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.
Worms breathe through their skin and certain foods will irritate or prevent that process. For instance, the natural chemicals and acidity in citrus peels and onions can kill worms and other microorganisms, which can slow down decomposition rates in your bin.
They also don't like too much onion, garlic or bread. Don't put meat or dairy products in with your worms — there are other composting systems like bokashi that work for meat products. Cooked and spicy foods are also best to be avoided. The worms don't like many of the herbs and spices used in lots of cooked dishes.
Banana peels are an excellent worm food. Keep an eye out for fruit flies though!
*Can worms eat tomatoes? Tomatoes are slightly acidic, but worms still seem to like it and will tolerate it just fine in moderation.
Dairy products such as milk, cheese, and yogurt should never go into a worm bin. Even non-fat varieties are bad for composting worms. Therefore, dispose of meat, bones, gristle, and dairy products in the trash.
Bread, rice, pasta, processed foods - you can add the odd crust or bits of cooked rice off the dinner plate, but don't add lots of starchy foods. Worms don't like them and they may go off or attract pests.
Worms will eat anything that was once living, Leftover vegetable scraps, fruit and vegetable peelings. Tea leaves / bags and coffee grounds.
Oranges are highly acidic and can harm the worms. They throw off the pH balance in the bin, which can cause noxious odors and even worm die-off. Your bin can probably handle orange peels, pulp and flesh in small quantities. In general, though, citrus fruit is bad news for worm bins.
They will eat some of their bedding, but they really love scraps of fruit and vegetables. Worms will eat the parts you won't, like cores and peels. Don't feed them too much or too often at first. A yogurt container full of scraps once a week will be enough.
Worms can eat these foods in moderation: Coffee grounds, coffee filters, tea leaves, tea bags, pasta (without sauce), rice (no oil), breads (minimal).
Over feeding is one of the most common causes of worm farm problems. We understand that you might be eager to get your worm farm churning through as much of your waste as possible, but too much waste can cause the environment to become too acidic, damp and anaerobic – all things worms don't enjoy!
Just like people, composting worms have an ideal temperature range. The worm bin and bedding help regulate the temperature. When the air temperature is below 54 degrees Fahrenheit, worms slow down. Below freezing, they can die.
Leftover cereal grains are great worm food. So are coffee grounds and tea leaves. Cooked rice is great too. I generally avoid adding meat or dairy products to my vermicomposter.
Coffee grounds have about the same amount of nitrogen as grass clippings – 2% or so, meaning they heat up quickly when added to compost and help turn the entire pile into a beautiful dark rich soil. They are also very suitable for the worm farm, with those little guys loving used coffee grounds.
Feed them a small handful of food waste at a time, and check them every day or two; when you see them writhing in the last batch of food you fed them, it's time to feed them another handful.
That's right, eggs are an animal product that can attract critters we want kept out of our worm bins. However, when we get rid of the yolk and albumen, the amazingly delicate yet incredibly strong outer shell of an egg provides a very essential element in the diet of a worm, grit.
Yes, in moderation, bread, and in fact, all grain based foods, are worthy of your worms' processing power. Stale bread remains just as full of nutrients and building blocks for worm growth as the fresh stuff.
Other foods worms like are crushed egg shells, avocado skin and poultry pellets. Avoid adding meat, fish or dairy products, garlic or citrus and onion peelings as these may produce offensive smells, attract pests and are not favoured by the worms.
Once every week, pour about five litres of fresh water into the Top Working Tray, which will flood down through the lower trays, ensuring the entire worm farm remains very moist. The sudden 'flood' will not harm the worms. Adding water is especially important in the hotter months of the year.
Foods that Composting Worms Love
They will happily digest a wide variety of organic plant material into nutrient rich worm castings. I put old lettuce in there, rotten vegetables, potato peels, fruit, grass clipping, and leaves, just to name a few.