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As a general rule, you should feed worms a mix of equal parts “brown” and “green” foods. Browns are high in carbon and carbohydrates, while greens add a lot of nitrogen and protein to the soil. Greens include green vegetables and other natural foods—melon rinds, lettuce, carrots, fruit peels, etc.
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 can earthworms eat?
Their nutrition comes from things in soil, such as decaying roots and leaves. Animal manures are an important food source for earthworms. They eat living organisms such as nematodes, protozoans, rotifers, bacteria, fungi in soil. Worms will also feed on the decomposing remains of other animals.
What do natural worms eat?
Worms eat dirt, animal manure, and organic matter such as leaves, dead roots, and grass. Their digestive systems turn their meals into humus full of necessary plant nutrients. Their castings contain more nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and calcium than the surrounding soil.
What do worms need to stay alive?
Worms need moisture, air, food, darkness, and warm (but not hot) temperatures. Bedding, made of newspaper strips or leaves, will hold moisture and contain air spaces essential to worms. You should use red worms or red wigglers in the worm bin, which can be ordered from a worm farm and mailed to your school.
What food can you put in a worm farm?
Worms will eat anything that was once living, Leftover vegetable scraps, fruit and vegetable peelings. Tea leaves / bags and coffee grounds. Vacuum cleaner dust or hair clippings (also animal) Torn up newspapers, egg cartons or soaked pizza cartons. Crushed egg shells (these will also help with the pH balance).
Do worms eat grass clippings?
Grass clippings are a great addition to a traditional compost pile and worms will eat these as well in their natural setting, but in your vermicomposting system, they will heat up the soil and can kill all of your worms.
What do worms like best?
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. Remember to thoroughly rinse off all hot spices, sauces, oils, dressings, and cheeses because they can harm your vermicomposting project.
Are coffee grounds good for earthworms?
Earthworms are also able to use this food source. Earthworms consume coffee grounds and deposit them deep in soil. This may account for noted improvements in soil structure such as increased aggregation.
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. To make food easier for the worms to consume it is good to chop or puree it.
Can worms eat flour?
Yes, you can add flour to a worm bin but sparingly. Bigger worms also benefit your composting efforts because larger worms can eat more. Wheat flour is often used as an ingredient in fattener recipes because it’s a good source of protein for the worms.
What do earthworms drink?
Worms do not drink water through their mouths, but they do need water to live.
Can I feed my worms nuts?
Worm composting, or vermicomposting, relies primarily on red wiggler earthworms to break down household scraps into fine compost. Pistachio nut shells often break down, but heavily salted nuts in a worm bin will adversely affect the worms. Nut meats break down fine in most any compost system, including worm composting.
What do you feed vermicomposting worms?
As a general rule, you should feed worms a mix of equal parts “brown” and “green” foods. Browns are high in carbon and carbohydrates, while greens add a lot of nitrogen and protein to the soil. Greens include green vegetables and other natural foods—melon rinds, lettuce, carrots, fruit peels, etc.
Do worms like rice?
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.
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. The worms should do a pretty good job of finishing everything off, and leaving you with plenty of nice vermicompost.
Should I water my worm farm?
Worms love an environment with a moisture content of 70% or more. Food wastes usually contain about 80 per cent water and this will be released as the worms break down the food scraps. However, it will remain in the bedding for a long time before eventually draining out, so it’s important to add water as well.
How often do I feed my worms?
Depending on the size of your bin, feed the worms from once a week to every two days with about a cup (240 ml.) of food. You may want to keep a journal regarding how quickly your worms consume certain things so you can adjust timings, amounts, and varieties. A stinky worm bin may be an indicator of overfeeding.
