The Original VermiHut® Plus 5-Tray Worm Composter – Dark Green | Indoor & Outdoor Vermicomposting Bin | Sustainable Design for Food Waste Recycling

Wanted to try my hand at this and took a chance on this item. Upon arrival, the bottom liquid catching part had a massive crack due to shipping and was unusable. I contacted Vermitek directly and they responded within 24 hours that a new part will be shipped and arrive within the week. It was and now we have everything setup. It was an easy set up for the most part. The instructions were a little confusing due to diagram and all items included were not labeled on instructions. There were bonus items I'm still not sure of their purpose. However, it was genuinely nice they included these hidden surprises. The one design opportunity I think is the bottom tray and guard board do not have a more secure lock in to each other and the bottom feeding tray. I think some sort of tray guard rail would help instead of being flush. While there are cheaper variants out there, I decided to buy this one as it appears to be a legitimate business attempt at a product and not a knockoff trying to cash in. The value has been great overall and the customer support was fantastic. The size is suitable for a small operation with opportunity to grow. I would definitely recommend.

This composter is very easy to assemble. You basically attach a spout and layer the different parts. Add worms, dirt, food, and cardboard. I started with 1000 worms from Uncle Jim, which is 1 pound of worms (compost about .5 lb per day) definitely recommed purchasing worms from them. I followed the instructions that came with the kit, and day 3 I had worms slithering on my laundry room floor every time I checked on them. After more research, I think either 1) their exceptionally traumatic ride through the mail (y'all, I've never seen a box so crunched, they had to tape it together, covering the airholes) meant they needed a little longer than average to settle, 2) my washer and dryer vibrations freaked them out (laundry day...family of 4), or 3) soil slightly dryer than it should have been. I blended some food for them, adding some watermelon to their smoothie, and they seem very happy! There is a YouTube video mentioned in a another review here that uses this composter, and he uses a layering system. During the phase when my worms were escaping out of the bottom using the method described in the user manual, I decided to mimic his bottom layer, having shredded cardboard and newspaper below the worms (this tray and it's contents will eventually become a new top tray). I think layer may also help keep the worms from escaping out of the bottom. Definitely recommed watching his videos. As mentioned, I keep my composter inside my laundry room (I live in the south, they'd die in our heat). It isn't odorless, but it isn't a terrible odor, kinda smells like damp dirt with a tough of sweetness. I'm okay with this in my laundry room, but I don't think I'd have it in my kitchen or anywhere close to where we spend a lot of time, or anywhere guests would be. Side note, my kids love these little guys. My 4yo said they are the best pets because they don't bite or scratch. My 8yo loves making smoothies in the blender using our scraps (not necessary, but it makes it easier for the worms to eat). I'm looking forward to using the worm castings for the garden, especially since the wild critter keep chowing down on my compost pile to the point of having very little compost to use in my garden. Definitely recommed this product!

This worm bin is well designed and made. The components fit together very well so no worms escape. The lid is easy open, easy close so I can check on the little guys or open it up to feed them with no effort. And no smell, which I appreciate. The instructions are thorough, and Vermitek customer support is very responsive and helpful. If you're on the fence about this worm bin just jump down and get one! I've gotten 1 batch of castings so far and I plan to add more worms to get production really going.

This is a great set to get you started. I went and stopped by the local fuel station and bought some red wigglers for fishing, I'm not spending 50 bucks for a bag of worms,it would be too many for these trays anyway. I'm learning with the worms, they're fat, happy and healthy. It comes with coco coir, instructions, advice, and all the tools you need to succeed and successfully breed your own worms for the garden, fishing, soil health or just composting your kitchen waste. It helps you troubleshoot, gives insights on common issues, I'm very happy that I made this purchase, and look forward to vermicomposting for the rest of my life. Highly recommend 🪱

The Vermitek worm composter is a high quality product. Plenty of room to expand and sturdy, I found the instructions confusing as I received pieces that were not described in the instructions. Also the picture of the white opaque piece that fits into the composter lid was pictured upside down. Once I put the cover on my bin I got some mold growing. No harm done but mold should not happen. The setup instructions said to put a piece of cardboard in the bottom of tray #1. But no liquid can get to the liquid collection bin as cardboard absorbs it. The cardboard sheet also limited air flow. After watching a YouTube video I learned that the two thin white sheets of porous material are to use in place of cardboard to cover the bottom of tray #1. The other sheet goes under the first bin on top of the liquid collection bin. This allows the liquid produced to drain into bin with spigot while preventing worms from moving down or escaping as well as increasing air flow throughout the unit. Today I will switch out the cardboard. The other issue was the coconut coir brick took 2 days to break down. I used the claw scraper (provided) to pull off the wet outer layers so water could get to the dry coir. I used the coir that I got loose to set up first bin and let the rest of coir to soak overnight. I continued the soaking and scraping throughout the next day until the brick was completely loosened. I will add the rest of the coir as I redo the first bin today. I do recommend this product. I also recommend the Vermitek company update and clarify the instruction manual.

I'll start with saying that all of the vertical stacking worm farms operate pretty much identically. There's no big differentiator between them in terms of producing worm castings. With that said, I bought the Worm Factory 12 years ago and it's produced a large amount of worm castings over the years, but with that amount of time, a couple of things cropped up; 1) the trays are starting to crack at the corners, and 2) I don't feel the legs are designed well to support the weight of five full trays; the legs have been splaying out over time. Given that they all operate on the same principle, it came down to design and, to a lesser extent, price. I like the base on the VermiHut as there's no way the support legs will splay out over time. I also like the rounded corners of the trays as I believe this design relieves some of the stress that my Worm Factory experienced with cracking at the tray corners. And I'm happy that everything's allegedly made from 100% recycled materials. I guess the second criteria for selecting a product is what's included. Mine came with a brick of coconut coir and a woven mat made of some kind of organic fiber. I don't need either one as I just moved the contents of my existing trays to the new VermiHut. I also didn't use the included sheets of nylon mesh as I'm using mine outdoors, nor did I need the trays for preventing ants from invading (good design though). The one thing the Worm Factory came with that the VermiHut didn't was a small bag of vermiculite that worms apparently like for digestion (it deposits in the worms' guts), but I haven't used it in years and it doesn't seem to impact the quantity of worm castings produced. As another reviewer mentioned, you should be producing little to no leachate. If you are, you're ecosystem has too much moisture and the whole bin is likely to smell pretty bad. When I moved the contents of my old trays to the VermiHut, there was literally zero smell at all, no liquid in the base, and thousands of happy worms. We've tuned what we put in the bin over the years and are now down to just espresso machine coffee pucks (very low moisture), banana peels and the occasional overripe banana. The worms love it, but I think it comes down to the moisture level that makes them and the ecosystem thrive. The VermiHut is clearly designed for very little leachate production based on the volume of the base which is fine with me. All in all, I'm a satisfied customer and expect the VermiHut to last at least as many years as the Worm Factory. I did contact VermiHut to ask about a couple of things not mentioned in the owner's manual and they promptly clarified everything. I'll close with a lesson learned a long time ago.... you should never give your worms hot chili peppers. I literally murdered almost every worm in all of the bins and felt horrible about it! Poor little guys.

This has everything you need to start worm composting except the worms and compost. The instructions are well written and it includes all the tools and accessories. All I needed were the red wigglers and i bought some cocoanut husk bricks. I had it it ready to go in a day just in time for mybworms to arrive. The trays are sturdy and fit well within each other so the worms cant get out. I am two months in and I have not lost any worms they are happy making castings and hopefully I will havw worm tea soon. Steve from customer answered all my questions promptly. Great sevice and a great product.I am a novice worm farmer but have been an avid Bonsai and vegetable gardener for years. This is an easy and fun hobby and takes little skill or work. Just feed them once in a while and monitor the moisture level, the worms do the rest!

I started vermicomposting almost a year ago with this. This is as complete a composter as you can ask for. Perfect size and quality for one person to handle, and easy to bring my worms in during winter. It comes with all you'll need to start vermicomposting. My kitchen has no odors, and my worms are happy. I mean, I haven't asked them, but they continue to multiply like rabbits. Of the thousands of worms I started with, a few wriggled away initially, but I don't think they are happier wherever they may be. Some drowned in excessive rain, and some may be in the bellies of birds or other predatory creatures. The ones that stayed are treated to fresh organic matter once reserved only for worm royalty. My worm population has tripled in size, thanks to great vermigoverning from myself... The Lord of the Worms. (Disclaimer: Coffee portrayed in the video is not actually coffee and likely contains worm pee. I use it as an organic fertilizer. Consume at your own risk.)