Don't feel bad, I bought the same worm factory from the 'other' original worm factory site (Green Culture) and it cost even more than the Gusanito Worm Factory, which I just found on the internet yesterday. Who knows which one is the original? I don't, but I know who charges the most. It looked much larger in the images on the net and when I got mine I was surprised how small the box was.

To top it off, Green Culture charged me twice for one factory and has yet to refund my money even though numerous phone calls to them has resulted in sincerest apologies and promises to take care of that right away. I know I won't be doing any future business with the Green Culture company. By the way they sell a large range of home products and have several different web sites with different names. But buyer beware.

So how much was the Wriggly Wranch Worm Bin? I checked it out and they all seemed to be about the same cost. Cheryl

Cheryl, In the San Francisco Bay Area there is a big difference in the subsidized cost of the Wriggly Wranch. Alameda and San Mateo Counties: $29, San Jose: $50. Shipping is extra.

Well, my Gusanito Worm Factory arrived last week. It was easy to set up and my wormies seem content. But the base and the trays are dark green and the roof and collecting tray are shiny black. The dark green, although very nice, was not a color option when I ordered and the mismatch bothers my Virgo eyes. Also, the set up instructions require some screening material that is not included. The company has not responded to my inquiries.

Someone just emailed me about my experience with the Gusanito Worm Factory and I thought I'd share my observations with everyone. I've had it going for two weeks now. It is a tiered system, and right now I am working with the first tray which is shallow (16x16x3.5). As a newbie I want to keep fussing with it and feeding the worms, and am frustrated because there isn't much room to do either. (I've only fed them once a week.) The system is on feet, but I put it on top of three soil-filled plant containers to raise it. Once the other two trays are in use, I won't have to bend down at all. The one significant difference between this and the other Worm Factory seems to be the peaked roof. I like the look of this and found it useful when it was very hot (over 90 degrees). Using two disposable chopsticks I propped up one end of the roof to take advantaqe of every breeze, but still keep them in shade. The chopsticks are also useful when I want to lift the bedding to check on the worms, fluff the foodstuff, or release excess moisture. Of course, this only works because of the shallowness of the tray.

Once the other two trays are in place I think the excess moisture I'm finding on the lid should balance out. And hopefully, I'll be able to feed twice a week and won't have so many bags of worm food in the freezer. BTW last night I heard a statistic on "Big Ideas for a Small Planet" that each American throws out 1200 lbs of organic foodstuff.

I'm comparing the Can O Worms to Gusanito. How sturdy would you say the spout is? Most people complain about the spout on the Can O Worms.

The GWF spout seems very sturdy, however, I haven't had enough excess moisture to have anything come out of the spout. But I have put shredded newspaper in the drain tray to catch any worms who fall through. It gets damp, but not wet.

In deciding between the GWF and COW, you might also consider that the former has 16" square trays, while the latter has 20" round trays. Those 4" and corners could make a difference in where you are able to place it.

My Gusanito Worm Factory arrived today and since I am completely new at this, I found the instructions to be a bit lacking so came here. First of all the instruction book says 'Factory of Worms' so I guess they have resolved the name issues.
1. In the instruction manual it mentions nothing about newspaper or cardboard or anything like that so I am confused since other worm factory users mention it. They include coir, is that used instead of newspaper?
2. They include a weed barrier cloth to keep worms and material from falling into the liquid collection tray but they say to put it between liq collection tray and first worm tray. I have seen others mention using fabric here and I wonder why not put it on the bottom of the first worm tray instead?
3. To start the system they instruct you to add enough material to fill the first tray and half of the 2nd tray and store the empty trays on top. Is that what others have done? Highly inconvenient to deal with empty trays when you want to add to the lower tray. Why not put them in the shed until they are needed?
4. It does not say where to add the worms! Should I add them to the bottom tray I just filled up, the top tray that is half full or some in both.
Anyone with the patience to answer any or all of these probably stupid questions? I really appreciate it!

Keysgirl,
Wow, it sounds like you got some very ambiguous instructions. I have a Worm Factory, which is based on the same concept: fill the first tray, then add a 2nd when the 1st is full so that the worms will migrate up to the new food source. With my system (which I'm guessing is the same as yours), you only add bedding/food/worms
to the first tray (and yes, you can store the ones not in use in the shed or wherever). Then when that one's eventually full (it took me like a month to fill it up), you add the second tray with new bedding. I used a mixture of shredded paper, newspaper, coir, and a handful of sand in both trays. Does your system have a lid? I'm asking, because maybe that's why they suggest that you stack the other trays on top of your working tray (the tray in which you're currently adding food).
I hope this helps.

Thanks Shermthewerm, that does help!
Did you use any fabric to keep them out of the liquid collection tray? Maybe that serves the same purpose as the newspaper? It sounds like it can't hurt to add shredded paper but I just have no clue how much to add and still don't see why not put the cloth inside the bottom tray instead of under it. Maybe it makes collecting the finished product more difficult since it is not degradable like paper?
My factory does have a roof (see link) so I will just put the extra trays away for now.
Can I ask how many worms you started with?
THanks!

Here is a link that might be useful: Wormswrangler farm factory

Keysgirl,

Looks like the instructions to the GWF have changed since I got mine last summer. But basically its all the same.

1. Coir (coconut husk) is highly absorbant and will make your VC fluffy. But after this first tray, save yourself the extra expense and just go with shredded newspaper or cardboard. Be sure to soak the coir as per the instructions or it will dry out your bin.

2. When I got my GWF, it didnÂt come with the weed barrier cloth and I realized the need for it on my own. Without it you will have compost and worms stuck in the collection tray. Messy and sad when you find dead worms down there. The reason you donÂt want to place this cloth in the bottom tray is that eventually you will harvest it and your upper trays will become the bottom tray. And if you try putting it in an upper tray, your worms can't move from tray to tray, which they will want to do according to food source, heat and other changing conditions in the bin.

3 & 4. If you have the space, store the empty trays until you need them. However, Because my GWF is outdoors and we are still having damp weather, my top tray is filled with shredded paper to absorb excess moisture. I feed the working tray below it. You will soon learn about mites, springtails, potworms and moisture.

When you start the very first tray, place a couple of sheets of newspaper on the bottom. Then the moistened (not dripping) coir. Then food. Then worms. Cover it all with more paper. It can either be shredded or sheets, it just needs to cover all the food.

folly_grows- Super helpful! THanks I totally (I think) get it now about the cloth and do recall that moving the trays is involved down the line!
Does your GWF have the 'new' gabled roof? They claim that this helps with moisture so i am hoping that will be true.
After I follow the instructions you gave at the end, what happens when I need to add more food? I assume I plop it on top of the paper covering the last 'deposit'? Will I need to add paper each time I add food or is that just a start-up thing?
thanks again!

I don't know about the cloth that you put below the first tray, as I don't have one. But I can say I wish I did, because I often find a few worms treading water in the collection tray who probably wouldn't be there if I had such a cloth in place.
As far as adding shredded paper, I usually add a small handful of dry shredded paper, shredded egg carton, or shredded cardboard to cover up any food scraps that I add (since it's a plastic bin, I think it helps the bin from getting too wet, and I've found out that an over-wet bin seems to invite an infestation of mites). I don't know if that's what others do...any suggestions are welcome!...
To answer your question, I purchased 1lb. of worms (supposed to be about 1,000). In the short time that I've had my bin going--about 7 weeks--I have lots of baby worms appear.

Shermthewerm, you can buy that mat at your local hardware store or just stop and ask a landscaper for a small piece. All it is is white weed mat that you'd put in your landscape. Very inexpensive and as you said earlier very worth while to not find your worms swimming...

Keysgirl, Did your GWF come with one or two pieces of the fabric? I do have the "new" roof style and have had my bin about two or three weeks now and it's going great. If you did get two pieces of fabric (as your supposed to) then I would suggest using one of your "extra" bins in your GWF and just putting your fabric between the empty bin and the roof and clipping the roof to it with those big spring clips for paper. this saves you ALOT of headache every time you go to feed of having to mess with that fabric. The clips also help to keep any wandering worms at bay :-). Also I do mine a little different (not sure how it'll work out yet but the worms seem to like it as of thus far). I have some coir, paper, and food in the first bin, then I have a second bin on it with only slightly damp (was almost dry when added) paper shreds in it. Since the bins touch and the worms are free to move up and down I figure a couple things, 1- I'll have less cocoons when I go to harvest in the bottom bin since I'm hoping that they'll see the paper in the upper bin as their bedding, 2- The paper sucks up most of my excess moisture. then I have the last bin with the lid clipped to it. Hope this help a little good luck and keep me posted, I'm glad to see a couple other people bought the same one as me!

"when I need to add more food? I assume I plop it on top of the paper covering the last 'deposit'? Will I need to add paper each time I add food or is that just a start-up thing?"

Keysgirl:

There are three basic ways to feed, and they all happen in the working tray.

1) Pull back the top paper, deposit the new food in a trench, and recover with the paper;
2) Dig a hole - changing locations each time - deposit the food, then cover up;
3) Remove the top paper and scatter food over the entire top; then recover with paper. You could also use fabric, burlap, or cardboard. The problem with this is that 16 sq inches of food is way too much food for a beginning WF. It is also shallow and the worms don't have any place to retreat from excessive bn conditions (which WILL happen some time or another).

In all cases you will want to cover the food to discourage flies and other critters. You will also need to balance browns and greens in the bin. (Use the Search feature on this forum to learn more about this.) The top paper will deteriorate over time, so keep an eye on it. About 2 inches is good.

Another thing to remember is that the worms eat (slurp) the microbes that are breaking down the food. So when adding the food to your bin, you want the new batch to be close to the old so that the micro-critters can expand into the system. Not mixed in, just nearby.

Finally, I do have the Gusanito Worm Factory/Factory of Worms with the peaked roof. I like the design. I think the air circulation is better than with the flat top. In hot weather I can prop it open with a pair of chopsticks to disperse heat. And when the bin gets a little too wet, I can do the same to dry it out.

i have a GWF and i leave the spigot open with a large yogurt container under it to catch the drips, this helps keep things from getting too wet in there. Mine is in my kitchen next to the garbage pail.

can-o-worms opinion ::

It seems most of us leave the spigot open when the units are outside. When my can-o-worms is in the basement for the winter the spigot is closed. That liquid can be odorous. So about the reliability of the spigot...c-o-w has been fine on mine, but it leaks a little tiny bit.

I have read that you can stretch nylon stockings over the inside spigot hole to keep the worms out of the spigot...which is a problem when left open. They slide down into the bucket and die. This is on my list of to-do's.

Good luck!

Hi Everyone,

There has been some confusion between Cascade Manufacturing's Worm Factory and Worms Wrangler's Gusanito Worm Bin.

Cascade Manufacturing Sales, Inc. owns the registered trademark Worm Factory®. Searching the uspto.gov for #3448973 will bring up the record.

Worms Wrangler started using the Worm Factory mark in 2008 and Cascade Manufacturing brought a federal lawsuit against Worms Wrangler for infringing on their trademark.

Cascade Mfg. Sales, Inc. v. Providnet Co. Trust, 2008 WL 4889716 (W.D. Wash. November 12, 2008)

You will now see that www.WormsWrangler.com has stopped using the Worm Factory® mark although there are still a few instances found around the internet. Cascade Manufacturing uses the mark on their website. www.CascadeWormBin.com

I just sent the following email t the manufacturers of the Worm Factory. Following is their not very satisfactory response:

I am a fairly new user of a Worm Factory (the real one, I think), but not new to worm composting. I am now on my third tray, and here are the issues I am experiencing:

1. The lid, which sits inside the working bin allows rain water to get into the the bins.
2. The bottom two layers are getting very compacted - about 50% and
3. The finished compost is very wet, almost a clay consistency due to the heavy infiltration of rain.

It is very annoying that I need to invent a lid to prevent these issues - I bought a factory made system so that it would not look slap-dash!

Question:

1. Is there a good way to dry the mucky bottom layers out?

2. Is there any value in putting some sort of spacer, or stop between the trays to limit the compression?

I am only on my third tray but see an awful lot of compression in the lower levels. (some of it due to the weight of the saturate top two trays...)

3. Is there an aesthetically pleasing way to keep the rain out?

For the price I did not expect to have this problem.
------------------
And the company's response:

"Thanks for the email. I apologize for the issues you've been having. The standard Worm Factory is not meant to sit outside in the rain and if kept outside it needs to be placed somewhere will it not be soaked, like under an overhang or shed. It seems all your issues may be stemming from this. Moisture is an important aspect to be controlled in worm composting, and having your bin soaking wet is no good. The compost should be moist to the touch, but not dripping wet.

The best way to dry out the bin is to put some dry sheets of paper down to soak up some of that excess moisture. You do not want to put spacers between the trays as they should be resting directly on top of each other. The reason for this is that the worms can't jump between the top
level of compost on the tray below to the tray above, the holes on the bottom of the top tray need to be physically touching the top layer of compost on the bottom tray for the worms to climb through.

Unfortunately, the standard Worm Factory was not meant to sit outside in the rain. We did release a newer model, the Worm Factory 360, which comes with a moderately weather proof lid that hangs over the edge of the top tray, and a redesigned base. However, we do not sell the individual components of our models."

" You do not want to put spacers between the trays as they should be resting directly on top of each other. The reason for this is that the worms can't jump between the top
level of compost on the tray below to the tray above, the holes on the bottom of the top tray need to be physically touching the top layer of compost on the bottom tray for the worms to climb through."

This is a silly crock o balony. I'm a COW man and I have deliberately left open space between trays to test this. If a worm feels like migrating up and there is space it simply climbs up the wall. How do these people think all those worms get onto the inside of the lid?

Dave Nelson