I first started my vermicomposter in November 2004. I prepared corrugated cardboard bedding (by first cutting it into strips and then soaking it) in a large rubbermaid bin and punched holes in the lid. I found a "cozy" spot for it in the basement... right next to the cat litter box.
I fetched some red wigglers from a woman who had many to spare and dumped the muddy clump of them in my box at home. I let them grow accustomed to their new home for a week or so before I started adding vegetable scraps to one section. Next week I added more beside that section. And so on. But they didn't seem to want to leave their mud clump. So I broke up the mud to encourage them to wander and I no longer left a light on over the bin so they would have more darkness to wander. (I knew there was a slim chance they could climb the tall height of the bin.)
Then I left for the holidays and neglected the bin. Big mistake. I came home to find some of the scraps were gooing moldy and the worms, while still alive, confined themselves to the soil.
So today I prepared myself to move them and sort through the gross decomposing moldy mess that was my vermicomposter. First I needed fresh bedding and I was determined to not have to buy soil. This time I soaked my cardboard before ripping it into small pieces by hand. With my new rubbermaid bin prepared (a shorter one this time) I began the gross process of removing the useless top layers of stuff from the old bin and then sorting through the muck below to transfer my worms. I discovered that it at the lowest level of the bin they had been doing their job rather effectively... I think. In the end I transfered all the worms I could find into one section of the new bin and buried them in their new bedding. I probably sacrificed some itty-bity babies that I could not see (they would look like little white pieces of thread, but I didn't see any). I hope that most of the babies (if they existed) were in the bottom layer I transfered with the worms.
And now I wait to see... I'll begin to gather a week's worth of food for them and feed them next Sunday. I think I'll pick up some more worms too. It seems I've only got about 20, maybe only a dozen. I'm not sure how many I started with in my clump of mud, but I know the woman wants to get rid of more and I am happy to oblige.
The wormies seem to be doing well in their newly cleaned home. I was initially annoyed to find some fungus spores in the new bin, but I removed them and haven't seem more yet. They must have been transferred by some of the soil from the first bin.
I'm taking it slowly with this bin. I am mostly feeding them small things, like tea remains. Fed them a flower bouquet recently - hope they like the flowers as much as I did :)
I think I need to get some more worms. Give them more soil perhaps. But my husband bought Miracle Grow soil and I do not want to add that to my bin.