lol well you're not alone this is my first year too and I've learned alot about yeilds my garden was literally one foot raised to the top of the soil but only 3 feet by 10 feet and around half of it ,in an L shape, is a good variety of goodies... sort of a last minute idea only because I was enjoying gardening ,the rest is peppers and tomatos in 5 gallon pails except for a fence starter section of raspberries two 3x3ft fenced areas for asparagus and the alley has all the pumpkins growing in it . surprisingly the yeilds are all just a few meals for each item , and like you dragging water out at least twice a day This year the cost really outweighed the value so next year it should all pay me back .I've really enjoyed the fresh taste of tomatos ,carrots ,chives ,radishes ,peas ,baby red beets , two varieties of lettuce ,string beans ,one cucumber and more too come with carrots already in the freezer .I have to learn to be practical by utilizing the garden for yeilds rather than variety but the healthy veg variety has been both tasty and enjoyable and an experience all too worthwhile .I can't wait till next year .

Cecily, it smells like heaven for a month or two and would have longer if I’d been comfortable topping it off at that point. It developed mold when it was soaked but didn’t smell like mold. The mold was gone in two weeks. It is terribly slick in spots where it stays wet so plan for that. I’ve made flat rock paths where we frequently walk and purchased mats for the bottom of the deck and the patio door so we don’t track it on the deck. If the kids would wipe their feet diligently we wouldn’t need a second mat, but, you know how kids can be. I just noticed the jumping worms today. I wondered why the robins were getting so friendly. They knew we‘d ‘planted’ food for them. They jump so high that I though they were baby grasshoppers and my son thought they were baby frogs. And even the. We were impressed. Imagine my joy to see mini maggots instead. 😳😟🤢 I’m nearly certain that mine are NOT cheese skippers, but larva from picture wing flies, because I saw the stinkin flies lay their eggs around my little fish and snail pond. I dont know that there was anything I could do at that point other than getting rid of the mulch. I was afraid any treatment I could use might hurt my pets. And the mulch really is pretty, even after it’s been soaked. and smells good. And isnt slippery as long as it’s not in a little valley four feet below your pond. And the mold I had didnt smell, still allowed enough space to work, and did go away in two weeks. The stuff is fabulous for the soil, too. I do t know if anyone is still listening, but, again, check into ‘picture window fly larvae’ if you’ve never actually see. The cheese skipper flies near your mulch.

"Are BSF timid creatures, or am I most likely going to have them crawling on me or flying around when I'm checking out my bin?" Some people really love their BSFL, as much as we love our worms. They too worry about them when they have to leave them for a few days. My understanding is that when BSFL are about 3/4 inch long and smaller they are white. Then as they mature they turn black and hard like little armadillos. Then they hide. The flys that emerge are like large houseflies but they do not land on poop and then on food. They avoid people, poop and food and want to find a bit of rot to lay their eggs on. They fly erratically. Slow when they are just warming up. Then faster. They are black with some of their leg area white. I think you would like the fly and the mature larvae and not be afraid of them. The thing that is cool about the white larvae is if one puts lets say the remains of a fish that the fillets have been harvest from into the bin, the the BSFL boil over the remains so actively that the remains float over the top of the activity and wonder around the container while getting smaller and smaller until they are all gone. Maybe let your helper know that these types of things in the bin are normal so they will not be startled. There is the cutest youtube that shows a little girl with a handful of BSFL feeding then to her chickens. If they knew that even little girls are not afraid of them then they might be more ok with them. Me I do not even touch my worms except with a 10 inch stick. Not even with gloves on. Maybe the scarriest thing to ever happen was I had noticed a few things out of place around the bin lately. Things were a bit mess with the vermicomost. I thought I was just sloppy. One day I put food in the top of the bin and out of the bottom a mouse jumped and darted off of my leg. I screamed like a little girl. Then I laughed a lot because I screamed. Many people love furry mice as pets. Maybe not me. I wonder if he was eating my worms. I move the material around in my bin to learn what is going on. As I am more confident I know what is happening in there and as vermicomposting is not my newest hobby, and I am not possessed with knowing what is going on with the little guys, I am more likely to leave them alone. Then my activity with the bin would more resemble how sbryce advises. Like him I would flip the bottom material over for the same reasons. Or gain interest in flow through bins like I have. I would think the cloth worm inns would work nice for you. Just put the stuff food by the tons and bedding in at the top. Zip it in. Water frequently. Harvest at the bottom. Supposedly no need to separate worms. They do dry out fast but the activity of adding water is pleasant for some. Others may have fish tank change water they want to use. I would think that maybe the condition of the material might be gauged a tiny bit by just squeezing the bag. I do not have one. Some people sew their own. Having a strong enough stand to hold mega weight is important. I guess like not buying the first year of a car I am waiting for them to come out with the new and improved version. I think mine would dry out. That would be ... ... .,. very bad for the worms. A homemade plastic bin is more resilient in that way.

Hi Robert; I had a similar experience with epoxy and caulk. I was trying to recreate a $50- Bokashi bucket (wherein all the liquid drains out and none is left at the bottom). After 3 days the epoxy (specifically for gluing plastics) and the silicon caulk (which was rated as waterproof and resistant to most chemicals) became useless. I guess they tested it on everything else except Bokashi juice. The picture I posted is the inside of a Bokashi bucket which can be purchased online (usually around $30 to $50). The strainer (at the left) sits on that lip around the inside. At one end is a small square indentation where the liquid flows out. The round, white, piece is obviously the plastic nut which secures the spigot in place. The small square space under it seems to be; that just in case you would need to change the spigot, there would be enough room to turn the nut and remove it (and then replace it again). In the end, the only liquid remaining in the bucket, at any one time, seems to be about: 1/4"-1/2" (D) X 1"-1.5" (square). That's not very much liquid at all. Now, I have no problem installing a spigot at the very bottom of the 5 Gal buckets I use. The problem is that there needs to be room for the rubber washers and the nut to hold the spigot in place. In general, the bottom of the tube (where the liquid flows out through the spigot) is at least 1/2" off the floor. This means that the whole bottom of the bucket up to at least 1/2" is covered with liquid and then anything above that level is what flows out. This is far more than what there should be. One solution I've thought of (though I haven't yet been able to accomplish it) is to somehow raise the level of the floor to the level of the outlet tube. If anyone has any thoughts on this idea or any others, I'd appreciate it. Shaul