Compost Worms

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q. How many compost worms should I buy for a new worm farm kit?

A. The manufacturer of the worms farms recommends starting a new worm farm with at least 1000 compost worms or more ideally. However, the worms will multiply and increase in number naturally over time. We would suggest that if you have a lot of scraps to break down from the very beginning its best to get 1000 to 2000 compost worms but if you don't have much or are willing to wait for a few months to build the worm population then you could get the 500 worm pack instead.

Q. What type or variety of compost worms do you sell?

A. Generally, they are Reds and Red Tigers. They are a mixture of compost worms but mainly they are of those 2 species.

Q. I have recently bought a worm farm and have discovered that red wrigglers or tiger worms are best used rather than my usual compost worms. Is this true? And do you have these worms available?

A. We got this reply from our supplier: "The worms we most usually sell are the red wrigglers, red tigers or red worms as they are commonly known - species eisenis. These are generally the best to use in worm farms as they normally live in the topsoil. As to another species that is referred to - well it depends on which species the customer is talking about. The only species of native worms that normally live in topsoil are Spenceralia aka Aussie Blues or Indian Blues also known as Excavatus. They tend to be outcompeted by the reds but can cohabit with them. So it all depends on what they are referring to"

Q.  Have these compost worms been exposed to any sort of fertilizer or pesticides?

A. After asking the manufacturer I got the following answer.

"No direct exposure to pesticides as we do not use them during the growing or harvesting of the worms however, some foodstuffs may have been sprayed during their growth as we cannot ensure all foods are grown organically.Fertiliser exposure is less straightforward an answer depending on how fertilisers are defined. We do not add chemical fertilisers or synthetics to any stage of the worms' life cycle but the main feed stocks are cow manure and food wastes and these can be viewed as fertilisers in the sense that they may, through decomposition, fertilise crops and indeed the worms and consequently the worm casting. The only other material added is dolomite which is mined calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate in a base of other fines such as silicates and which is free of heavy metals. We use only rainwater on the beds which is recirculated daily to produce worm liquid fertiliser that is rich in beneficial micro-organisms"