Emily-- When I first started with the 360 I had about 1500 wigglers and I would start by putting an amount of a food slurry in a corner of the tray and once a good amount of the worms were on top of that pile I would add the same amount in another area of the tray. If you are not making a slurry I would suggest you do as that will speed up the process of bacteria breaking down the food and by the way is what the worms actually eat. If you have any kind of food processor/juicer you can do this. I myself use the big mouth hamilton beach juicer and if I think the pulp is too dry I add the juice back in to the mix. Also I would suggest you take a look at the following if you have not already.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMdJxfPuMOE

There is a lot of hype about the wonders of vermicomposting... how easy it is and how much food the worms can process in a day and how fast they multiple... Thus those new to vermicomposting seem to believe it happens quite quickly but the truth is its going to take some time. There is a big difference between creating a new worm bin by just splitting an already active worm bin and starting up a new worm bin from scratch. In the latter case, it will take time for the worms to adjust to their new environment and diet and for the microbes within the bin they will need their populations to grow and more importantly, come into a stable balance. Those hyped promises will come to pass but give it time... the "eggs" (cocoons) will appear and the worms will begin consuming more, etc in the coming MONTHS. The first couple months is just the break-in period, for both you and your worm bin, where you need to be careful not to feed too much or let it get too wet... let your nose be your guide. Worm population growth is exponential... meaning it starts really slowly but eventually will get going, you should be patient, the cocoons will come. In about 3-4 months you will be better able to assess the growing needs of your worm population. By then feeding and care will become quite routine as you will find yourself operating by a "feel" of your bin conditions. At that point I'm sure you'll just know when its time to add another tray. Good luck and enjoy the experience.

I really appreciate it. So nervous about messing it up. Encouraging that the worms seem so forgiving! I will keep an eye on things! Take care.

And I do make slurries hummersteve. I use a blender, but works pretty well! Thank you.

Worms like benevolent neglect. As long as the environment is good, and there is a sufficient, but not overwhelming food stream, they're happy. Also remember that the bedding is a food source, at least to some extent, whatever it is. Some bedding like sphagnum moss doesn't offer much, but most other bedding, they'll eat, so there's always a buffer of food.

Thank you!