When You First Buy Worms, How Many Pounds?

How many pounds of worms should one buy to get started with worm composting? This is one of the most common questions I get, and there is no "right" answer. When you buy worms for the first time you want to take into account a few things. How many people are in your family? How much fruit/vegetable waste do you produce? Is money a big issue? 

As a general rule, red worms can eat about 1/2 of their body weight each day, so each pound of worms can process 1/2 pound of waste per day in the right conditions. But the amount of waste vs. the amount of worms isn't the only consideration. If you start off with several pounds of worms, it can sometimes be harder to manage the larger population from the get-go. Beginners need to be careful about starting out with many pounds of worms because if something goes wrong it will affect ALL of those worms. If money is especially a consideration, then you want to start a little bit on the smaller side when you buy worms, so that if something goes wrong you will not lose a large investment in the worms. 

Time is another matter that you want to consider when deciding to buy worms. Again, the more worms you buy, the more time you will need to spend working with the worm bin, especially in the beginning. Now, when I say "time", I really mean only a few minutes a day. But hey, as someone who often does NOT have a few minutes a day to spare, I can relate to those who really don't want to spend much time tinkering with their worm bin. If you DO have time, however, then you can afford to take the risk of starting out with more poundage. Your attention to the worms, digging down each day to check on them, taking a nice sniff of the system to make sure it's not getting stinky, and making sure they're not too moist or too dry will take only minutes, but it will ensure that your new worm bin will thrive. 

One of the benefits of being a cash poor worm farmer is that I can't afford a large quantity of worms to get my stock started. I am having to painstakingly grow my worms, pound by pound, vs. getting a big system up and running right away. This is a bummer to me in many ways, but I definitely realize some huge benefits to being forced to take this time. I can see what the worms like to eat best, watch how they react to changes in moisture, air-flow and temperature, and if I make a mistake I won't lose tens of thousands of dollars worth of worms. The profits may be slower coming, but the education I get that will help me be a good farmer long-term is worth it. 

On the other hand, I'm getting tired of digging through bin after bin for worms, and I'm ready to make the big investment into a larger system. I am hopeful that I know enough about farming worms by now to not make any huge, crucial mistakes. My experience with the learning curve of worm farming relates directly to the questions of how many pounds of worms to buy when you're starting out. 

So here's the deal:

If you have limited funds and limited time, you should buy 1/2 pound per member of your household. It will take the worms a few months to reproduce enough to eat ALL of your scraps, but you'll save money and time.

If you have more generous funds OR some time to spend, you can buy 1 pound or more per member of your household if you wish. The worms will be able to process pretty much all of your scraps immediately. 

Of course, when you're ready to buy worms, please do so here!

Good worming

Comments

[Andrew]

It's also a good idea to use a bin suitable for the amount of worms you plan to get. 1/2 lb. of worms in a 25 gal. bin will take longer to "find each other" to reproduce. (.5-1 lb. of worms per sq. ft. is best for increasing worm population) A smaller bin also serves as an obstacle to overfeeding. You would think twice before dumping 2 lbs. of scraps into a 5 gal. bin, but maybe not into the 25 gal. bin even though both may only house 1/2 lb. of worms.

Jen, I'm curious which of the "big systems" you are considering. As I search the 'net for tips on bigger DIY bins for home use, I've been amazed at the number of commercial units available.

BTW, I did not find your site when I was looking for local worm suppliers a couple of months ago. You might consider contacting the Ecology center in Berkeley and ask them to add your website to their list of worm suppliers:
http://www.ecologycenter.org/directory/results.php?sFAQ=worms
Berkeley Hort did not have worms at the time because they were having issues with their supplier. I don't know if wholesale selling is something you want to consider at this point.

Andrew

[Verconica Lee]

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[Angela]

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I'm stopping in from the MBC

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[shraddha]

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