http://www.growveg.com/growblogpost.aspx?id=261

Petrock, I'm taking a chance and adding mine, too. Some of my problem is not knowing forum etiquette, having started at it at a ripe old age and no one around to offer any help. I am thinking I sometimes put others "off" unintentionally, or maybe I just don't ask the right questions, who knows? I'm not too old to learn, but still need a bit of time to figure it out. Your points are all good, and I thank you for the input, all and any of which I appreciate, from anyone. The bin is not only inside, but in my kitchen over in a corner, and I get a kick out of people not even knowing it's there if I don't tell them. I wasn't concerned about the worms, really, and yes, it was condensation, but a really LOT of it, and for the first time since it was set up in late October, I had a puddle in the bottom. I keep a somewhat thick layer of newspaper over the bedding in the top tray, and it was not only very damp, it was solidly covered with mites. Again, I wasn't concerned about the worms, but wanted to know what had the bin out of balance. I am working really hard at learning how NOT to succumb to new worm bin syndrome! I'm at the six month point, and want it to keep going as well as it has been. You are correct that it was too much to add a filter full a day (not the paper remember? reusable basket), but more because I was just dumping it in and not making sure I was covering it with bedding than because of the amount of UCG, which Bob made clear. It went straight from a closed drip coffee maker, and was full of water. It was room temp, having sat all day, but still not the best way to add them. Overfeeding isn't the problem, or at least I don't think it is. I started slow and just added more as the herd multiplied. I think I started with either 1000 or 1 lb of worms in one tray, don't really remember, but it wasn't many compared to the bedding the instructions told me to add. Now I have worms in, it seems, pretty much every square inch of the middle tray, still some but not many in the bottom tray full of castings, and an increasing number in the top tray, where I feed and added the UCG. I don't add food if there is anything recognizable left over. I run about a week ahead, with worm food going in a bag in the freezer for a week, then being left in a wire strainer in the sink for half a day or so, getting stirred now and then, before being added to the bin. When I take a bag out of the freezer, I start another one for the next week. It used to go through my blender, but that got to be a lot of trouble, so now I just chop it small when I'm all done cutting and prepping for eats the next week for me and hubby, and toss it in the bag. The bag starts out skinny and is fatter by the end of the week. I try to use common sense how much of it to add without overfeeding. As in, how much did they eat of the last batch? I don't know where you got your worm factory from, and I don't even presume to know enough to make recommendations, but I do feel okay giving a suggestion. Toss the directions that came with the factory and listen to what you get here. I realize that this might label me as a lurker, but I've read every single post made in the last however long, and some others, and there is a wealth of knowledge and experience here that I really wish I had found before I spent as much $$ as I did. I am not saying the worm factory is bad and mine is doing well, but I know now I could have done (and will do in the future) better for less. I do believe it's called live and learn. :) I'm sorry. I just reread this and it really sounds like preaching, doesn't it? I don't mean it that way. I just started saying what I thought and it's what came out. I hope I didn't offend anyone. Lynn

We have one of the coffee combo grinders but since I just learned how to make a proper pot a few weeks ago we have only ground it a few times....but....we did by 10lbs of beans from our neighbor who has the flower shop she was fixing a basket for a elderly couple she does stuff for that love the coffee she sells and accidently ordered beans instead soooo instead of sending them back Brian bought it....so I did like my mom and put them in ziploc bags in the freezer.....LOL Stacy

This is a tough call. Coffee has two enemy predators, air and moisture, and one should try to avoid both of them to preserve the very best that coffee has to offer. The best way to avoid enemy air is not to grind beans before you need them. This is a problem for you because you don't drink it at home that often. A 20 dollar blade-style grinder would do the trick for you but storing whole beans for more than a couple weeks causes death by air to whole beans also. The logial solution is to store your beans airtight in the freezer but then, sigh, you introduce moisture, enemy number two, everytime you take the beans out of the freezer. Think condensation... So here's something to think about in the order that I would pursue it if i were in your shoes but still wanted great coffee when the urge hits you. Solution 1- If you have an established frequency of drinking a> Buy a grinder- there are plenty of discussions and arguments about the perfect grinder, but a blade grinder for 20 bucks, will serve you well and give great results. b> Find a coffee that you enjoy and buy a small amount of whole beans, a quantity that you will use within two weeks. Store them in an airtight container; for you the bag they came in will probably do best so you can squeeze the air out when putting it away again. c> When you get the urge, grind the beans to the size and texture that is best for your brewing method- ask and I'll give you my opinions on that. Brew up your bean juice and enjoy! Solution 2- If your drinking patterns are too hit and miss to use mon-frozen beans within two weeks. a> Buy the 20 dollar blade grinder. b> Find the beans you like and buy them whole. Not a very large amount until you establish a frequency of coffee drinking that demands it- but at that point go back to Solution 1. Because we probably won't use the beans within the two week period but want to have them around when we need a cup of bean juice, we must freeze them. BUT, to reduce the moisture/condensation issue each time you open the container for a dose of beans, store them in individually wrapped packets of foli and plastic. Figure out how many you need for your brew method and divide them in that size packets and toss them in the freezer. c> When you want a cup of brew, take out an individual packet of beans, open it out and do your best to let them sit out for a little time to thaw. Frozen beans even ground don't give up the flavors to the hot water like a room temp bean. I know this sounds like a bit of a hassle but if you want the good stuff, ya need to work out the system. d> Grind em up, brew the stuff and transport yourself to better place. Of course, I'm stating al this as I would do it because I want that absolute best i can get out of my expensive coffee beans. If short cuting any of these suggestions works for you and you enjoy the results, don't let any bean head tell you how to drink your coffee!. Here's an interesting bit of trivia: Unroasted, (green) coffee beans store for many months- even years in the right conditions. Once roasted, the coffee should be used within 10 to 14 days at most as the delicate flavors are being consumed into the atmosphere. Once ground and exposed to oxygen, minutes count, and this can be tested and proven. A coffee shop or espresso stand that pre grinds the beans in preparation for the morning rush should be avoided. I re-read my posts like this and realize how ridiculously anal I am but after 30 years of dedicating myself to understanding coffee and its finicky nature, it can't be helped. Enjoy it! Michaelp Here is a link that might be useful: Nectar of the gods