The "first" worms here are the ones I got from GF in Spring 2007 for the Worm Factory. They get *excellent* care (read elsewhere in the forums) and did nothing like double their numbers in a month and again in two months, showing the exponential growth you describe. There were good numbers of them after about three months, so I took a quart of them and moved them to the BioStack for "insurance" against any illness on my part or neglect by DH in the future. Since then, I've given away several quarts of worms to people who request them on my local FreeCycle list.cynthia_h wrote: So we fast forward to Spring 2007. I'm helping my GF turn her compost pile--she also has a BioStack--and ask her for a quart of worms. I've acquired supplies and now want to have back-ups upon back-ups in case something dire happens again.
The worms now live in their Worm Factory (purchased at county/municipal discount) in the carport under an old army blanket. More of them live in the BioStack. I've given a "quart of worms" to several people via FreeCycle.
But I must say that the first worms did *not* double their number in anything close to a month or even three months. They took their time settling in and seem to have found an ideal population density. I don't find ever-increasing numbers of Eisenia foetida in the Worm Factory or the BioStack; they seem happy as they are.
I'm just saying that the doubling time may be unrealistic for some worm-keepers. These invertebrates are hard workers, but reproduction seems to be slower than often described.
Cynthia