worms in compost tumbler

by Shane
(Aubrey,Tx)

I have a compost tumbler that is 60-70% finished. Could I put a handful of red wigglers in the tumbler to help the process and to have them to the soil when I till under the compost?

Answer from BigTex Worms

If your tumbler is a 5 gallon bucket, then yes a handful of red wigglers will help. But if it is a 50-75 gallon tumbler, like most are, you will need to add 2-3 pound of red wigglers to make a difference. AND you will not be able to rotate the tumbler with worms in there but they will aerate it and compose the materials without rotation. Rotation does not work with worms.

All that being said, here is my suggestion to use a tumbler in conjuction with red worms to speed up the process. Use the tumbler to put your browns/scraps in and tumble until it is precomposted (you cant tell what the food is but it still looks coarse) THEN have a worm bin (like a 18 gallon tote or trash can or even an inground bin that you add the precomposted materials too, the worms will then finish the product for you in 2-3 weeks. SO, instead of the tumbler taking 3 months start to finish you can cut the time down in half or less by adding worms to the mix AND the finished product will be much finer/more concentrated.
I dont have a tumbler but I have a large compost pile where all my browns/scraps go before they go to the worms.

Hope this helps,
Liz
BigTex Worms