Bacteria
Bacteria are essential to life, so small a microscope is required. Bacteria is the first breaking down of organic material back to the soil.

Along with protozoa and fungi, bacteria are what the worms move through their systems and digest for the worm compost and castings.

Soil food web.
The soil food web is what we are contributing to when we go organic. Healthy soil will renew itself and provide nutrients the plants require

Outdoor compost is not worm composting.Compost shrinkage is normal  outdoor compost requires consistent heat from air temps of at least 60 f for the bacteria to flourish and the higher temps of a compost heap have been known to be steamy. Worms are cooler temps and would die in a heap. Worms have known to inhabit at the lowest and coolest level of a heap, this is not worm composting. If found, the worms would not make good dwellers for your compost/worm bin, outside worms are accustomed to the sunlight and are known to escape. Worms will be quiet and polite in their contained environment of the worm factory.

Grass clippings are not a good idea. Grass heats up and is best in the outdoor compost.

Leaves.
Some deciduous leaves are fine to mix in layers of the bin if dry first(not green).

First tray.
Starting a worm factory is pretty simple. First bin, this is over drip tray.

Think layers of wet newspaper (folded flat so worms dont fall through), hydrated coir, eggshells, coffee grounds, now you are ready to add worms in the corner. Cover with another layer of wet newspaper and the lid, night night. As long they are moist and moving from the corner, they are fine.

Second tray and more..
Week two add the second tray on the first and start a thick layer of shredded paper and the lid. Most people start with one pound of worms and allow them to multiply. More than two pounds could be overwhelming. Sounds a bit crowded.

Moisture
Moisture is critical. Too much moisture is considered is on the way to anaerobic (smells like a sewer) Aerobic is allowing air to move and the bacteria are what we call friendly.

Feeding
Feeding faster than worms consume can cause too wet conditions. Early on they might only consume a pound of food a week. As the worm numbers increase they use five to eight pounds of food a week. Dont worry they will do population control by the amount of food available.

How many layers of bins. Up to you. Summer is a busy time with extra produce. As you find how useful the compost system is, you might be looking for more to add. It is not unusual to go to seven layers.

Coir
Worms like moist and dark and even temps. Other than food and paper, I add the neutral product called coir. Coir looks like peat moss, but it is a renewable resource. Left over from the processing the coconut husk into sisal rugs and such. The best coir is from the sri lanka area and has been in the rain for three months before being ground and compressed into blocks or cubes. Very important when considering coir that it is guaranteed low salt. Although coir has no food value, the long lasting, air and moisture holding is amazing. The coir will last about eighteen years in the soil. Ph neutral, unlike peat that is more acid and takes two hundred years to reproduce, there is plenty of coir. The roots of most plants in the ground or in pots do so much better without the stress of too wet or too dry of peat. Every time I use coir with my worm compost at transplant time, I am assured of successful plantings. This year unusual heat an I kept on planting.