What kind of a bin did you set up? How many worms? Without knowing a whole lot of information, I would say, put food in half of the bin, (not more than 1" thick). Make sure there is a good 3" layer of shredded damp paper covering the food. Put some kind of light on for the next night or 2, just to help the worms settle in. Do that and then fill us in on your specifics. It is exciting!

I got a Can-O-Worms as a gift, with 1000 red worms. Coir bedding came with it so wet it, put it in top of cardboard, and added the worms. Right away they dug in. Covered coir with wet newspaper strips. So, should I feed right away or let them settle in and feed, when?
It IS exciting!! Thanks,
smd

You got in touch with the right person, SQH1 is the goddess of can-o-worms. Obey her!

I had similar start up, I buried about a handful of food in a corner. Once I saw they were eating that, I added another in the next corner. Worked fine.

You however don't have corners, but I'm sure you get the idea. Also there are a couple of methods you can use for feeding, layer or pocket feed.

I'm new, so I'm not going to give any advice! Only been about 7 months, and they're still alive, and thriving, so they must be damn near foolproof.

Whatever you do, have fun and keep us posted! You'll get tons of advice and great conversation here!

Ah...COW goddess..what does that crown look like?
smdMT.......Feed those babies. Since you are starting with about a pound of worms, s-b-queen's advice is good. That is, feed half of the bin, (with perhaps 2 cups of scraps). When you see those worms start to work on that food, (it does not have to be completely gone, just really being worked on), you will know you can pull back the top paper and feed the other half. Your biggest job right now is to observe what goes on in your bin. Things go slow to start, especially when it is from scratch, (with no active compost). As exciting as it is, try to think of your new bin as a science experiment for the first few weeks. Just observe and try to learn the pace at which your worms are handling the food given to them. Believe me, this patience is really hard to come by, but you and your worms will be happier. Keep us updated..:)

I'm off to feed my worms. Thanks o' COW goddess! I will obey!!
smd

As for the crown, I'm thinking of something along the lines of the cap with 2 beer cans on either side and a straw going down to your mouth.

Maybe something with a little more class, but not too much!

:)

The important aspect of feeding them is, at first, moderation. Watch how much they eat how fast...then adjust. I, myself, am not a coir person. Newspaper strips have provided bedding, and fed, thousands, if not millions of worms for me, and the paper is already there, read and worthless, but great for the bins.

If worms, as humans, are "you are what you eat", then my worms are a little on the conservative side...but not right-wing. I will admit, however, that I provided them with the New York Times once with very little ill effects, although for the first couple of days a certain liberal attitude seemed pervasive in the extreme parts of the bin.

Chuckiebtoo

May I ask a question? I too have a COW (see thread entitled "Worms wil not stay put...advice?). I cover my worms with newspaper, but not shredded, just as it is. They get shredded paper when I add food as I miw the food with shredded paper. Am I going about it wrongly by covering the lot with newspaper? They seemed happy enough till recently (see other thread).

Raymondo..so we meet again..:) I keep a good 3" layer of shredded newspaper on top of the food. Shredding the paper, (long strip-cut), allows more air in and is easier for the worms to navigate through and eat. I do not mix bedding and food, because of heating problems and the worms are surface feeders, so this keeps them on the surface to eat,(not mixed up feeding fresh food thoughout the system).

Okay, thanks for that. I'll have to get busy and tear up more paper. Could I use well aged grass clippings instead?

I thought a layer of paper would disallow them moving in a COW too.

Ive got a big rubbermaid, and I keep a piece of grocery bag on top of mine to keep the moisture in.

I imagine the grass would be OK dry, but i dont like any bin that is only 1-bedding. ive had too much matting. I like a bit of a mix, shredded bills, some spoiled hay, maybe a few leaves and or some unscreened chunky compost. just me tho, not sure how much room there is in a COW

I tried putting some newspaper sheets on top of my shredded newspaper a while back. It seemed to wick moisture out of the shredded newspaper below and the bin dried out.

This makes no sense to me, since the greater surface area of shredded newsprint should allow more evaporation (shouldn't it?) than layers of intact newsprint. Nevertheless, that was my experience and I stopped the practice. It was wierd...

I have not ever used grass clippings in a COW. They would have to be dry or they would heat the bin up fast. I usually put all yard trimmings in my outdoor in-ground bins. The COW's have a fitted plastic lid and so drying out is not a problem. Too much moisture is usually what needs monitoring in those kid of bins.
garnetmoth.. doesn't your rubbermaid bin have a lid? All of mine do and they never dry out.
My goal is to make use of my "wannabe" trash, so that is my reason for using shredded newspaper/junk mail/paper towels, tissues for my bedding. I find shredded newspaper breaks down much faster than cardboard or hay/straw. The worms, however, love the shredded cardboard that goes in my outdoor bins.

Okay, I don't want to risk heating up the bed so I'll just sprinkle some grass clippings very lightly on the surface, a layer one blade thick as it were. It will help vary their diet a little. I don't put grass clippings on my outside compost heap beacause it's been given over to growing some winter squash. All the grass clippings are piled on areas where I want to create new garden beds next year.