What Kind Of Worms For My Garden?

🪱 Best Worms for Your Garden & And How to Use Them!

At Utah Worm Company, we get this question all the time: “What kind of worms should I put in my garden?” The short answer? Not just any worm will do. The good news? We’ve done the research (and the worm wrangling) so you don’t have to.

Meet the MVPs: Red Wigglers and European Nightcrawlers

For most soil and gardening conditions, Red Wigglers (Eisenia fetida) and European Nightcrawlers (Eisenia hortensis) are our go-to garden heroes.

• Red Wigglers are composting machines. They prefer the top few inches of soil and love hanging out in mulch, compost piles, and raised beds. These little guys break down organic material fast and leave behind castings (worm poop!) rich in nutrients.

• European Nightcrawlers are a bit larger and dig deeper. They’re great for aerating your garden beds, boosting drainage, and improving root access to water and nutrients.

If you're looking to improve soil structure and fertility, a combo of both can really level up your garden game.

🌱 How Many Worms Do I Need?

This depends on the size of your space and how tired your soil is. A good rule of thumb:

• 1,000 to 2,000 worms per 100 square feet of garden is a solid start.

• For raised beds, 500 to 1,000 worms per 4'x8' bed gets the job done.

🛠️ How to Apply Worms to Your Garden

No fancy tools needed—this is straight from the dirt-lovers’ playbook:

1. Water the soil first – Worms need moisture to move and breathe. Think “damp sponge,” not mud pit.

2. Apply in the early morning or evening, when it’s cooler and the soil isn’t scorching hot.

3. Sprinkle worms over the area and lightly cover them with mulch, compost, or damp cardboard. This helps them settle in and stay protected from birds or dry air.

4. Keep the area moist for the next few days so they can burrow down and start working their magic.

That’s it! Give them a welcoming home, and they’ll turn your garden into a living, thriving soil system.

🪴 Final Thoughts

Worms are the quiet, low-key heroes of every successful garden. Whether you're growing tomatoes, flowers, or a full-blown veggie jungle, adding the right kind—and the right amount—of worms makes a noticeable difference. At Utah Worm Company, we’ve got the worms, the know-how, and all the extras (like worm chow and ag lime) to help you get growing.

Got questions about your specific garden setup? Give Calvin a call or shoot him a message—he's always happy to talk dirt.