I decided to write this article to share some of my experiences when raising red wigglers. I often get asked the following two questions:
- How many worms do I need to start a worm bin?
- How long can I harvest the worm castings?
Here are some factors to consider when you start your worm bin:
Location and Temperature:
My worm farm, Pupu’s Garden, is located in North California in Zone 9a (as defined by USDA Plant Hardiness Zone).In Zone 9, the temperature does not get really cold in the winter. The red wigglers in my buckets live together and the compost pile releases heat while composting. As a result, my red wigglers are able to endure a wide range of temperatures ranging from 30F to 100F here in Pupu’s Garden. I recommend you place your bin in a shaded place where the temperatures range between 65F and 80F (18 C – 27 C); your worms will then thrive and produce at their peak rate.
Feeding your Worms:
Your compost pile needs to have a good ratio of Carbon: Nitrogen. (I will discuss how to make a perfect compost pile for your worms in a future article.) I use rabbit poop as it is full of Nitrogen and I mix it with hay as it is full of Carbon. To facilitate the reactor, I add the contents of my kitchen compost to provide the juicy matter such as watermelon peels and minerals.
Now we are ready to answer this question: How long can I harvest the worm castings?
A quick answer will be 30 days for a 5 gallon bucket with 1,000 worms.
In an ideal situation, red wigglers eat their body weight everyday; and they double their population every 90 days.
If you get 1,000 worms which weight 1 pound in a 5 gallon composting bucket, you should expect the compost kit to be consumed around 30 days. The calculation is as follows:
- 1 gallon=8.34lb
- 5 gallons=41.7lb
Eventually the worm population will increase with the consumption of the compost pile. Start another worm bin in advance of the worm casting cycle. The reason for that is that this will prevent the starvation of the worms as the food runs out.
