How to Feed Your Worms

A Wormy Diet

What Worms Can and Can’t Eat

Brussels sprout ends and cantaloupe rinds before being food processed.

When it comes to red wiggler worms, food is pretty straight forward. Their diet consists of organic materials with some grit to help with digestion. There are a few different options that you can use for grit, but the top choices are coconut core, soil, or compost. You could even use crushed up eggshells, just make sure you wash them first! You can choose to use one of these or a combination of them, but this helps them break down the food in their gizzard. 

Although most organic materials are safe for the worms, there are some items you'll want to avoid. Below we have a list of different things that worms can and cannot eat. Please feel free to refer to this if you ever find yourself wondering if it’s safe for your worms to eat!

Safe to Eat:

• Banana peels
• Avocados and melons— acts as an aphrodisiac for them
• Rotten produce such as moldy or slimy leafy greens and berries
• Fruit and vegetable scraps like peelings
• Grass clippings or old plants as long as they aren’t diseased
• Shredded up leaves
• Paper shreds— they eat this if there’s nothing else 

Not Safe to Eat:

• Meat of any kind
• Citrus fruits— won't hurt them in small amounts, but best to avoid
• Anything with preservatives
• Spicy peppers
• Overly salty foods
• Dairy products
• Starchy products like stale bread
• Oiled foods— oil will actually kill your worms, so make sure you avoid

 

If you are feeding them food that doesn’t have a lot of moisture, they will also need water. One way you can add moisture without adding water is by processing your food scraps in a food processor. Worms love to eat food that has been ground up really small, so by processing it, you’re making it easier for them to eat. Add water to your processor or blender to make it easier to grind up, then use a mesh strainer to get rid of most of the liquid. There will still be some leftover which we want for the worms. They also love moldy food, so, if possible, store puréed food in a container and leave it until mold starts to form. This gets smelly and can attract fruit flies, so it’s best to prepare their food when it’s almost time to eat.                                         

Puréed worm food.

  

To summarize, most things that grow out of the ground are safe to feed your worms (with just a few exceptions). A good rule to remember is if you can compost it, you can feed it to your worms! Make sure your farms have bedding and grit for the worms to eat, and you want a bit of moisture in there. Happy worms will produce thriving populations with lots of growth, so the more baby worms you see, the better!