Benefits of Red Wiggler Worms for Composting

You’ve heard about red wiggler worms in your compost research, but is there really a difference between this large, red-colored worm variety and the typical garden worm you may find as you turn over your garden soil? Wouldn’t is just be easy to dig up those worms and use them in your bin to make compost?

Short answer – no. Composting, while it relies on your worms eating and secreting, is hard work even for worms. Here’s why you need to rely on red wiggler worms to get the most out of your worm composting this year:

• Size Matters. When you’re considering a worm to use in your compost bin, then size really does matter. Depending on the amount of organic materials you have to put into your bin on a regular basis, the worms inside need to be able to munch through it quickly enough to maintain the pH levels in the compost bin. Keep in mind that when using red wigglers, you should maintain a ½ pound of worms for every cubic foot of bin space for optimum composting.
• Multiplication Nation.  How do you ensure ongoing success with your composting? You keep your worm ratio constant, that’s how. Red wiggler worms mature in 3 months, which means they can match up and begin making worm babies to ensure the future of your compost bin. Consider a bin with 500 worms at the outset, with an average of three cocoons a week and about 3 hatchlings per cocoon, one red wiggler worm can produce up to 468 hatchlings of their own in one year. At that rate, you’re bin is more than covered for incredible composting.
• Size Does Matter – Part Two. Think about the worms you find when you’re tilling your garden. Light pinkish-brown, skinny. Not too impressive to see, really. They do the same work of the hearty red wiggler worm, without the, well, heart. The equivalent of the skinny guy on the beach with sand kicked in his face.

Now, take a look at the red wiggler (graphic at top of article). Big, thick, muscular. Built for hard labor, you might say. Their physical attributes also allow them to hunker down in your worm compost bin during the colder months and make it to the next spring, ready to work.

Ready to begin your worm composting with our Red Composting Worm Mix?