What is a bin made from? Shredded newspaper and some moisture. When the bin gets larger I use wet egg cartons. Seriously, they can survive solely on those 2 things. Not unlike a compost, worms always need "browns" to live in, aerate their area and to munch away on. What do you feed it? Kitchen scraps, not unlike a compost but more regulated to the size of your wormy batch and how much they consume. Their favorite is cucurbits of any type. I feed mine a special brew in a certain way to keep the house free from fruit flies. The bins are indoors. When you say worm tea, do you mean you boil the worms??? I used a 5 gallon bucket, vermicompost (worm soil/poop) thrown in with a few other things and bubble it for 24 hours with a fish tank bubbler. It's just like making compost tea, actually (but better than most) and no stinkies. Or the " dirt" they are in. Where do you keep the bin in winter??? I keep them indoors. They just cannot handle our extreme temps and I'm not up for working diligently to insulate them. Even if they survive outdoors they will not thrive. I need them to thrive to produce the most soil. Are you giving away just the worms or the bin and the worms? ( i would be happy to purchase a bin if you have an extra or would make me one). I'll be happy to make you a starter bin. What I usually do for newbies is place existing worm bedding into a gallon milk jug and nurture them without feeding for a week. Changing the environment can stress them. I also add in some worm eggs so the growth can be as quick as possible. Then, I pass along some food for them. Sometimes a change in diet can shock the little guys. Better to ease them into your own kitchen waste. And I can give you the recipe/method to feeding indoors and avoiding any fruit fly problems. If you have a garage, you can put them there and they'll do awesome. My own kids have learned about ecology and micro climates because of the worms. They know much about beneficial bugs and birds and their contribution to the climate ... because of these silly worms. They always ask, "Is it a friendly one?" I'd be happy to set up something for you. it's so good for the environment and for the kids. Sorry, I should put my email here. I don't have access to the listed with this forum and it won't let me change it. Email me and let me know where you might put them and how big you want to get. It's not hard to come up with something. boniyah2000@gmail.com bon

I am fairly new to worms myself, but it sounds you're doing the right thing for the moisture. It probally just needs a little time. The critters a probally BSF. As long as the bin is outside, you'll probally have them. I pick them out and feed to my Chickens. They are not supposed to harm the worms, though they appear as if they would. Since the adult fly doesn't like being inside, if you move the bin back inside you might find after one cycle the larvae are gone.

Well, Chuckie, it's safe to say that those mucky conditions are the favorite environment of the worms in your bin! Earthworms derive most of their nutrients from the microorganisms decaying the organic matter they ingest rather than from the organic matter itself, thus, they thrive best in highly biologically active environments. Think of your compost pile; the fastest rate of decomposition takes place in or near the center or the pile where the mass of material creates an insulated space of optimized conditions for the microorganisms that effect decomposition. The same will be true of a worm bin; the most biologically active areas are not typically at the surface, but several inches below, near the center of bottom of the bin where the environment is more stable and protected, typically more damp, and better optimized to support the massive microbial populations that support the worms. Now, toss into this mix the fact that earthworm castings tend to be more biologically active than the feedstock, even well-rotted feedstock, and it begins to make sense that areas of the bin that contain a mix of castings and decomposing OM will be so microbially rich that earthworms will tend to mass there. Add to this the understanding that the mixture of castings and partially decomposed organic matter hold vast amounts of moisture, which worms are always seeking in the greatest quantities they can find, and one begins to see that the surface material in a worm bin will rarely hold the appeal of the deeper system zones! But the mucky areas are stinky, you say? And stinky like this usually means anaerobic, doesn't it? And worms are supposed to dislike anaerobic enviornments, right? Ah, the complexities of biology! If only the answers were that simple! First, earthworms have an extraordinary ability to attach oxygen, thus, even in relatively low oxygen conditions they are often able to catpure enough to stay alive. Second, earthworms are as happy to consume anaerobes as they are aerobes. It is not the micororganisms themselves that can create problems for the worms, but SOME OF the anaerobic byproducts the anaerobes produce; the terpenes, phenols, and alcohols. The thing is, an earthworm is able to tolerate, even thrive, in some levels of these toxins, meaning "the dosage makes the poison". Further, it is not the terpenes, phenols and alcohols that are the most odorous by-products of anaerobic decomposition, thus, just because the bin smells bad to we mere humans does not mean, definitively, that the bin is toxic to the worms. It may well mean that the anaerobic organisms are generating lots more sulfur gasses than they are compounds toxic to earthworms, thus, the environment is very wet and very microbially rich, which the worms adore, very stinky, a condition about which worms don't really care, sufficiently rich in oxygen to keep the worms respiring even if other aerobic organisms find too little oxygen to function, but not enough toxic compounds to cause worm problems. We make a fuss about keeping bins aerobic because it is nearly impossible to maintain a home verimcomposting or vermiculture bin in an anearobic state that we can be sure will never tip into being toxic, and because the smell of an anearobic bin is offensive to we in or near whose homes the bin will kept. Recommendations that the bin be kept as aerobic as possible can, clearly, sometimes erroneously imply that an anaerobic bin is always, be definition, bad. Chuckie's worms are teaching a valuable lesson! Kelly S

I find that both worms and BSF are very complimentary. 1. BSF will process 'fresh' food whereas worms eats the bacteria created from pre-composted organic foods AND the worms will further process the BSF's casting. It's almost like a two step process of composting. I'm thinking this might replace the need to pre-process food for the wormies. I often freeze veggies before feeding them to the worms so they break down faster but I could delegate this task to the BSF instead? 2. BSF processes food at a much faster rate than worms do. I've read that they can eat an entire salmon in a day, bones and all. It takes me about 6 months to get VC out of the wormies. 3. BSF will eat foods that worms don't. We eat mostly fish at our house and it would be nice to have that processed in the bin as opposed to sending it to the landfill. They also eat dairy, fats, onions and citrus which we seem to have lots of. I guess that people's biggest challenge in accepting BSF (except for the heating and moisture issue if missmanaged) is changing their impression about 'maggots'. I used to be like that about worms but I'm over it now! :) I am more focused on the benefits they bring as opposed to the 'gross factor'. Our goal is to minimize our footprint as much as possible. It's amazing the amount of trash we've been able to reduce since we started a bin almost a year ago. Now we are proud parents of 4 wonderful and healthy worm condos. This has also made us much more aware of our actions and what we eat. This is a very helpful and informative forum and sharing experiences with you guys has been invaluable. Spread the word! Sandra :)