How Many Worms Do You Need for Composting

Generally, red wiggler worms eat about half their own weight each day. Therefore, most suggest that composters order worms (in pounds) twice the amount of their weekly scrap weight. For example, a family producing one pound of scraps each week would require two pounds of worms for their composting bin.

Can you have too many worms in your compost?

There is no specific number of worms that are considered too many in compost. … The result is a maintained population level that does not exceed a manageable worm bin population. You can decide to remove an acceptable amount of worms at will and transfer them to your garden.

How many worms do you need to start vermicomposting?

The amount of worms to start with depends on the size of your bin. For a bin the size we we’re using in this example (35-gallons) or larger, I would start with at least 1,000-2,000 worms (about 1-2 pounds). For smaller bins, you could start with 500-1000. They will reproduce and your population will grow with time!