FOOD FOR COMPOST WORMS
I haven’t listed every type of fruit or vegetable, just a few to give you some ideas. My worms like fruit and vegetable scraps better than processed foods like cereal or spaghetti.
| vegetable scraps in general | non-citrus fruit scraps in general | egg shells, pulverize |
| melon rinds | coffee grounds and filters | tea leaves and bags |
| apples and cores | spoiled food | macaroni, spaghetti |
| gravy | cereal | cake |
| pancakes | pizza crust | molasses |
| cheese | grape pulp | corn husks |
| corn cobs | pumpkins, rind and all | bean cuttings |
| garden residues | Bananas and peels | potatoes |
EXPERIMENT WITH SMALL QUANTITIES
Worms have individual preferences for particular foods, just like people do. Your worms may like particular foods that mine do not, and mine may like something that your worms hate.
Vegetable scraps in general are always appropriate for a worm compost bin.
To find out what your worms like, you may want to experiment when you have a question about an organic, non-toxic food that is not covered here. Put a tablespoonful in your bin. Check back in two weeks. Are there worms in the vicinity of that substance, or have the worms moved away from it? If they have moved away from it, remove it from the bin. If they like it, you’ve found another food for them.
WHAT NOT TO FEED TO COMPOST WORMS
The following should not be used in a home worm bin:
Non-organics. Do not put anything in the bin that is non-organic. The exception to this is the container your worms were in when you acquired them. It should be left in the bin on its side so the worms can move into the bedding you have prepared for them. If the container is non-organic, remove it once worms have migrated into the bedding.
Dog or cat feces. Avoid these primarily due to the potential harm to humans. Toxoplasmosis from cats passes right through the earthworm intact, and will be present in the castings.
Human feces. Don’t even consider it unless you have purchased a system specifically designed for this purpose. The pathogens in human feces are too much for a home worm bin.
Citrus fruits. Citrus has a substance in them (limonene) that can harm worms. You can put some in, but in very limited quantity.
Meat, oils, and dairy. These can cause pest and odor problems in a home bin.
Hydrated lime. Hydrated lime will kill worms. Small amount of powdered calcium carbonate can be added for grit.
Vinegar. It’s too acidic for a worm bin.
BEDDING
Worms eat their bedding, but it should not be their sole source of food. The items below make good bedding. All paper and large items should be shredded or torn into strips first. All bedding should be damp, see Setting Up an Indoor Worm Bin for more information.
Please do not use soil for bedding. The redworms in vermicomposting systems are not soil-dwellers and cannot live without a large amount of organic matter.
| shredded office paper | brown grocery sacks | leaf mold |
| cardboard | paperboard (like cereal boxes) | newspaper strips |
| coir (mix with 2/3 other) | cow manure | rabbit manure |
| horse manure | leaves | magazine page (small amount, shredded) |
Mary Tynes, Master Composter, www.mastercomposter.com
Image Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10413717@N08/3927456430/
Good information! My redworms pay our taxes every year. For the most part our worms thrive on scraps from the garden, manure from rabbits,goats,cattle,and our paper shredder.Enjoyed your information.
You say not to include dairy products in the wormbin as it may cause problems yet, in the same article, you say cheese is a food for compost worms. Isn’t cheese considered a DAIRY product?
Correct! Gold star for you, cheese is a dairy product. In general, dairy is not a good choice for home composting — worm bin or compost pile. That’s because it decomposes slowly (bad) and the strong odors can attract pests (also bad). But try a small amount of cheese, just don’t overdo it. Monitor the worm bin and see how they like it. I had a friend whose worms couldn’t get enough cheese. Loved it and ate it very quickly. Mine wouldn’t touch it. But I decided to include cheese on the list since I know some worms will eat them. Worms are like kids in this regard — if they don’t want to eat something, they don’t. So if the cheese doesn’t disappear at the rate of other food, don’t use it.