What should you not feed earthworms?

Avoid feeding the worms large quantities of meat, citrus, onions and dairy foods. Some processed food also contains preservatives, which discourage the worms from eating it. These foods won't harm your worms, but they will avoid them and those scraps will break down and rot in the bin.

What do earthworms not like?

Worms hate: meat or fish, cheese, butter, greasy food, animal waste, spicy and salty foods, citrus.” The food-to-worm ratio is not precise, nor is the amount of castings they will produce. The rule of thumb is that a pound of worms will eat one to two pounds of food in a week.

What is the best thing to feed earthworms?

The Best Worm Foods for Your Soil

Greens include green vegetables and other natural foods—melon rinds, lettuce, carrots, fruit peels, etc. —and they don't have to be green. Browns may be food or non-food items, such as coffee grounds, paper, egg cartons, or dry leaves.

Do earthworms eat food scraps?

Worms will eat most of your kitchen scraps. Exceptions are no meat or dairy, no oils, no citrus, no leaves or yard clippings, no soil, and no strong aromatics like garlic and heavy spices and peppers. Their digestive tract is like that of a chicken – a crop and a gizzard. They have no teeth.

What can be fed to worm farm?

Roughly 50% food scraps [nitrogen] and 50% paper or cardboard [carbon] is the magic formula for worm farm success. Food scraps, aged lawn clippings, tea leaves, coffee grounds, and vacuum cleaner dust – almost anything organic.

5 things you should never feed to your worm farm

Can worms eat banana peels?

Bananas are a great and inexpensive snack for both us and our worms. Those peels are desirable to compost worms no matter what shape they're in. They'll make short work of what otherwise would have taken up space in your trash.

Can worms eat potato peels?

Vegetable Waste

Carrot peelings, potato skins, broccoli and cauliflower stalks, lettuce, kale, even onion peels (in limited quantities) are perfect for the worm bin. Vegetable waste like this isn't prone to overheating your bin either, so this is another low-maintenance food.

Can worms eat tomatoes?

Let's dive in! *Tomatoes are slightly acidic, but worms still seem to like it and will tolerate it just fine in moderation. Whether you have an abundance of melon rinds, spoiled apples or fruit trimmings, you can feed them to your worms by slicing them up into manageable portions.

How often should you change worm bedding?

After worms are added, bedding should be kept moist but not soggy and the top 6 to 8 inches turned every 7 to 10 days to keep it loose. About every 6 to 9 months the old bedding should be replaced with properly prepared new bedding. To change bedding, remove the top 5 or 6 inches (where most of the worms are).

Can you feed worms oatmeal?

Fruits and vegetables (uncooked or peels) – you can feed your worms any variation as long as it's not citrus based (you'll have to stay way from lemons, oranges, pineapples and all that since it has high acidity levels) Starchy food wastes – these can be in the form of bread, oatmeal, and pasta.

What happens if you overfeed worms?

Over-Feeding Causes Odors

The worms' job is to eat the food before it gets super-rotten and stinky. If you add too much food at a time, they cannot keep up. Too much food can also push the air out of the bin, leading to foul-smelling anaerobic decomposition.

Can worms eat egg shells?

eggshells - worms simply can't eat them. They will still be there when you remove the worm castings, and you'll have eggshells in the garden. Eggshells are good for the garden, so if you crush them up, and put them in the worm farm, they'll end up adding calcium to your soil.

Should I stir my worm bin?

There is definitely no need to completely mix up your worm bin contents. The worms themselves – along with various other critters do a lot of mixing on their own.

Do earthworms like coffee grounds?

Earthworms consume coffee grounds and deposit them deep in soil. This may account for noted improvements in soil structure such as increased aggregation.

How do you tell if your worms are healthy?

But how do you know if your compost worms are happy and content? You can tell that compost worms are happy and healthy if they multiply and produce compost that does not stink. The key to happy and healthy compost worms is to give them a good home, adequate food, and maintain the right conditions in the compost bin.

How often do you water worms?

Watering daily or multiple times per week is not normally required. In many cases you can water every week or 2 - it depends on temperature, humidity, and other factors so monitor the bin and if you see it getting dry give it a good misting or spray.

What do I do when my worm farm is full?

If you are feeding your worms too much, the excess food will go anaerobic and begin to smell. Stop feeding them for a few days or even a week and sprinkle the contents of the top tray with a teaspoon full of Tumbleweed Worm Farm & Compost Conditioner, then mix it in with a small fork or spike.

How wet should my worm farm be?

Your worm farm environment should maintain a moisture content range of around 60-85%.

Can worms eat lettuce?

Worms love lettuce, kale, Swiss chard, to name a few of these vegetables. Be sure to cut these scraps down into small pieces or even food process them.

Can worms eat cucumber?

Keep these ratios in mind when feeding. If you've added a lot of watery food, like lettuce, melon or cucumber, make sure to balance it with some paper. Temperature: Keep your bin a cool location out of direct sunlight to prevent your worms from getting too hot.

Can worms have grapes?

Worms have a sweet tooth so most fruits are a great idea (just not citrus). Compost worms love bananas and banana peels, grapes, melon, pears, berries, peaches, apples, and avocado (but not the pit or rinds) Green leafy vegetables (e.g., romaine)

Can worms eat peanut shells?

The do's & don'ts of a worm diet

Do not feed them meat or bones, dairy products or greasy leftovers; they also do not like acidic or stinky fruits or vegetables (e.g. citrus or onion). Worms LOVE watermelon rinds, avocado or peanut shells, banana peels, coffee grounds and tea bags (be aware of nylon tea bags).

Can worms eat cabbage?

Contrary to their reputation, worms are not able to eat anything and everything you put into a worm bin. Large quantities of citrus should be avoided, as it contains a compound poisonous to worms. Brassicas (cabbage, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, turnips, etc.)

Can I put grass clippings in my worm farm?

– Grass clippings, garden off cuts or raked up dried leaves. I recommend adding these to the compost rather than the worm farm, due to the large quantities they usually come in. Adding smaller quantities of these to the worm farm is fine though especially if you can chop the up in a mulcher for instance.