How Many Worms are in a Pound of Bed Run Worms?

That seems like a really simple question, but it isn't.

My standard response is a couple of hundred which covers the range of ages that I expect in a delivery..

However, I cannot tell you exactly how many you will receive because the number of worms in a pound will vary widely depending on size of the worms in the bed run area where I harvest them.

Consider if you will how many humans there are in ten thousand pounds:     30 NFL linebackers
or

     50 of me

or

    100 teenagers

or

   300 toddlers

or

   1000 infants

So there may be 30-1000 humans in ten thousand pounds of humans. While that seems a bit snarky, I think it illustrates my point.

 

What you have in a bed run delivery is a mix of worms of all ages (including cocoons).

 

Also, it is not the number of worms, but their mass that is important for vermicomposting. It is their mass after all that determines how much food waste they can process into vermicompost.

 

If you wist to count worms, have at it.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark 

 

The Joys of Teaching Vermicomposting

I truly enjoy teaching about vermicomposting.

These photos are from a class I taught in Scarborough in February through the Adult Ed program.

That evening was quite snowy. Despite the weather more than a dozen people turned out to learn about indoor vermicpomposting.

The photos below show some of the highlights of the class.

Cheers,

Mark

Vermicomposting for school cafeteria

For the volume of food typically produced by a school cafeteria food preparation (15-20 pounds per week) you'd need 35-40 pounds of worms. To try to keep costs low, you could start with 30 pounds of worms, which is on the low side and would still cost around $510 (not including shipping), and see how it goes (probably throw some food away in the beginning weeks-- especially citrus & onions).

Because this cost is generally too high, it be better to use a combination of vermicomposting and hot composting. You would start with 2 composts bins: 1 4'x8'x18" bin with worms (20 pounds of worms) and 1 4'x4'x4'  hot compost pile without worms. You could feed the worms the correct amount of food per week and put any overflow food in the hot compost pile. Over the summer, only feed the worm bin (feeding 10 pounds of food per week the first two weeks and increasing by 1 pound every week thereafter). When you have filled the hot compost pile (or at the end of the school year) don't add anymore food and just turn the hot pile over the summer. When school starts harvest the hot compost and split the worms into two 4'x8'x18" bins (probably 20-25# each-- they will have doubled after 10-12 weeks). Then your worms will be sufficient to handle the food additions.

You will have to be very careful to BURY the food you add to prevent fruit flies. Even if you are careful, you may want to consider having fruit fly traps (vinegar traps and sticky traps) around just to be proactive about potential problems. It is very easy to have flies on the food in these large collection containers (and in the food) before you add it to the worm bin.

Consider the location of the worm bin carefully. I do not suggest these bins be located in classrooms or near kitchen area. If your worm bin will be outside in Maine then most (if not all) of your worms will die next winter when the bins gets too cold (sustained soil temps at or below 35F). Your bins can be   insulated or warmed to keep soil temps above 40F (to keep worms alive) and above 65F (to be able to add food). Alternatively, your bins can be located in a sheltered area (perhaps a trash collection room or area) where soil temps will be maintained above 65F.

Cheers,

Starting your worm bin

Your worms have arrived. Hooray! Now what? I get this question a lot, so here are the step-by-step instructions to get your bin started. I am doing this outside to be sure we have enough light for the photos. I typically start new bins indoors.

Step 1. Gather your materials. You will need your bin, your worms, some food, and newspaper. You should have about half as much food as you have worms. I’m starting with a pound of worms and a half pound of food (such as old salad greens, coffee grounds, tea bags, egg shells, and banana peels).

Step 2. Put your food in first. Food always goes in the bottom of your worm bin. Your worms will be able to find the food more easily, it will break down faster, and it won’t attract fruit flies. Start feeding in one corner and your worms will completely cover the food.
Step 3. Add your worms. Put them directly on top of the food. Your worms will eat this food as it breaks down and you want them tin contact with it. The next time I feed them, I will put the food in the adjacent corner (the empty corner on the right side of the photo).


Step 4 Add newspaper. Now you fill your bin with shredded newspaper (or other bedding). That is all you need to start your bin. No soil is necessary!

Step 5. Fill your bin to within about 3-4 inches of the top (push down gently to be sure the newspaper is in contact with the worms). You’re finished! Mark your bin with a sticky note where the worms are.

Feed in the adjacent (in the case of my photo) counter-clockwise corner next. In the case of this bin, I will again add ½ pound of food next week ( the same in the 3^rd and 4^th corners the following weeks). When I get back to my original corner, I will feed ¾ pound of food in the corners for the following 4 weeks. When I complete this cycle, I will add 1 pound of food per week. At this point your worms should be close to double the number you originally received and able to keep up.

Remember, don’t overfeed and always put the food on the bottom under the worms. Then cover with newspaper. If you smell rotting food or see mold or fungus in your bin) add less food until the worms catch up.

Cheers,

Mark