I have a Worm Factory worm bin inside my house. Actually it is in my dining room right next to our dining room table so if you have even eaten at my house you are sharing a meal with hundreds of worms too. I keep my worm bin inside because my garage gets really hot in the Sacramento summer and I am afraid it will hurt the worms. It actually has done great inside and hasn’t been a problem at all. I still can’t believe my husband allowed the worms to come inside but once they were in he hasn’t mentioned them.

I have been meaning to harvest the bottom tray of my worm bin for awhile now. This is what the bottom tray looked like before I harvested. 

I dumped the contents out onto a tarp outside. You can see the worms at the bottom.

I spent time picking through all of the worms and found lots of eggs too. There was a great variety of worms at different stages but I was disappointed that there were not more worms in the bin. This is what the pile looked like once I had picked through all the worms:

In the Worm Factory worm bin there is a bottom tray that catches any water run off and there is a spigot where you can collect your worm tea. However, this is where I found the richest worm castings. Just look at this stuff… it is truly rich soil! 

Here is a close up of the black gold:

Here is an up close shot of the worms:

After sorting through the worm bin, I added some of the castings to the base of some of my plants. I know I didn’t get all of the worms or the eggs but they will be happy in my garden bed. The worms I did collect were put in their new home, the top tray of the worm bin. For the most part I am happy with my Worm Factory bin. I got it several years ago at discount through the RecycleWorks program from San Mateo County when I lived there. Many cities have composters or worm bins  through their waste management programs so if you want one you can always check what your local area offers. The Worm Factory has multiple trays and a collection tray with spigot for the liquid worm tea your system will produce. My model is older so I am sure the new models have addressed it but the thing I hate about my worm bin is that the legs do not stay attached. They “snap” into place with these clips but it is just awfully designed. It has nothing to do with the worms but it is really annoying to move because this happens:

All the legs fall off and you end up dropping your worm bin… worms and all! Sorry worms… its bad design, not an earthquake that did that to you. I think I am going to ditch these legs and find another solution. Or maybe it is time for another bin?!?