Features:

  • The Worm Factory 360 has a standard 4-Tray size which is expandable up to 8 trays, giving it the largest volume of any home composter.
  • The redesigned lid converts to a handy stand for trays while harvesting the compost.
  • Includes Manual and a Warranty included after product registration.
  • The accessory kit provides basic tools to make managing the Worm Factory 360 easier.
  • Built in "worm tea" collector tray and spigot for easy draining.
  • The Worm Factory 360 has a standard 4-Tray size which is expandable up to 8 trays, giving it the largest volume of any home composter.
  • The redesigned lid converts to a handy stand for trays while harvesting the compost.
Happy Vermicomposting

Are you like me who tried to compost your kitchen scraps the old fashion way which causes fruit flies, a deathly stench and last but not least gets frozen in the winter then this Vermicomposting is the one for you...well at least it's the right match for me and my family. Purchased the Worm Factory on May 9th and it arrived on May 12th. I ordered 2000 Red Wrigglers from www.unclejimswormfarm.com for the cost of $29.95 on the same day the Worm Factory was purchased. The worms arrived 2 days after the Worm Factory was delivered. The Worm Factory comes with an instructional manual and dvd, a bottle of mineral rock dust, shredded card board, a small ziplock bag of coir, small ziplock bag of pumice, 4 trays and a kit (rake, scraper and a thermometer). It was easy to set up the first worm bin because the instructional manual was written in simple layman's terms and step by step instructions. You only need to line the first worm bin with damp not dripping wet newspaper...the additional food trays added does not need to be lined. I am 2 weeks into setting up the Worm Factory and I am thrilled. The first tray is almost broken down completely only a few scraps of food remains which I didn't cut up small enough and as a result they still need to be broken down more. I just added a 2nd food tray last week and used the rest of the coir, pumice, added damp shredded newspaper and some of the castings from the first tray and it was a success. Some of the worms have migrated to the 2nd tray and are busy at work and I have also seen worm babies which the instructional manual points out as a good thing. First do NOT put the Worm Factory in direct sunlight....I initially put it in the back yard and did not pay attention to the instruction of no direct sun light (only shaded areas). Some of the worms crawled out and died due to the heat...so now my Worm Factory is in the basement. Initially, I had to use a lamp to discourage the worms from coming out the tray but after two days the light was no longer needed. Also, there is no smell of rotting food and no fruit flies. To further discourage fruit flies I use one of the trays to store only shredded paper which gets placed immediately on top of the newly added 2nd tray. The bins does give off an earthy smell but that doesn't bother me. Over all I am happy with my Worm Factory.

I have worms, but my husband loves me anyhow.

(As the process continues, the review will update.) Hi, I'm Michelle, and I have worms. A few weeks ago I made the decision to give vermicomposting a try. I live in an area that supports recycling, but we still have to take the items there. The rest of the trash costs us per weight, and ends up decomposing in a way that is not healthy. Why not reduce the trips to recycling, the money spent having someone else take away the rest of it, and end up with healthy compost for our plants? Hey, when it's January and you live in one of the coldest states, you start thinking about gardening so that you don't go all Jack Torrance. I read a lot on the topic, including a lot of advice on making my own bin. However, DIY bins almost always involved work in getting your slimy friends to go to The Other Side of The Bin. I decided to make the investment and buy a stackable unit, because they're made and used in a way that the worms migrate up and leave the finished compost behind. I thought it was well-worth the money now for the convenience and the anticipated money saved. Set up of this unit was very easy, and I choose to follow the advice of many to set it up a week or two before the worms arrived in order to introduce them in when the environment was ideal for them. Worms, come to find out, don't care about your rotting food and yesterday's paper so much as they care about the microbes that care about these things, and so setting it up allows those microbes to show-up and chow down. The kit gave everything I needed, including shredded paper, with the exception of table scraps and the recommended dirt to introduce grit and microorganisms. Dirt is not readily accessible in Minnesota in January, but I managed a couple tablespoons of mud. (Besides, when the worms showed up, they brought some dirt with them and I had some, er, well-aged scraps.) Yesterday -1/27/10- the worms arrived and I introduced them to the bin. While they were well-packaged, shipped next day air, and held at the post office, they'd still been through a lot, and were initially sluggish (is calling a worm sluggish a mixed metaphor or just possibly defamatory?) but after a couple hours much more active. They're mostly the surface and do seem to be attracted to the areas with the scraps. While it's early, and I intend to update this as the process continues, I'm quite happy with the bin and the very detailed instructions or setting up the bedding, etc. It's also very simple looking and attractive enough that, had I not a basement, it would be acceptable upstairs. A nice feature, and you can see it in the picture, is that the lid has quick guide to what scraps are best and offers some great tips. I'm new at this, but I'll happily answer any questions I can in the comments about my personal experience or understanding of things. If you email me, I also might post that to comments -- referring to you as Ann on a Mouse, if you're shy. YouTube has lots of videos, but you will feel weird confessing to people that you've spent hours watching people fiddling with worms. (Trust me, I've been there.) *** 2/3/10 Going well. Learning to not over -- overfeed, overworry, over-nose-around. The worms are still adjusting, but the environment seems to be working, and they're going at the scraps. Because I cook most nights, and make lots of veggies, I think it'll be a while before they'll be able to handle what I could give them, so I'm holding back.! There has been a day or two where I've not added to it, and let them catch up. Been grinding the scraps up in a chopper -- anything to start them out right. Also, upping the amount of fiber -- newspaper, mostly. Only 1 has tried to go "over the wall." I continue to read up on the topic and my friends are either genuinely interested or humoring me until someone can show up with my injection. *** 2/07/10 Hubert Hawkins: The pellet with the poison's in the flagon with the dragon; the vessel with the pestle has the brew that is true. Griselda: Just remember that. The Court Jester A mortar and pestle is a great way to ground up dried egg shells. The worms use them for grit, which aids in digestion, it's a source of calcium which could help with reproduction -- or not -- and it prevents the soil from being too acidic. This is the one I have: Harold's Kitchen 3-1/2 Inch Round Mortar and Pestle, but I picked it more for looks than practicality. If you've saved up a number of shells, I've read you can use something like a plastic bucket, or dishpan, and a mason jar. A lot of folks just crumble by hand or toss the shells in whole. *** 2/14/10 Happy Valentine's Day, and what's more romantic than a bin of worms? Things are going fine. I've found a warmer spot in my basement, and now the bin is at about 65F, which is the best I can hope for this time of year unless I want to move the gang to the guest room. I've also ordered more worms. We're just creating too much waste right now and could use the help ... and I'm impatient. We have a freezer in the basement and I have a good size Tupperware container to freeze excess, but there's only so much room. As kitchen scraps accumulate I use Norpro Ceramic Compost Keeper (in red.) It works well, and has a filter to stop your kitchen from smelling. The handle is shoddy though, and it arrived chipped -- I'll be honest and say I should have gotten a metal one. Whether you chose ceramic or metal, there are attractive designs out there though, that'll look okay on your counter. Compost keepers also allow scraps to age for a few days, which means they attract attention faster in the bin. Freezing scraps, or microwaving them, also breaks them down and has a similar effect, with the added consideration of killing off fruit fly eggs or mites that might have hitchhiked from the grocery store. Most mites are actually beneficial, but I think most folks are more comfortable not having stow-aways. One last note on the counter compost keeper: mix it up a little and be aware of how old the oldest scraps are so that you don't end up with a stinky mess at the bottom. After a week or so, maybe less, it's time to freeze or make sure the oldest stuff is what's for dinner in the bin! *** 2/15/10 I should mention that the Worm Factory comes with a lot of stuff. There's coconut coir for the base bedding, and a lot of people swear by it and continue to use it. It's sent as a brick and you soak it in water until it's hydrated and smells like earth and clean soil. There's shredded newspaper, also for bedding, and other related materials. (Paper and cardboard serve as food & bedding, and the addition of them throughout the process keeps smells down, helps if you end up with extra moisture, and it vital to the process.)There's also a hand rake and a scraper. I've never used the scraper. There's also a thermometer which my husband wrote WORMS across so that there are no mix-up with the one in the kitchen -- I supported him in this. There's also a detailed instruction manual, which helped put me at ease. (This is what I received and what they offer currently -- I'd look at the product description to verify this is still accurate when you order.) The WF (Worm Factory) is designed with a spigot to drain out extra liquids that might fall into the collection tray -- which is different from your working tray with the bedding, worms, and scraps. How moist a bin should be is the matter of some debate and nothing I feel experienced enough to speak to. There are also many discussions on what to do with this liquid -- which is called leachate, but some people call it worm tea. Most experts call worm tea something else -- a deliberate effort to create a mixture to pour on plants which I'm too early in the process to have done. I will say that my bin is moist, but not so moist that there has been drainage. I've rescued the odd worm from the collection bin, but not more than a drop or two of liquid. Since bins evolve, this might change. The design is also made for worms who fall down there to be able to crawl back up. I'm adding updates enough to see this will get unwieldy before too long, so I'll announce them here, but place them in comments. :) *** Latest update, 10/26/10, see first page of comments.

For a NEW worm farmer - I definitely recommend paying the extra money to get the "accessories" that are in this kit.

For a NEW worm farmer - I definitely recommend paying the extra money to get the "accessories" that are in this kit. The book is awesome! I have a feeling that I'll be eventually making my own bins - but for now I'm enjoying the process of falling in love with worms that this handy kit encourages! Right now it's in our home (it's winter) and I love the handy way of feeding them. They are so quiet, and low maintenance. A GREAT thing for kids, even though I have none - I would definitely get this if I had kids, to teach them about taking care of our world. By the way .... Did you know that this world would have a critical garbage problem, and depleted soil issues, if it wasn’t for the tiniest of creatures such as worms? One single worm can process 10 pounds of material every year - transforming garbage into something useful and nutritious. What’s very interesting along these lines, is that what goes into a worm, and then comes out the other end, are two different things. Worm castings (i.e.”poop”) is actually called “black gold” to gardeners, because of how nutritionally dense it is. Soil that a worm processes is suddenly 5 times richer in nitrogen, 10 times in potassium, 7 times in phosphate, 1.5 times in calcium and 3 times richer in magnesium! I find it amazing how the Creator shows us his heart through nature. In His ultimate design, nothing is wasted. Recycling was always His idea. :-)

No worm left behind

I've been using the Worm Factory 360 for almost 2 years now and I'm very pleased with this compost bin. I enjoy gardening, and one of the principles of organic gardening of which I was well aware, but had been resisting to implement, was composting. I thought it would be too much work, too much hassle. But now I've been doing this for a while, and it's a really low maintenance operation. About once or twice a week, I'll put food into the bin and water. I empty out the drained water on my garden plants. About every 6-8 weeks now I have to harvest the compost. This is the only part that takes work - you have to rotate the bins so the bottom one is on the top and then rake the compost a bit and wait a few hours for the worms to all migrate back down. Then you have to set up a new bin with new bedding material. The worm factory works very well, although when you look inside there are always going to be tiny mites crawling over everything and even tiny snails, which I seem to have been stuck with since day one. Not too much fruit flies if you cover the top layer with newspaper. On occasion, I encounter spiders (yuck!). But the worms themselves? They're thriving. I started off with 3/4 lb of red worms. Generations of worms have come and gone since then, happily digesting all my vegetable and fruit scraps and unwanted junk mail. You quickly learn what works and what doesn't. For me, I made the mistake one time of putting avocado scraps in the bin, within days it started smelling like dog poo and I had to remove all of it. Whenever I feed my slimy friends and check on their progress, I have a special song. It goes, "Feed the worms.... tuppins a bag..." Unfortunately, sometimes when I rotate out the bins to harvest compost, there always seem to be worms stuck down on the bottom, and I have to rescue them and put the back on the top. I have a slogan for that too: "No worm left behind."

Just got it!

Update: 5/23/15 I have had this thing for 6 months now. I purchased 500 worms right after receiving. Half the worms died within a couple of days. Thinking the cold weather and slightly delayed shipping killed them. Uncle Jim stated his company guaranteed quick shipment and live. When I contacted they just blew me off with excuses. The remaining worms slowly multiplied. I should have purchased local and started with 1000 worms. I have been feeding regularly with slightly aged veggie scraps and some newspaper. I added my second bin 2 months ago. I still have worms in the bottom bin seemingly cleaning up every last morsel of "food". As for smell? Nothing noticeable unless I removed the lid and take a big breath. Slight issue with some type of tiny fruit like flies. A yellow sticky trap nearby keeps them in check. Only a couple worms seemed to venture out in 6 months. They don't make it very far. So all things considered, this was a good purchase as I now have viable castings and a fully populated worm colony just as happy as worms can be! Arrived 3 days ago. Wigglers arrived today. Took 5 minutes to unpack and assemble. I see the same composter all over the web for the same price. So this is one of those products where the patent owner sets the price for all resellers. What do I think? It seems fairly sturdy. Not super sturdy. Not flimsy. Is it worth the price? Maybe. But I take into consideration that a lot of work went into designing and finding a manufacturer. Then the manufacturer had to make an investment in forms and taking the chance the inventor would sell enough of these to make it worth the investment. This is version 2, so a lot more work. And it's made in the USA. Thats a big plus with me. I will say the pic is a tad misleading. I didn't expect the front to be open. That's obviously to show how it works. But, showing the bins stacked evenly is not reality. They stack together much more closely. So it's not as high as it looks. Make sense? Each bin actually fits in much tighter and will sink in as far as the tabs allow or to the height of the bedding in the lower bin. So what. The pic is simply marketing. Like the whopper on the commercials showing a very high burger with sheets of lettuce when you know you are getting a flat burger with shredded lettuce and limp pickles. But why did I buy it? Cuz buying bags of worm poop aint cheap. $22 for 15 lbs. Ok, no shipping through amazon if you buy a couple bags, but it's still expensive. And a little bit of the dry bagged stuff does not go a long way as stated. But use enough and man does it work! I'm growing veggies in my tent with T5 lighting this winter. See pics. I start everything in 16 oz solo cups. I use a mix of roughly 50/50 coir and castings. I add Azomite, perlite, vermeculate, a bit of organic triple 16 and a few other goodies. The tomato plants are 7 weeks old! Look at the fat stems. I have been hand pollinating the toms and peppers. I see tiny fruits starting to form! So I figure it's worth my time and cash to make my own castings. Additionally, watching youtube vids of people making worm farms from HD plastic totes and the mess they make does not appeal to me. Updates to follow...

Extremely helpful for beginners!

I was very pleased with the wealth of information provided with this worm bin. I was initially expecting to only get a simple worm bin with a few bedding materials and a few instructions on how to set it up. But instead it comes shipped with a FULL booklet on just about EVERYTHING you need to know to get started in vermiculture. I appreciate the fact that these sellers are committed to the success of their customers by providing so much useful information. The booklet details how to troubleshoot and identify problems that may arise, how and what to feed your worms, how to properly maintain the bin over months, how to harvest the castings from the bin when it's ready, anatomy and life cycle of worms, how to keep your worms happy, and so much more! Receiving this booklet was definitely a breath of fresh air compared to all the small sheets of papers I get with broken translated English printed on them. I also like how you get enough bedding to fill two trays so you will be set for several months before you need to go get some additional materials for bedding (if you don't already have some). Currently, the worms have been quite happy in their new home (as far as I can tell). I've had the bin for about a month now and it has worked well for me. Obviously I will need more time to fully access this product, but so far, it's been easy to use and useful. A word of caution for those that are new to vermicomposting: When you add your new worms to the bin, make sure the environment is just to their liking (how to do this is explained in detail in the manual that comes with this item). When I received my worms in the mail, they were obviously stressed from the cross-country trip they had to make so they probably weren't the happiest of worms. After putting them in the bin, they WILL go exploring and this worm bin WILL NOT contain them. The bin is designed to allow proper air flow so it is far from being completely sealed. If the worms are not happy and want to explore the world around them, they will! Since I had to immediately leave after I added the worms to my bin, I came home to several worms (around 10) crawling around on the floor around the bin! It is suggested to turn on a light right above the bin to discourage them leaving, and I thought turning on the kitchen light would be enough. I was definitely wrong! I highly recommend getting a very bright desk lamp of sorts to shine *directly* above the bin for the first few days. After I got this bright lamp in place and adjusted the moisture levels of the bin, the worms were much more cooperative in staying inside. Now that the worms have acclimated to their new environment, I have no issues with them staying inside the bin and have no more need for the bright lamp. So to recap, when you get your worms, make sure you've got a little pile of food waiting for them and make sure the moisture levels are proper (not too dry, not too wet). Then make sure you've got a bright light to setup up directly outside of the bin that you can shine on it. If you do these things, you will not end up like me and find a bunch of worms crawling all over your floor and walls. Unfortunately, I lost a handful of worms due to my initial problems (they can dry out pretty quick and will die if left outside the bin), but the worms that are left are happily crawling around their food now. I would highly recommend ordering your worms after your worm bin so you have time to get things situated. More importantly, you'll have time to read through booklet that will ensure you know what you're doing when the time comes! Definitely read through the booklet since its got so much good information. I've been very happy with this product and would definitely recommend it to anyone that is interested in vermicomposting. The bin does not stink if taken care of properly, and I haven't even gotten any fruit flies yet! The worms mind their own business and just eat and poop all day--exactly what I want them to do!

Choose this one over the traditional Worm Factory

I'm a huge fan of the Worm Factory products. I own three bins, one is the original and two are the 360. While the 360 has a few silly whistles & bells that the original didn't include (instructional DVD, a plastic rake my 3-year-old loves, a black thing called a "sprinkler" that I haven't figured out yet) it is worth the small additional investment for a few reasons: 1. Higher capacity. The 360 maxes out at eight trays because of its sturdier base. If you plan to grow your colony this is important. 2. Better lid. The lid on the 360 fits more securely and can hold trays while you are harvesting. Great feature. 3. Thermometer. I bought a meat thermometer for use with my original Worm Factory, then found the 360 comes with one. Very handy when one of your trays is overheating. 4. Pumice. They send you a generous quantity of pumice with the 360. This is great to sprinkle in the trays for moisture control and airflow. 5. Better designed spigot. The spigot on the original isn't slanted down like this one, so it's tough to drain the leachate completely from the collection tray. 6. Increased oxygen flow. The bottom tray sits up on risers to allow airflow in the leachate bin. This is a huge improvement over the original, where I had major issues with product quality once I reached maximum tray capacity. This is a super accessible product and you will not be disappointed.

It's been 1 month and the worms are going strong!

Update after 1 month: I just started my second tray less then a week ago - after 12 hours I already had worms climbing into the newest tray. I still have a ton of worms working on the bottom tray but it's pretty neat to know they are thriving and looking for more food. I'm amazed at what they eat - I feel so much better knowing I'm not wasting food because a roll got moldy - "The worms will eat it!" has become my mantra of late. The only thing I have been struggling with is keeping the top layer of newspaper moist. I think it has too many colored areas on the pages so isn't retaining the moisture well. Eventually I'll change it out for something 100% black & white but for now I soak it in water every couple of weeks. The worms don't seem to mind. Update after 24 hours: The garage got rather cold as evening went on and more worms were escaping. It was probably about 45* in the garage and since it was a new bin there wasn't any warmth inside the bedding and food pile. I put them all back in the bin and brought the Worm Factory in the house. Not one worm has escaped since it's been inside the house and it's been over 12 hrs. Poor little worms were just cold. Original comment: My worms arrived yesterday which was several days earlier then I thought so I quickly got the worm factory ready. It's very easy to follow the directions to get started. The worms took to their new home wonderfully in just 30 minutes they were out of their ball and moving around. The book that came with the Worm Factory says to check on the worms after 2-3 days but I couldn't wait. Glad I didn't! They are moving around so well that some of them crawled out of the bin and died :( I was able to get the other bunch of worms that were on the inside of the bin cover and under the bottom bin (about 10 of them) back into the bin. I spritzed everything with water since it looked a little dry. The book said they are confused when they first arrive and some can escape. The rest of them seem to be feasting on the food in the bin. I will check for escapees again tomorrow and see how it goes. I still can't believe I touched worms with my bare hands and lived to tell about it! :) I'm very excited to see how this whole thing turns out. I'm so tired of throwing out food scraps and don't have enough material for a big compost bin in the yard.

Best Ever Gift! Eliminates Food Waste!

This product is so amazing. It was my BEST EVER Mother's Day gift! We started with a half pound of worms locally and still are on the first bin. Our food waste is next to nonexistent - and that makes us happy since our city does not collect compostables. Setup is a breeze because everything is included! Hooray! I wish I had bought more worms to start, but I think the local worm farm wanted me to to get the bin environment going before adding too many worms. The worms are happily multiplying and we have many babies and cocoons! I've had NO TROUBLE with flies or other pests. If you are having trouble, your bin is either too wet or you are feeding too much. Cover your bin with a few pages of newspaper and a couple inches of shredded paper and cardboard. Amazon shipping boxes are just slim enough to fit into my paper shredder, so I also shred my cardboard. If you squeeze your paper and it drips, your bin is too wet! It should feel like a wrung out, wet sponge. I mist my top layer of newsprint every couple of days. We've kept our bin in the kitchen for handy access since March! No smell, very clean. Our 65 lb. dog leaves it alone, so you don't have to worry about your pets messing with it. My bin still has not had liquid come out of the spout yet. If you have a lot of liquid draining, add more shredded paper and cardboard. My preference is to feed the worms about twice a week. Our food scraps get chopped and saved in plastic freezer bags. When they're low on food, I take some of the frozen food and let it defrost before adding to the bin. I'm so glad my family got me this bin - instead of making a DYI version. It's AWESOME! *If my review has helped you, please click the button below the review. Thanks :)

Yes, I have thousands of worms now.

I wasn't sold on the idea when my wife said she wanted to start raising worms in the garage. What's the point, I thought? But now, I love it (not touching them--that's her job). As a writer, there is something immensely therapeutic about feeding the torn up drafts of your writing to a box of warms in the garage. And knowing that in a few months it will be soil that feeds the yard that you can walk in in bare feet. As a person, there is something satisfying about putting your food waste to good us. In our case, the worms have also presented an interesting food hierarchy. We, the humans eat what we want from the fridge. The waste, leftovers and scraps then go to our pet goats--who are surprisingly picky. What they don't want goes to the chickens. What the chickens don't want or leave behind, goes to the worms. It's quite a food chain. Anyway, definitely get this and pick up the book Worms Eat My Garbage! to go along with it.

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