How much vermicompost to use: per pot, per square metre and per acre

Published rates for vermicompost vary because crops, soils and feeds vary, but they cluster. These are the ones from ICAR, TNAU, the National Centre of Organic and Natural Farming and Kerala Agricultural University, with the arithmetic done for you. Treat them as a starting point and adjust with a soil test.

Rates at a glance

Published vermicompost rates

Use	Rate	Source
Potted plant (6 to 8 inch pot)	100 to 200 g per pot, every 30 to 45 days	ICAR NEH; The Composta how-to-use guide
Mixing into potting soil	10 to 20% of the mix by volume	The Composta how-to-use guide; extension guidance
Terrace or kitchen garden bed	0.5 to 1 kg per square metre, in the top 10 cm	The Composta how-to-use guide
Field crops, cereals and pulses	5 to 6 tonnes per hectare (about 2.0 to 2.4 tonnes per acre)	ICAR NEH
Fruit crops	3 to 5 kg per plant	ICAR NEH
Chilli, brinjal, tomato top-dressing	1 tonne per hectare (100 g per square metre), after 25 tonnes of FYM or compost as the base	KAU, in the NCONF package
Mango planting pit	5 kg, with 20 kg FYM	NCONF, from IIHR
Banana planting pit	2 kg, with 10 kg FYM or compost	NCONF
Cashew, adult tree	30 kg	NCONF, from IIHR

Worked examples

Twelve 8-inch pots on a balcony: 12 x 100 to 200 g is 1.2 to 2.4 kg per feeding, so one 5 kg Balcony bag covers about two to four feedings.
A 30 square metre vegetable bed at 0.5 to 1 kg per square metre needs 15 to 30 kg: a Garden sack of 25 kg, or one and a bit.
One acre of a field crop at ICAR's rate needs 2.0 to 2.4 tonnes, which is a bulk order and not a retail pack.

The calculator on our How to use page does the same sum and suggests packs.

How often

Pots take a feed every 30 to 45 days in the growing season. Beds are fed at planting and topped up each season. Trees are fed at the start and end of the growing season, spread around the drip line, which is the circle under the outer edge of the branches.

What too much does

It is easy to think that a gentle material cannot be overused. A 2026 study put vermicompost on sugarcane at 10 tonnes per hectare in a clay soil with heavy rain and found that it increased nitrate leaching, by about 187 kg of nitrogen per hectare compared with untreated plots, because the soil could not hold the extra nitrogen. The University of Maryland adds that pure castings can be high in soluble salts, so use them sparingly and keep them away from seedling roots.

Soil matters as much as the rate. A 2017 greenhouse study of tomatoes, at about 30 tonnes per hectare, found a 74 percent rise in yield in soil that had never grown tomatoes and only 28 percent in soil that had grown them for 20 years. The same dose does not do the same thing everywhere.

Common questions

How much vermicompost for a 12-inch pot?

No published rate names a 12-inch pot. The usual approach is to scale the 100 to 200 g for a 6 to 8 inch pot in proportion to the soil the pot holds, and to start at the low end and watch the plant.

How many kilograms of vermicompost per acre?

ICAR's north-eastern hills centre gives 5 to 6 tonnes per hectare for field crops, which is about 2.0 to 2.4 tonnes per acre. Our how-to-use guide, which follows ICAR and university guidance, allows up to about 2 tonnes per acre for vegetables.

Can I use too much vermicompost?

Yes. A 2026 sugarcane study found that vermicompost at 10 tonnes per hectare increased nitrate loss in clay soil after heavy rain, and pure castings can be high in soluble salts. Stay within the published rates.

How often should I add vermicompost?

Every 30 to 45 days for potted plants through the growing season, at planting and once more per season for beds, and at the start and end of the season for trees.

How much vermicompost for one mango or banana plant?

NCONF's schedule, from IIHR, puts 5 kg of vermicompost in a mango planting pit with 20 kg of FYM, and 2 kg in a banana pit with 10 kg of FYM or compost.