Comments about Worm Chalet:

I have been worm composting successfully for about 15 years, starting with a home-made foam cooler, a Rubbermaid tub with holes in the bottom (very small, made with a soldering iron) and progressing through the Wormaroo and this product. I was very disappointed in the Worm Chalet, and agree with the criticisms made by other reviewers. The directions are terrible; the worms fell through into the tea compartment and drowned, causing a flood on the basement floor. The whole thing is way too heavy and clumsy to clean out, drain, etc. I had to ask my son to help me manage it, and ended up emptying the whole thing out and abandoning the project. Just about all the worms had died by then, even though I had added grit (garden soil), egg shells, etc.

Comments about Worm Chalet:

Our old worm composter had insect barriers, so we actually used it indoors, on the landing outside our apartment. This composter seems to attract insects a lot. Aside from that, it's a terrific product. The worms migrate from the old compost to the new waste, so sorting the compost is easier, and you don't have to wait for an entire "batch" to be completely done, as with a barrel composter. We bought one for friends as a gift this year.

Comments about Worm Chalet:

This is the third year we have had our Worm Chalet. It has coped with our kitchen scraps and some of our leaves etc. I lime it regularly and keep it moist. It produces excellent compost and compost tea with very little fuss. I used to compost by traditional (Henry Doubleday) methods, but did not have sufficient space in our NYC garden. This has been acceptable to the other people in the building who relax in the communal garden, with no complaints about appearance or smell.

It would be nice to have extra trays for use in winter when we produce kitchen scraps a little faster than the worms can process them.

Comments about Worm Chalet:

Ok, the only complaint I have is the picture shows a red bucket I suspect is used to put your food scraps in before composting. My kit did not come with this bucket. This should not be on the picture. It is misleading.

Other than that the vermicompost is working well.

Comments about Worm Chalet:

Use for kitchen waste. It's atractive, takes a bit of time to become use to the the do and dont's.

Comments about Worm Chalet:

Never got it going. Couldn't figure out if you start at the top or bottom. No clear directions. Took longer to get worm castings then they said. Donating it to a school. Maybe they will have better luck.

Comments about Worm Chalet:

I purchased ths worm farm for my grandsons. Their father wonted no part of a smelley compost pit in his nice yard.The two boys are enjoying their noterity of having a worm farm, the science teacher made a big deal of it AND they go fishing with some of the worms. My daughter is useing the "left overs" to feed her flowers. My son in law---is still a bit skepticall about his mom in laws latest gift to the kids.

P.S. Their soil was so poor ,That in 4 years of helping my daughter with her plantings I never found a worm in it. I would send a coffee can of worms(New York ones) home with the boys (to New Jersey)with instructions .

Comments about Worm Chalet:

Keeps worms cool and free from the deluge of summer rains. Easy to use, side grips for lifting trays and loading. Solid construction designed to function and last.

Comments about Worm Chalet:

The set up instructions were not very clear and because of that I think that it is set up wrong. I am thinking about dumping it and starting all over. Which is going to be an expensive mistake ... one that could have been avoided if there had been better directions included.

Comments about Worm Chalet:

The simplicity of this device attracted me to get it to use with my environmental science student to run some experiments. I am just trying it out. But one thing I can say is that the directions are poorly written and unclear. I think that will be my students' first task to come up with a standard procedure and to monitor conditions so we know when things are good and when they are not. We plan to monitor temperature and moisture content in each of the bins relative the number of worms and compost produced over time. I'll write another review if we are successful.

Comments about Worm Chalet:

I bought the composter to help with the outdoor composter. I had great difficulty with keeping the worms alive. Many fell into the bottom of the chalet and out the drain. In addition, the instructions that came with the chalet are not detailed enough to help a beginner.

Comments about Worm Chalet:

I love worm composting. It's very convenient for those of us that live in cold wintery climates. I bought the worm chalet and it does look nice, but I agree with the previous reviewer regarding the spigot's placement. The spigot should be located further down in the catch basin so far less tea collects to become stagnate, drown worms that wiggle through the lowest level, etc.
Also, I find that this worm bin leaks a lot. I am always finding excess fluid that appears to have seeped from deep inside the catch basin and onto my basement floor. When I shake the catch basin, I can hear fluid inside of it and am not sure where the leak is into the internal portion.
And finally, the literature that comes with the worm bin on raising worms is incomplete. A very important fact is missing. Worms have no teeth, they have a gizzard, much like a chicken. It is necessary for their survival that grit be periodically added to help the worms digest their food, otherwise they can starve to death. This grit can be in the form of finely ground egg shells or lime powder. Definitely room for improvements here.

Comments about Worm Chalet:

After much research, I decided on the Worm Chalet because of it's description of being easy to set up and easy to use. I didn't want something that I would have to spend a lot of time messing with.The set up is easy, but there is very little direction in how to use the multiple bins on an ongoing basis. Most vermicomposting books that you read are based around an individual bin.The sections are also difficult to clean because of the way the pieces are shaped.The spigot for the worm tea needs to be in a lower spot. In order to get all of the tea out, you have to tip the base, which means either removing all of the trays or holding onto them and hoping they don't fall over.If I'd have paid $50 for this, I probably wouldn't be as disappointed, but for the amount of money that I did pay, I am greatly disappointed and I would not purchase it again.

Comments about Worm Chalet:

more detailed information on how to set up the chalet is needed.