How Much Waste Can Worms Eat?

Here are a couple questions from Leslie:

hello, I started my bin about a month ago and I wanted to know two things-
how much kitchen scrap (in lbs? or kg..) can 1000 worms handle (in an approximately 2 ft x 4 ft bin) per week? Also, how soon before the worms start reproducing? I’m concerned about too little or too much intervention with the worms so any guidance is greatly appreciated. Thanks! -Leslie

Hi Leslie,
Those are really good question (some things a LOT of people are wondering about, I’m sure), but the first one is also a tough question to give a firm answer for. One of the challenges of vermicomposting is that there are SO MANY variables that can influence the success of your worm bin, and the overall health and well-being of your worms. As such, trying to come up with absolutes based on various calculations can be pretty challenging – at least for the average worm bin owner.

What you do with your waste materials (before putting them in the bin) ALONE can have a massive impact on the productivity of your bin. Obviously, if you add your wastes simply as they become available, without taking any steps to help the process along, you will end up with a bin full of undecomposed material pretty quickly.

If on the other hand you freeze your waste materials or let them age for a period of time, then blend them up before adding them, you will greatly speed up the process, thus effectively boosting the processing power of your worms.

The type of waste can also have a significant impact on the quantity of waste that can be added every x number of days. Tests using highly optimized professional flow-through reactors have shown that worms can potentially consume 4-6 times their own weight in food PER DAY! I should mention that these numbers are based on consumption of grocery store produce waste (similar to homeowner food waste, I would imagine), which is mostly water to begin with.

Is it realistic to think you will see similar abilities with your worms – not likely! My point is simply that the processing ability of worms can vary WIDELY, depending on how you maintain your particular system.

Some suggest that a good guideline is 1/2 worm weight per day. In your case, since 1000 worms on average weigh somewhere around 1 lb, an estimate of 1/2 lb of waste per day – or 3.5 lb of waste per week might not be a bad guess. I’m a little hesitant to even mention that, but hopefully you will take that recommendation with a grain of salt, based on what I’ve said above.

So what exactly DO I recommend?
😆

Let the worms be your guide! Do everything you can to optimize the process, and carefully monitor your worms’ progress – especially early on. Start with very small amounts of waste (especially if you have set up your bin ahead of time with food), and go from there based on your worms’ ability to consume the materials. Obviously you don’t need to wait until every last morsel is gone from the bin. I would suggest creating several small food pockets (staggering the creation of these over the course of a given week should be helpful as well) and simply watching how quickly these pockets of food are consumed. Once the first pocket is basically processed, you can probably set up a new one (you would have a couple others on the go already), and so on.

Moving on to reproduction…

It is very common for worms to start reproducing VERY soon after being added to a worm bin – especially if conditions are to their liking. In fact, worms don’t even really need to reproduce in order to start depositing cocoons into the bin. Reproduction is basically a means of replenishing the sperm storage organ. Once the worms have sperm they can simply keep producing cocoons (using their own eggs) until it runs out.

Given the fact that you’ve had your bin for a month, I would think that there would be plenty of reproduction and cocoon laying in your bin by now. It might not be all that obvious – but rest assured, if the worms are healthy and vigorous you will almost certainly have cocoons and young worms in your bin.

Anyway – hope this helps, Leslie!
Thanks again for the great questions
8)

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Comments

    • vermiman
    • February 28, 2009

    Leslie,

    It looks like your population density is quite low. A suggested population density is one pound(1000 worms) per spare foot of surface area in a bin. If your bin is approximately 2 ft x 4 ft, then it could handle eight pounds of worms.

    If you keep the conditions of the bin favorable to the worms, I believe that you will soon have eight pounds of worms in there.

    • Cindy Anthony
    • March 1, 2009

    I started my bin like yours back in May 2008. By July I was seeing babies in my bin. They have cotinued to produce ever since. I find it interesting to scoop thru the bin & come up with little eraser sized clumps just packed with tiny wigglers!

    I keep a 1-1/2qt plastic bowl on my kitchen cupboard and use it to collect banana peels, egg shells, coffee grounds, veggie peels, and other vegetation during the week. My worms don’t like potatoe peels! Then on Saturday, I scoop thru my bin with a garden fork to arerate and see what was digested. It’s impressive to see what they can chew through in a week! I create a pocket & add the bowl of scraps. I do cut the banana peels into 2″ lengths and crush the egg shells. I cover the new waste up and then add 1 quart of water.

    I have split my worms 3x since May. Vermicomposting is so interesting. I can wait for spring to get a bigger outside bin started in my garden.

    • Bentley
    • March 3, 2009

    Hi Cindy,
    Thanks for sharing your experiences! Sounds like you’ve really been enjoying your wigglers!
    8)

    • Sherry
    • March 5, 2009

    Cindy, do you add a quart of water to your bin each time you feed??
    That sounds like a lot of water, and possibly unnecessary. Is your bin indoors? Is it plastic? Plastic, indoor bins have a common problem of being too wet. Moisture on the sides and lid. Seldom do people have to add water regularly, especially that amount.

    • Jim
    • March 26, 2010

    I’ve been feeding my worms (about 1lb of worms) my own feces for a month now, and they seem to love it. I only use small amounts of course. Has anyone else tried this?

    • Frank
    • December 28, 2010

    Hi Jim,

    I have not tried this nor will I even if the worms want to!

    What will you be using the vermicompost for?

    +Frank

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