Having a "Ball" with the Worms

It is always fun to count your worms when you first get them, or your first sorting. But how many worms do you have when you are 3, 6, 12 months down the road? Count them? You would have to be nuts!

How did the worm farm from which you first bought them sell them to you? By the pound. I suggest you count the same. Next time you are sorting and have nothing else to do, use the light and separate method.

Make a pile of castings or bedding (if you are really bored and just want to do something and are not ready to harvest). Place a bright light over it and then start systematically removing the top bedding and allowing the worms to dig deeper.

Eventually you will end up with a Ball O' Worms. The sound they make when they are slithering in the ball is kind of cool! Now, simply place the ball on a small kitchen scale and weigh them. If you only have a small 1 pound food scale, separate the ball into smaller groups and weigh them separately. You know, you do the math.

Once you have a grand total of the worm ball times it by 1500 for reds, 1000 for African or European Nightcrawlers, or any other "worms/pound" number you might find on a worm farm site.

And Voila! You have you worm population. I don't think you need to do your entire worm bin or bins either. Do a fair sample and times it.

It doesn't matter how accurate you are. The worms are only as many as they are. Bad math or faulty scale won't increase or decrease their number. It's just fun to be able to "see" the increase of your original group. Besides, someone at some time will ask you how many worms you have- be prepared with a somewhat real number.

Exaggerate to your friends, be conservative in your food allotment and you should be fine.

Happy Counting!