Hello I'm from New Jersey

[KristieL]

New to the worms and compost deal,just think it is a great learning experience for myself as well as my children so any helpful info anyone has please share ,we currently have a plastic tote,I made several holes in the plastic tote for air circulation, also lined the bottom with unused coffee filters uncolored paper,added some soil then a layer of papertowels,some cardboard more soil then put the container of worms in the bin and slightly covered them,I made sure the soil was moist but not soaked i have the bin kept in my sun room covered with a sheet, would like to know what kinds of food should i bury for them to eat? and if i should keep this bin in my house or put in the garage?

[Brian M]

Hello Kristiel and welcome to the Forum.

I think it is a great idea to get the children involved. Every house should have a worm farm.

I am not a fan of paper and cardboard as it has very little nutritional value. With composting worms you really shouldn't add soil to your bin as it can be abbrasive and scratch the worms skin. Organic mixes without sand or soil would be ok. I prefer and use horse manure in all my beds. The worms live in it and also thrive in it.
What you can do is add manure over the top of your bin. The maure needs to be damp but not dripping wet.

The worms will move into the manure and will also work the paper and cardboard. After a couple of weeks look to see if you have any cocoons. They are like grape seeds and should be light green to dark brown.

You can feed them all your veggie scraps except citrus, onions, chillis etc. No meat or dairy as these will attract pests. Freeze the scraps or put them into a blender and chop them up. You can do both. Allow to thaw out before feeding the worms

As you have just started don't feed too much till the worms build up in numbers to be able to eat all the food within a couple of days Just small amounts till you get an idea how much they can handle. Just put the food on the top of the bedding and cover with some old carpet or similar.

I would keep it in the garage as a healthy worm bin has many creatures living in it and not just worms. They all assist in breaking down the food. Good luck and keep us informed as to how they are going.