How many worms for a family of 5?

by Teresa Myers
(Ardmore, OK)

I have a family of 5. Do I need to order 2 starter bags?

Also, I'm thinking about using an old horse trough for my worm bed. It doesn't have air holes, but it does have a valve for drainage. I plan to cover it with either plywood or a rubber mat. Do you think this would be a good choice for a bed? I could drill holes in the cover if necessary, but really don't want to put holes in the trough, as it is kinda of expensive.

Answer from BigTex Worms
To answer your first question, no you do not need two starter bags. I would say one starter bag plus a pound of worms will give you enough worms to digest about 1-2 pounds of scraps/day. It may not quite be enough to compost all your scraps but within 3 months it will be.
Your second question. How big is the horse trough exactly? If it is what I think it is , it is about 2 feet deep, 2 feetish wide and about 5 feet long. The only way I would use it is if you can put in some kind of divider to section it off into 2 or 3 compartments. That way when one gets full you can remove the divider so the worms can move over and start on the new bedding/food in the other side. This will allow you to harvest part of the bin. Otherwise, a large bin like that will be a major undertaking to harvest AND the contents will get really mucky/fudgy in something that large. Also airflow is VERY important or the bin can overheat and get anerobic. So my suggestion is to have the trough in an area or a barn where you dont need a hard lid. Somewhere you can simply have a cloth lid or a screen for a topper.
Hope this answers all your questions. If not, ask me more...
Also, if you do decide to order a starter plus a pound, I will give you a discount and send you a paypal invoice to pay. Just send me a note through the contact me form.
Liz

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