How many worms did you put in? you did not mention food. Worms seem to like crowded conditions makes it so they can find each other easier. I found that when I start a new bin with around 1000 worms it takes about 3 months before the population goes nuts.

How long before they multiply? How long is a piece of string? It depends ... I'd say 3 months is the best guess you can make. So long as there is adequate food and ideal conditions it will happen naturally.

I read an interesting article that talked about how in a natural environment, worm will tend to increase the number of cocoons being deposited as conditions fluctuate as a method of preserving the species. ie as a manure pile becomes consumed or dries out they would deposit cocoons like crazy with the intention of ensuring that there is a large next generation some time in the future.

Would be a neat experiment to have two bins with identical bedding, number of worms, etc. Keep one maintained as you would normally as a base to measure against. The other, allowed to cycle between sopping wet and then dried out and sopping wet again and so on. It would stand to reason that the first dry out cycle would cause the deposition of worms and the wetting cause the 'hatching'. If the wetting happens before the adult worms dry out and die than you would have a larger population than the natural cycle had intended, thus more worms to be depositing cocoons and so on.

Now after writing it, I think I want to try it.

That is a neat experience. Currently my manure pile is HUGE. I got enough out there to last the worms for a long time. Do I need to be watering it? Or is there enough natural moisture for it be ok?

I have talked my wife into letting me have the bins in the house and they eat salad, banana peals, etc. I don't think bringing horse manure in the house is gonna fly.

Yeah, the indoor bin alone without the manure was a hard sell for me. Pretty sure manure would be stepping to far in my house.

If the pile is large enough you could just leave it alone. Depends how hot, how dry, etc. it is where you live.

Using my worm breeding calculator, i reckon, with 1000 worms and good conditions, about week 20 is where it takes off big time.

Allow 10 weeks for cocoon being laid to start hatching, and another 10 for them to start becoming mature. At the end of 20 weeks, the first cocoons laid will have hatched, matured and start breeding, and so on and so on almost exponentially.

In a perfect world,
Week 20 should see 2800+ worms, week 21 4700+ worms, week 22 6600 etc.

Cheers

Jay

PS I can send you a copy of the Excel calculator I made if you have an email addy, and you can see the effect of "compound" breeding. lol!