Each pound of worms needs three or
four cubic feet of bedding. A better way to estimate box size is to
figure that one cubic foot of worm bin can digest about one pound of
kitchen waste a week without going anaerobic and smelling bad.
Redworms are small and consequently worm growers sell them by the
pound. There are about 1,000 mature breeders to the pound of young
redworms. Bait dealers prefer to sell only the largest sizes or
their customers complain. "Red wigglers" from a bait store may only
count 600 to the pound. Worm raisers will sell "pit run" that costs
much less. This is a mix of worms of all sizes and ages. Often the
largest sizes will have already been separated out for sale as fish
bait. That's perfectly okay. Since hatchlings run 150,000 to the
pound and mature worms count about 600-700, the population of a
pound of pit run can vary greatly. A reasonable pit run estimate is
2,000 to the pound.
Actually it doesn't matter what the number is, it is their weight
that determines how much they'll eat. Redworms eat slightly more
than their weight in food every day. If that is so, why did I
recommend first starting vermicomposting with two pounds of worms
for every pound of garbage? Because the worms you'll buy will not be
used to living in the kind of bedding you'll give them nor adjusted
to the mix of garbage you'll feed them. Initially there may be some
losses.
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