After years of monitoring and trying to be "bin manager", I have found that in-ground bins work best for me. I still have about 16 plastic bins going, because I sell worms and bins. I have all kinds of possibilities set up to demonstrate, how it can be done, in many different kinds of situations, to people who come here to build bins. I have a hole-in-the-ground bin, which was never actually a hole,( never got around to digging it). I just put food scraps on the ground, covered it with leaves, and waited for the worms. They did come and brought all their friends. That bin does not have any cover, so it is a free for all. I don't really care, so it works. I have built some cinderblock bins, that do have hinged lids. They are just dry stacked over some hardware cloth, in contact with the ground. I grow most of my herd in those bins, so the free lunch is closed to other large creatures. I do not monitor any of those outdoor bins very much, and I think the worms and all other decomposers are much happier with me just dumping the buffet in and leaving them to their business. They know what they are doing, so..YAY!
Here is a link to the images of my cinderblock bin and 1 shot of the hole-in-the-ground: http://photobucket.com/albums/y209/redhen/projects/

Susan, Great pictures. I have a question, How far do you dig out the dirt inside of the cinder block bin? And are the blocks sitting on the ground or are they buried part way in the ground. This is not what I thought your in ground bins looked like when I read about them in your other posts. I'm glad you put this link on. I wish this site had a page where people could put up pictures because its interesting to see how everybody has a little different set up. It would also be nice to see pictures of the people that frequent this sight. I think I will try to figure out how to put a link to some of my photos of my set up. Thanks for the pictures. Tom

Sauceman..Look on the "Discussions Suggestions" forum page and click on the "adding images to posts". You will see a detail of how to add images to your posts. Perhaps you could start a new thread with folks showing their set-ups. (Probably not great news for people with "dial-up" connections) I only put my Photo Bucket images on because there were so many to show. I never dug anything for those bins. I just laid the hardware cloth down, put cinderblocks on the edges of that cloth, (to keep out voles and moles), and added bedding and food. I use leaves on top of the food in those bins. Today, I buried "plugs" of grain in all quarters, to act as little furnaces. Even with the temps here in NC in the low 20's at night, I see the worms up and feeding.

I'm fixing to make an in-ground bin like yours, Redhen. My partner, though, cautions that hardware cloth contains zinc--poisonous to humans. I wonder if this matters. I know that my worms process out all kinds of pathogens, making the castings safe for the garden. But metals?

hmmm..I do not think zinc is poisonous. Zinc is a nonpoisonous and an environmentally sound product. It does not contain impurities that could be set free under atmospheric conditions or produce toxic fumes in case of fire. Zinc is an element essential for life and most organisms need it to survive.
Most rocks and many minerals contain zinc in varying degrees. It also exists naturally in air, water and soil. Zinc is most commonly found in the earth?s crust.

For humans, zinc plays an essential role in metabolism. For example, zinc is vital for the proper functioning of more than 200 enzymes, for the stabilization of DNA and the expression of genes, and for the transfer of nervous signals. Zinc is a trace element, as important as iron, magnesium or calcium.
I actually take zinc supplements when I feel a cold coming on.
There are other metals to consider but I do not think zinc is one.

Redhen is 100% correct about zinc. Check out a bottle of Centrum. Zinc Oxide is the thick white stuff used by surfers and skiers to prevent sunburn.