Food may be cut up or ground into small pieces to speed up the process, providing more surface area for the worms to feed on. Worms are most active when temperatures are moderate, about 55 to 77 degrees. If the worm bin is kept outdoors, it will need to be insulated during cool weather with something like straw bales, carpet, mounded soil, or ridged foam around the sides and top of the bin. In the summer, a shady spot will keep the worms from becoming overheated. A worm bin may be kept inside under a kitchen sink, in a laundry room, or in the garage.
Worms eat half their weight in food scraps and about an equal amount of bedding each day.
A bin that starts with about a 1 pound of worms will need to be fed a handful of food every other day. Food should be buried about two thirds of the way under the bedding. If the bin gets too wet, add more newspapers and turn the contents to introduce more air. Also avoid overfeeding worms or giving them inappropriate foods. The same conditions that produce odors can attract flies and gnats.