Hi there MHERRON2213! It normally takes between 3-6 months for the worms to migrate and really should be a min of 3 months to allow as many of the eggs to hatch for the babies to move up. (assuming you are wanting to increase worm population) Ensure any larger or un-composted materials in the 1st bin are transferred to the 2nd bin along with a handful of the compost from the first bin. ( I've found this helps get the second bin started.) Also remember that it would take at least a week or 2 for the bin to inoculate before the worms would move up and then they will retreat after a feast for a bit until their new home is the way they like it, No matter how long you wait though, you will never have 100% migrate up. If waiting on cocoons to hatch is not a priority and you just want to transfer them to the next bin.. place the 1st bin on top of the 2nd bin and then shine a light over the top of it. Every 10 or so mins.. scrape away about an inch of the compost with your hands and the worms will keep going deeper and eventually into the new bin at the bottom.. This will only work if you have holes in the bottom of the 1st bin. If you don't have holes in the 1st bin.. place a garbage bag over the 2nd bin (just a single sheet of it) with several holes in it and then place several handfuls of compost on the bag at a time. Simply use the light method until you have scraped away all the compost.. the worms will then go through the holes in the bag and into the new bin. Takes approx 1 -2 hours depending on how long between scraping off of the compost. Hope this helps :)

I do everything wrong but it's turned out right so far. I bought 5 lbs of red wigglers in Sept. Threw them in a rubbermaide tub with newspaper, cardboard and some peat moss that I soaked overnight. I feed everything from lots of coffee grounds, eggs shells, tea bags, rice, potatoes, tomatoes, bread, you name it except for meat or dairy and not much citrus. I never even bothered with drainage holes and still don't. I've harvested 2 times and now have 4 bins and ready to harvest again and add another bin. All I do is take the lids off each morning, throw garbage in there, cover up with shredded paper. If it's a hot day, I put in frozen jugs of water. If any seem to be getting too wet (which isn't often, I just add more dry paper or cardboard. Then put the lids back on before dark. One thing that might help this work, is that the bins are large enough that the worms can move to another location in the bin if they become uncomfortable, like too wet/dry, to hot/cold.I also feed in one area for a while, like a week or so, before I switch places. Anyway, just thought I'd mention that maybe we sometimes worry too much. My worms at least seem pretty easy going, and don't seem to mind that I have no idea what I'm doing. :-)

I just got the VermiPod price info. It's like $.25 each, minimum quantity 200. Then add $5.00 shipping. So I'll have to think seriously about that idea before proceeding. Perhaps try a group buy to get the unit price down a little. Jim

Nice post. I wanted to point out however that bacterial brews actually only need 24 hrs or less and fungal brews need around 48 hrs. Also if you are using a bag for your casting/compost adding a stone inside the bag will help dislodge fungal spores. A quick note on worm bins. in general if you exclude animal byproduct you will have much higher microbial diversity and much higher number of biodegraders in your castings. Also by adding small amounts of compost and minerals such as greensand and/or rock dust you can help further feed and breed your microbial community. Also there are quite a few ingredients you can add to your teas to enhance them. Some enhance the microbial content by adding food, others enhance the micro-nutrients in your tea, while will do both. The teas that we create have at the very least all of these ingredients. Worm Castings, Alaskan Forest Humus, Organic Compost, Hydrolyzed Fish, Sea 90, Micronized Kelp, Micronized Humic Acid, Demerara Sugar, Azomite, Alfalfa Meal, Kelp Meal, Humates, Fish Bone Meal, Fish Meal, Feather Meal, Soybean Meal, Cameline Meal, Fossilized Kelp, Rock Phosphate, Langbenite, Volcanic Ash, Green Sand, Sulfate of Potash. While I'm not suggesting you need all of these ingredient I am suggesting that you experiment. Have some fun, keep notes, and learn.