red wigglers it is!!! but how many

[mike french]

so i have a great source for worms from the worm dude in san jose. how many should i introduce to the system... he sells in bulk the least ammount he will sell is a pound.... i have no idea how that works with the 27g grow bed im using. too many? too little?

 

thanks mike

 

[TCLynx]

A whole pound of worms is probably a bit much for a 27 gallon grow bed.  Can you set up a worm bin for the extras to produce some worm castings for you from the kitchen scraps?  Seems a shame to put 1000 worms into a new bed that will probably not have enough food to support the full population for a while.  100-200 worms would probably be more than enough.  I started most of my large grow beds with only a small hand full of worms each (between 25-100 worms.)  However, if you already have a gunk build up, then perhaps the whole pound of worms would not be a waste.

Truth is the exact amount of worms needed is a pretty loose number and the worm population will either grow or dwindle to balance with the food supply for them.

[ROBERT RATLIFF]

I don't know what a 27g growbed is, but they will multiply or die according to the amount of food available. So don't worry about the amount. 

[Alex Veidel]

I agree, 1lb (1,000 red worms) is too much for a 27 gallon grow bed. Overall though, it shouldn't really matter, as they will adapt to whatever conditions are presented to them. TCLynx is right, it is a shame to waste worms, try to put half a lb to good use somewhere else, but don't stress about it if you can't.

[Jeffrey Ihara]

My experience with buying "1000 worms = one pound" from the local worm lady is that there's a lot less than an actual pound of worm.  I was just buying to seed my own vermicomposter, and I really didn't want to go complain and count worms.  My point is that your "pound of worms" might not be too much for your grow bed.