What do worms eat? Start with pieces of fruit and vegetables.
Understanding the basics so that you can feed the worms well is essential to the success of a worm farm. This includes what foods are added, size, preparation and storage. And if you make a mistake, a number of worm farm problems may arise, such as a foul smell or a poisonous environment. So, what do worms eat? Worms will eat any organic thing. However, there are other foods to avoid.
What Worms Eat – Basic
- Worms grow well on nutritious food and prefer to eat their own food as it begins to rot. Keep a balance of brown and green foods.
- Feed your worms with fruits and vegetables. Limit high-fat foods. Worms also do not like strong flavors, such as oranges, garlic and onions. Be careful that fruits do not contain pesticides as this can kill your them.
- You should add egg shells, egg shells allow worms grit to break down food and also help to reduce the pH levels in your worm bin. Egg shells are high in calcium and beneficial to the worm farm.
- You can also add carbon for bedding including shredding paper, egg cartons and cardboard. If in doubt, add more paper. Paper and cardboard should be carefully shredded first and then soaked into water. Shredded newspaper also makes excellent bedding material..
- Avoid feeding worms meat, milk, and oils. While they will eat meat and dairy products, these foods will create a foul odor and attract insects.
- Do not feed your worms spicy foods which has preservatives or foods that are salty. Worms breathe through their skin, and certain foods may irritate the process
- Add grains and grain products in moderation. The grain must be ground up before it is put into the worm bin. Be careful not to add much, as the grain may attract rodents.
What Can I Feed My Worms?
The question that is often asked if not the most frequently asked question is, “What can I feed my worms? So, I decided to come up with a basic list of what to feed your worms. I will also include a list of things that should not go into the worm bin.
Nutrition items for your worms include:
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Paper
- Squash and Pumpkin
- Egg shells
- Coffee
- Bread
- Pasta
- Tea Bags
- Grains
- Hair
- Animal manure (not dog or cat)
Here is a very basic list of what not to put in a worm bin:
- Salty foods
- Orange
- Spicy food
- Oil
- Foods with preservatives
- meat
- milk
Maintain proper humidity, pH level and food and your worms will be ready to go! Happy vermicomposting!
What do worms eat in my bin
Here are the top foods I put in my bin:
- Fruits with high water content like watermelon, cantaloupe and mango peel. My worms go mad on these.
- I regularly mix in coffee grounds. Never a shortage
- Banana peels for extra carbon and to create a canopy keeping the under cover and dark.
- Occasionally I add egg shells for calcium. Worms always curl up inside.
- Strawberry and cucumber are popular too.
- Cardboard (thanks Amazon) and shredded newspaper
- Small amount of grass clippings after mowing lawns – helps to raise temperature in Winter
- Apple cores (my son eats about 2 apples a day)
- Carrot tops
What Are Worms?
Imagine that you are helping your mother to plant flowers. As you dig in the dirt to get out of the way, you notice something wiggling in the soil. You pick it up and moves it to another part of the field so that it will not hit the shovel. You just saved a worm!
Worms are tiny long animals that have no bones and live on the ground. They may seem insignificant, but they have a very important function. They are decomposers which means eating and destroying dead plants and animals. This process sets out the nutrients that plants need to grow back into the soil.
How Do Worms Eat?
When you eat a spice, you chew it with your teeth. Although worms have mouths, they do not have teeth so they are usually slightly different than they we do.
What Eat Worms
Predators, however, have no interest in scientific nomenclature. If it moves and it looks tasty, they eat it. Animals from many different groups eat worms and worm-like creatures.
Animals, including insects, amphibians and reptiles, often feed on worms. Small lizards, salamanders and frogs eat worms. Crawling insects, especially ground beetles, as well as centipedes and flatworms, also eat worms and similar creatures.
These animals dig into the ground and feed on rich-protein worms. Other mammals that feed on worms include rats, mice and foxes.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Do the worms feed on lettuce?
Yes, the worms will eat lettuce. Lettuce is very watery and rich in nitrogen; it is like cutting grass. Avoid adding large amounts of lettuce to your worm farm as it will heat up and break down.
- Do worms eat bread?
Worms like to eat pieces of bread. But it is better to avoid putting bread in your worm bin. Bread tends to be moldy and starchy foods that include bread, pasta, rice etc.
