish off the previous food. Each time worms become active in the previous pocket of feedstock, add another. Feeding in this way ensures you are not overfeeding the system while keeping enough energy flowing into the system to optimize worm activity.

Vermicomposting is a surprisingly simple activity, Tina. Worms have survived on this planet far longer than we, and are not so dependant on us as we are sometimes led to believe. Don't be afraid to peek in on your worms regularly, as these types of worms tolerate disruption very well. Don't be surprised if you find several climbing the bin walls or even crawling out of the bin and drying up on the floor. This is normal in new bins, and does not mean the entire population is "trying to escape". Rather, it is normal behavior for worms that find themselves in an unfamiliar bin, even if it has been well set up. There are between 1200 and 2000 worms in that pound being sent to you, and the loss of a couple of dozen will have no measurable impact on your system. Most of all, keep your perspective. While we all love our worms, this is not a plastic box full of pets, these are workers you are employing to process the waste from your kitchen and produce castings. Be kind to the workers, but don't lose sight of who works for whom; you will more enjoy the system, and so will your worms!

Kelly S

Kelly,

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. Very helpful. Do you mind some questions?

You mentioned adding feedstock before the worms arrive - is feedstock synonomous for kitchen scraps?

When they first arrive, after burying them in the bedding, shall I take the lid off the tub and keep a light on over the bin to persuade them to stay in the bin for a few days? After that, is it ok to keep the lid on? My hubby drilled a bunch of 1/4" holes on the bottom for drainage and air - is that adequate?

Any thoughts on keeping fireants away from the bin?

What is the best way to aerate the bin without hurting the worms? How often do you mix the contents up?

Do you have to add new bedding from time to time like when the original amount decreases substantially?

Thanks again!

Tina

Hi Teenee,

I'm certainly not the expert as Kelly is, but I can answer a couple of questions. I figure you, like me are dying to find out all the answers!

Ants, What works for me during an ant problem is to put the bin on legs, like a table or something of that sort, and then put the legs each in a bowl of water. However, I also have noticed that I only had an ant problem when I had my bin too wet and overfed. The couple of times that happened, I just managed the bin (taking the large uneaten food out) and added more dry newspaper, mixed and voila! Ants gone within a day. Oh, I also added an an extra few inches of bedding (newspaper) on top of the active layer.

Correct, foodstock = kitchen scraps or other edible items.

I add new bedding pretty regular, although I'm not sure if there is a 'correct method'. If my bin gets to damp, I add shredded dry newspaper. If it gets to dry, I add damper than usual newspaper. So I just add it when I need to change the climate of my bin, and that has worked out great.

Aereating the worms is great fun. I read some posts on this, and it seems we all are disturbing the bin much more than we need to---because it's fun! And, we also get to see what's going on in there. I would have to say, do as you want, you may not be able to resist! But, believe me, you will know if you NEED to aereate. It can get stank pretty quick if conditions are bad.

I always have my lid on, otherwise I get fruit flies and other stuff immedately. But be sure you have plenty of airholes through the lid and upper sides of the bin. I think you want to use a pretty small bit for those maybe 5/32 (?) and have lots of them. If they are too big, you may get flies.

Also I didn't hear mention of a catch basin or collection tray. I think with 1/4 in . holes, lots of worms will be getting out.

About the watering...I was told to 'throw a cup a day' of water in when I fed them my 'cup of food'. This led to problems, because my system was too small for the cup of food, and I just ended up with lots of water in my collection tray. I stopped adding water with the ant problem about 4 months ago, and don't think I've had to add any since. I do feed them watermelon and mango, really juicy foods though.

You're going to have a blast..this is really fun stuff. As everyone has said, do what is best for you, don't make it a chore but rater something fun.

Have fun!

Swampboogiequeen's answers were excellent, so I'm just going to fill in in a few places;

Shining a light over the open bin once the worms have been introduced to the system is not a requirement, and, in fact, does not always prevent a few worms from egaging in wanderlust. Consider placing the worms in the bedding, putting the lid on and watching to see if there are significant numbers of fleeing worms before taking any corrective steps. Adopt the "it if ain't broke, don't fix it" approach. Most importantly, know that a few worms leaving the bin is not a problem, and masses of worms clinging to the bin walls is not worms "trying" to escape. Worms don't try; they either leave the bin or they stay. Those that might climb the walls or settle along the upper edge of the bin beneath the lid (and you may well find hundreds of them doing this in the first days) are not trying to escape, they have simply found areas other than the unfamiliar bedding in which to rest during the adaptive phase. When they get hungry and/or after a few days of adjusting to the enviornment they will move down into the bedding.

As to drainage/aeration holes, making them smaller is only inhibiting the ability for oxygen to penetrate that system. Those small holes are not going to prevent worms that want to go from leaving. Earthworms can squeeze through panty hose and woven landscape shade cloth; the smaller holes are not a significant barrier! Remember in setting up your bin that you are building worm heaven, not worm prison. Put your energy into creating an environment in which worms want to stay rather than in imprisoning worms so stressed that they are willing to cross open spaces to leave. Even in the unlikely event that you were successful at holding worms in an environment not to their liking, they would be so stressed as to process little organic material, breed little, and die off quickly. Make this a positive experience for both they are yourself!

The small flies (fruit flies, fungus gnats, etc) that sometimes inhabit the worm bin are not, in indoor bins, passers-by that happen upon the bin and decide it looks like a nice place to set up housekeeping (fruit flies and fungus gnats in significant numbers are unlikely to be present in your home), rather, they are ubiquitous species that enter the system as eggs and larvae on the peels of uncooked fruits and veggies added to to the bin as feedstock. The size of the drainage/aeration holes has little or no impact on their presence since we are innoculating them into the system when we feed. In indoor bins we can control fruit flies and fungus gnats by either freezing the feedstock for three days before adding it to the bin, or microwaving the feedstock until it bubbles, thereby killing the eggs and larvae before they enter the system.

In outdoor bins controlling these tiny fly species, which ARE often passers-by who view the bin as a nice place to raise a family, is niether effective nor advantageous. They, like the worms, can fit through very tiny holes and quickly enter the system when the lid is opened. While clouds of fruit flies swarming from the bin when we open the lid to feed can be annoying, their larvae are aiding the system in breaking down the organic materials, making them more available to the worms and increasing the rate of processing. These flies are not harmful outdoors, just annoying, and their larvae are beneficial. Adopting a "live and let live" approach in your outdoor bin will reduce your stress and increase the efficiency of your system.

Swmpqueen's suggestions about ants are very good, so consider following her advice. When talking about "normal" ant species, they will sometimes visit a bin, but will not nest in the system unless it is too dry, and even then it is unusual for them to do so; too much disruption for them. Fire ants, as you who live with them know very well, defy all of the rules, however, and will sometimes nest in bins in soil contact, regardless of how wet, or dry, or frequently disrupted. Elevating the bin is, as the Queen suggested, the best preventative for outdoor bins. Should you, despite your best efforts, find fire ants invading your system, Amdro is an effective and safe pesticide for use around the bin.

A worm bin does not need to be aerated, and aeration is not a generally recommended practice. Worms moving through the material is all the aeration the system should need. If you find your bin is becoming anaerobic look at how you are managing the system. Anaerobia is almost always the result of too much moisture in system and is best corrected by adding dry, bulky material to absorb the excess water and create open space in the bedding through which oxygen can readily flow.

Aerating the bin and looking through the bin are two different things, and as Swampboogiequeen suggests, there is no problem observing your worms as often as you like. One of the reasons we use these types of worms in vermicomposting is because they do not mind our continual pokes and prods while searching out cocoons and checking on their progress with our kitchen scraps. In fact, most well-run worm bins are systems that are closely observed and with which the operator is intimately familiar. This is a fun activity and your involvement in the bin is definitely encouraged!

As to adding new bedding; the concept behind the pocket feeding management method is that the bin is initially bedded to the top with damp bedding material, after which little if any bedding is added until after the unit is harvested. The volume of material in the bin, even though we are regularly adding feedstock, SHOULD gradually decrease as the OM is processed by the system. Once the bedding is no longer recognizable and the bin contents has decreased by roughly half, this is your cue to harvest the system. After harvest, the bin is again filled to the top with dampened bedding, and the process begins again. While the system is operating new bedding is usually only added to correct and moisture imbalance, as Queen described.

Damn, I'm chatty this morning! Sorry about the long post, Tina. I'll close by reminding you that this is not a fragile system and that it is supposed to be enjoyable. There are few hard and fast rules in vermicomposting and you are encouraged to trust yoru instincts and play with this idea. The only requirement is that you share what you learn with everyone who is willing to listen!

Kelly S

Kelly, I'm going to save your post for future reference--very informative! I do not know much about fire ants, so I had no idea they would nest in a bin!

Also, I had no idea about worms escaping pantyhose! That is very interesting news, but I'm wondering who is going around putting panty hose on the worms? Is it the Aliens Chuckieboo is always warning about? What if I come home to find my worms all dressed to the 9's!

But seriously, it sounds like a stocking would be a good way to give a handful of worms to a friend. I have wondered how to do that.

The hole size is also a good point, I just drilled a truckload (like 4 rows, 1/2 in apart all across the top of the bin, and 6 bunches of 9 holes along the top) of little holes into my bin (way more than is on my 'wriggly ranch', but I'll keep a close eye on it with that in mind. I certainly want them to breathe easy.

Thanks again Kelly,

Hey ya'll - thanks so much! The worms are coming in today - can't wait!

:)
Tina