OK right now I have around 200 lbs of reds and 3 or 4 of euros and I still do not have enough,
We have 2 horses and 30 acres to play with,Our soil is poor to say the least and can not get enough compost for our needs let alone some day I would like to sell casting in a big way.
I should not take you that long to get to your goal. Just to see I started 2 18 gal totes inside with around a pound a piece in March of this year and now feed and am adding about 5 lbs a week if not more.
So in my opinion 6 to 8 months starting with a pound should get you pretty close,

I want 1,000,000 worms... that is my goal. I want to begin vermicomposting windrows of horse manure at local horse stables. I started with about 2 lbs 1 year ago and estimate I have about 30,000 currently.

Pete

Good Post!

I started with 1 lb. about a month ago. They are in a small bin set up, but they are multiplying. I priced larger bins today at WallyWorld ($3.50 ea.) and will upgrade in two weeks. Eventually I would want able exactly as the original poster. That just sounds perfect for me.

Larger bins are heavier. IMHO- stay with the smaller bins so the worms reproduce quicker and buy new small bins only when on sale (think how many bins for next year). If you split the bins every three months, First becomes 2, 2 becomes 4, 4 becomes 8, 8 becomes 16; in the first year. So 1 pound of worms becomes 16 in the first year, theoretically. But you get the idea. Stay with small bins so the breeders can find each other.

That is kind of scary that 1 lb. of worms can become 16 in a year. I'm hoping this winter to give my mother-in-law a worm bin for her science class. I'm hoping some of the students will be interested in composting themselves and send some worms home with them at the end of the year.

I'm kind of limited with how many worms I can keep since it does get cold here in the winter so they need to be kept downstairs.

I can split every 3 months? I have cocoons already but did not realize that 1 pound can increase so fast!

I hope mine do... I want more and a bigger FT bin.

Karen

You MAY be able to... YMMV. If yours are breeding already, you are clearly doing well and you have happy worms.

Smalltowngal said, "I'm hoping some of the students will be interested in composting themselves," yeah, I can appreciate that, but it would really take a lotta worms to compost a whole student...Mwaaahahahahahaha!!!!!!

Cheryl

YMMV? What does that mean?
Sorry, but it took months for me to figure out IMHO.

I did a search on YMMV and came up with 'YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY', which doesn't seem to apply ... but maybe 'YOUR METHODS MAY VARY'? or 'YOUR EXPERIENCE MAY BE DIFFERENT'. or how about a new acronym: WFYB [Whatever Floats Your Boat].

Here is a link that might be useful: Online slang - finder

I want to turn my worms into a part time business, so my goal is 100lbs. I'm close to 10lbs now. - Jim

Thanks borderbarb. I really hate all the acronyms in use these days. I almost feel that english is a second language.

Out of curiosity how are you all estimating your worm populations? Is there some standard measure by volume for a healthy bin? I had a goal of getting enough to eat all the coffee grounds from the local coffee shop since they just throw them out. That turned out to be a pretty lofty goal. Maybe I'll still get there but a 5 gallon bucket of grounds a day is a lot to process.

For food co-op we estimated pounds of fruit. A grapefruit is about one pound. And apple is about half a pound. 3 kiwi is about a pound. So I think a pound of worms should be about the volume of a grapefruit. I'm wondering if this is going to be repeated over and over and in 20 years I will think... I wrote that :-)

Hi all.

I originally thought there is never enough, but I am changing my thoughts a bit. With ten totes going, and a Worm Factory, I have run out of food sources (goal achieved?), It takes an hour a week to feed and maintain.

However, I still have excess paper and cardboard, and I suspect a small tote system may not be the right system to handle it all.

So, next goal, go the trench in the vegie garden, fill with paper and cardboard (ripped up of course), layer with yard waste (leaves, grass etc) and dump at least 5 totes in and stand back. I think this would end up being a batch type system. While this works away, divide remaining totes and get back to ten operating ones (for giveaway and kitchen wastes.
Cheers

Oh, oops, I estimate I have about 25 lbs of EF's (well, mix of EF's and tiger / blue, I've never really bothered to ask them their orientation! lol)

Yes, YMMV = your mileage may vary. It means that different people have different experiences.

Hi Jack!

thanks alabamanicole, so far I have not messed up too bad. the worms are breeding. I see less at the top now when I uncover though.

marauder01
I like the idea of digging a trench and throwing them in with cardboard etc...
I bet that would make a nice garden bed after adding the worms and some soil on top. I think I may try this someday when I have enough worms that I will not mind throwing some outside.

Karen