Worm Factory 360 Composting Bin + Moisture and pH Testing Meter Worm Farm Kit

Many people have misconceptions about how to do vermicomposting, and they shuffle that blame onto the product rather than taking responsibility. To be fair, Worm Factory could do a better job calling out these issues in the manual. Suppliers like "Squirm Firm" tend to supply additional learning materials to correct common misconceptions. I'll need to cover both this product and those misconceptions to do this justice.What is vermicomposting?It's the process of composting food waste, paper, and lawn clippings into high-quality dirt and fertilizer. Traditional compost piles were huge outdoor affairs. You'd stack up enormous piles of food waste and plant matter, and have to turn the whole thing with a pitchfork to really get it working. The pile had to reach temperatures of 150 degrees during certain portions of the process, which could generate some serious odor. In modern times, specialized worms are bred which do the same job at normal household temperatures. The most common variety, red wigglers, prefer 40-80F - just like people. They produce little if any smell. A fully operational vermicomposter smells of fresh earth, like the good black dirt in a well-manicured garden.What is a Worm Factory 360?The WF360 comes with 4 trays. The idea is that you slowly add food until the first tray fills, then add a tray and repeat, up to the 4th tray. By the time you fill the 4th tray, your worms should have migrated up to the top tray to get at the moisture that comes with fresh food at the top. You remove the bottom tray to recover your worm castings (yes that's worm poop, aka dirt). Empty the finished tray, and put it back on the top. You now have a rotating system you can use indefinitely, moving finished trays back to the top. Your first harvest will be ready in around 6 months, depending on factors such as temperature and rate of feeding.How to get started?Instructions are included. In short: Start with the plastic base. Add in some moist bedding (newspaper or coconut coir, minerals, grit, dirt, soaked gently in water). Add some food (preferably ground-up plant matter such as shredded carrot). Add some worms (a half-pound of red wigglers is normal). Add the lid. If all goes well, you'll only need to add additional food once a week or so, particularly as your worms adjust to their new home they may only need food every 2 weeks. And yes, if you go on vacation, you can easily give your worms 2+ weeks of food while you're out.When will it be done?Your first finished bin of worm castings should be ready in about 3-6 months, depending on your feeding cycle. Several research papers show that after the worms totally leave compost as they migrate to new food, the compost still needs (roughly, depending on conditions) about 3 months to fully mature as bacteria continue to produce beneficial nutrients. You may want to store your "finished" compost in a breathable outdoor bin for a few months to allow for this final maturation - when complete, the compost can be stored indefinitely, such as over the winter.Am I loving my WF360?Absolutely. I bought a full starter kit complete with bedding, minerals, and temp and pH sensors. This kit truly has everything short of worms. It's worth noting that the manuals for the temp and pH sensors are pretty bad, requiring some online research. The pH sensor in particular needs some explaining - in short, you have to dump some compost into distilled water and stir it as the pH sensor can't directly sample even moist compost. Even the online instructions don't explain this very well. But if you research thoroughly online, you can get there. After a month, I have strong worms who jump and flick when I peek under their most newspaper cover to feed them. They're feisty, they're hungry, and they smell like verdant earth. It's going beautifully.What are the misconceptions?Misconception 1: The spigot on the Worm Factory is NOT for "worm tea". So-called worm tea is a distilled product which is prepared from finished worm castings, meaning you can't prepare it until AFTER you've harvested a tray. What runs off of the WF360 is politely called "leachate", but you may know it as garbage water. You are NOT supposed to water your WF360 until it produces a flow of leachate. Have you ever thrown a bunch of vegetables in the garbage, and the bag leaked, and you got stinky water all over the floor? That's leachate, and that's why so many people complain that the tap on the WF360 doesn't "work right". The nozzle exists only to collect accidental runoff, and in normal use, you should see little to no leachate. I haven't had a drop.Misconception 2: The WF360 is NOT able to support 4 heavy bins of overly wet garbage. Lots of people keep putting way too much food into the bins so leachate is pouring out, then they stack 6 bins on top of the base, and are surprised when it finally cracks. If you've used the WF360 correctly, the bottom tray should be fairly dry as the only moisture comes from new food added to the top. The open spigot on the bottom promotes air to circulate under the bottom layer. This drying process greatly reduces the weight of the overall system, making things much easier for the little plastic legs.Misconception 3: This is a double. The WF360 should NOT smell, and it does NOT really matter how many worms you put in, if you're feeding your worms correctly. I've seen people try to order several pounds of worms so they can throw in whole food waste such as corn cobs and whole carrots, and they're surprised when this develops a smell or the worms fail to quickly consume the large food items. You should be feeding your worms small amounts of highly ground food to start. When you give the worms time to adjust to their food, they will eventually reproduce to suit however much food you feed them. From a relative handful of worms in your first bin, you could eventually fill a hundred separate composters if you want to!Misconception 4: The WF360 does NOT magically mind control worms to tell them to migrate upward over time. Worms follow moisture, so per #1 if people keep the whole pile moist, the worms never leave the bottom tray. When the bottom tray is allowed to properly dry, the worms should naturally migrate up. If the worms refuse to migrate, there is a simple solution. Rotate the full bottom bin to the top, lift the lid, and put a strong light (or sunlight) above the top. The worms will rapidly dig down (not only does sun dry worms out, but it exposes them to predators!). Gently scoop off a layer of dirt, and repeat. Even if a few persistent worms refuse to leave the bottom of the tray, congratulations, you've rotated the tray and they're ready to be fed! You can also just chuck the bin - worms and all - into your garden. Note however that red wigglers are adapted to eating decomposed food, and will almost certainly die off in your garden. (But that's the circle of life - if you're planting in the ground, they may someday become food for your local worms!)Bonus: So how do I get this worm tea stuff anyway and is it worth it?Worm tea is basically washing all the nutrients off of the finished compost to make liquid fertilizer. You put worm castings in a fine mesh bag such as cheesecloth. Hang that in a bucket, and use a water circulator such as an aquarium pump to slowly "brew" your "tea". You only need to make worm tea if you already have a finished garden, and you just want the liquid fertilizer (think "Miracle Grow", only you made it!). If you just want soil for planting your flowers in spring, use the worms castings as-is. Please also note, unless you know what you're doing, do not continue to apply worm tea once your plants begin to produce food. You could accidentally be pouring leachate ("garbage water") directly onto your food. It's like a farmer who ends up with manure in their salad - give that stuff time to get into the soil. Consult an expert if you intend to use worm tea on vegetables.Overall:I'm totally happy with my WF360. I love having a living household. From plants, to my worms, to the yeast I use when I bake bread. I have all these little buddies helping me out with all my chores. It's a neat feeling, and so far every part of my WF360 has worked as expected.

Our Worm Factory & worms arrived and we've set everything up easily. HOWEVER the picture is not accurate compared to the product that arrived. It did not come with the informational DVD or the composting book which I was expecting to help me learn more about it. There is a download-able 80 page document that I can print but without a printer this is not possible.

Received package promptly and without damage. It was immediately apparent after minor assembly that this is a well constructed product and with proper use and care it will give many years of good service. Contents of the kit included with the Worm Factory 360 eliminates any apprehension one might have about what's needed to start the bedding for the first 2 trays. Another plus is the instructional "Guide to Vermicomposting". It's well written, informational, and has helpful illustrations. This booklet takes me back to the good old days when technical writing was understandable.I'm 100 percent certain that this deserves a 5 Star review.

Newby with worm compost, having fun so far. I read the instruction booklet and prepared the bed before ordering worms. When worms arrived I followed their instruction (add cup of water to 1lbs of worms, put them in the middle of the bed then cover with the news paper. Do not disturb them for a few days, leave a light on over the bed to prevent worms to wonder out, etc.. ) No one escaped and they are happy in the bin chum chum away. They eat about 3 handful stuff everyday. I have them in the kitchen corner as it's easier to access. I'm glad that I ordered that comes with everything. It was easy to set up the bed. The manual it comes with is not for this model. There is "worm ladder" and you cannot find where it goes in the manual. (It goes on the very bottom - found it through the video) There is no DVD and didn't not found a information link either so I contacted the customer service and they sent me a link. Moisture meter is not accurate as I dipped it in the water and it still says Dry. LOL So far so good!

A wonderful experience and product!! Worms arrived and acclimated in about four days. During the first few days there were about 20-30 red wrigglers that unfortunately went rogue in my basement and those died quickly as they dried out on the basement floor ;-( Sure enough, the wrigglers soon decide that the worm factory is their home and I've not seen an escapee since the first few days.One tray came misshapen and thankfully the vendor quickly shipped a replacement.I'm extremely happy, compost is brewing, and I'm thrilled to be learning about another aspect of composting and gardening. Great product!

The worms and I are loving this. I don't recommend bothering with the moisture meter, it doesn't seem to work. All of the rest of it is making my worms smile. ;)

Easy to set up! Could use a little more information about the process. Directions state that you start a new tray when the first is full. Full of what? Must be that it is full of worm castings. Could also use more information in the set up instructions about how often to check the moisture level. We are anxiously awaiting the wonderful soil that the red wigglers are creating for us. We are seriously contemplating ordering a second Worm Factory for Night Crawlers. We just built a house on the water and could use the Night Crawlers for bait and composting!