The following can be done while extra moisture is draining from the bedding we’ve already prepared:

We will be basing our initial calculations on the approximate surface area of our bins or trays (volume and therefore depth are irrelevant). The diagram below shows the measurements needed and below the diagram are the equations we use to determine area in ft²or m²these are the units we will base our worm densities on. Begin by using the ruler or measuring tape to measure the length and width of your intended bin.

I've included a density worksheet in a PDF you can download and print in the members resources page. There's a screenshot below of what it looks like. It works in both metric and imperial measurements. You May want to go print off a copy and work along with the video. The purpose of this chapter is to determine how many breeder worms are needed for the size of bin you have.

This screenshot is for red wigglers (Eisenia fetida), The worksheet for growing European nightcrawlers is also in the resources page. The calculations are done the same way but with different constants for densities.

If we measured our bin in inches and it was 24” long and 15” wide:

24 x 15 = 360 ÷ 144 = 2.5 ft²

At a preferred worm density of 200 worms/ft²we can calculate how many worms we want in this example bin.

200 x 2.5= 500 adult worms in this example.

The same bin measured in cm is 61cm long and 38cm wide

61 x 38 = 2318 ÷ 10000 ≅ 0.29 m²

At a preferred density of 2200 worms/m²calculating the number of worms for this bin is easy.

2200 x 0.23 = 506 adult worms.

The difference of 6 worms between metric and imperial is acceptable as these are always guidelines and results can fluctuate slightly.

Proper Worm Densities

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