A few questions - does vermicomposting make sense for a compost pile about 4 times the size of that one that sits on soil? Also, does it make sense to do during the winter, or should I wait till spring to start it up?

Is it safe to put paper in the compost pile? Paper isn't only wood - it has many toxins in the ink and is treated with chlorine, among other things.

is there a particular reason why the newspaper is placed there?

My understanding is that, when doing organic kitchen composting to keep it organic shouldn't be mixed with non organic elements, besides the paper can be recycled on its own. Maybe is a way to keep the smell low?

It would be interesting that became the studies necessary to know if in these worms are the cure cancer!

For more vermiculture tales and phun phacts, read THE EARTH MOVED, ON THE REMARKABLE ACHIVEMENTS OF EARTHWORMS by Amy Stewart. Worms are amazing animals, without whom humans could not have evolved.

Definitely send follow up pictures to let us know how it works and how difficult/easy it turns out to be.

Then I might be able to convince my wife to try it out at our house...

I believe the newspaper is a sort "filler" material, that the worms do eventually eat. I guess it not toxic enough to harm the worms.

You can vermicompost during the winter, if you put your bin in the basement or some place warm.

I don't think there's a limit to the size of the bin you can use, and the worms do reproduce quite rapidly, so Im sure they would fill any large container eventually.

Jusitn

While vermicomposting is certainly a worthwhile project, I'm not sure why the everyday adventures of Alison Rogers are getting coverage on this site -- is she newsworthy in some way that I missed?

Flies are attracted to exposed composting scraps, so the newspaper is an effective way to protecting the composting layer while still letting air down to the worms. Also, it helps keep the pile from getting too moist, and I think acts as a change of pace food for the worms. Too much worm castings is evidently toxic for the little buggers, so you need to mix in some carbon-heavy (I think, I'm stretching my memory here) content like newspaper or grass clippings to keep them healthy.

Course I say all of this, and my worm bin is a bit of a mess, so take it with a grain of salt.

I've been doing vermiculture at my apartment in DC for over a year now, in a setup very similar to what Allison has (hi Alli!). We also use newspaper--it is actually a crucial ingredient. It helps moderate the moisture from the veggie scraps, and keeps mold growth down. You could also use dried leaves, but those are hard to come by in the middle of the city. (Don't particularly want the ones from the gutters because of car pollution and runoff.) The best parts about having a worm bin? Less stinky trash to carry down to the dumpsters, and wonderful soil!

Don't want to use shredded newspapers in your worm bin? Apartment dwellers can find an abundance of dry leaves waiting for them every fall neatly bagged on the curbs or in the alleys behing single family homes whose residents have no idea of the value of a bag of dried leaves to the homemade soil enthusiast. In the dark of night I've "stolen" dozens of bags of my neighbor's leaves to fill out my compost bins without paying them one read cent. They do all the work of collection, I, and my vegetable garden reap all the benefit. By the way, what if you don't take your worms inside in the winter? Do they hibernate? Can you winter them without bringing them inside? My wife just won't accept them in the basement.

The worms need carbon, that's why the paper or cardboard is actually completely necessary, not only useful. Most printers have moved away from toxic inks apparently, and now use soy based inks I've heard. I've never had a problem. Definitely you need to look up more sources of information if you're going to try vermicomposting, because there's not nearly enough information on this post or in the comments. This is the best site I've found for information, troubleshooting, how to harvest worms and use the compost, etc.

Optimal temperatures are between 15 Celsius and at about 28 Celsius (surrounding temperature) the worms might start to crawl out of the bin in my experience. The worms are supposed to survive down to about 5 degrees Celsius. I don't think freezing them is a good idea, but it's quite possible their "eggs" would survive and hatch little worms when temperatures and conditions improve to what is desirable. You could also look into insulation such as Styrofoam or put them in a shed, etc.