Category: Food

Composting worms are also known as red wigglers, also known as Eisenia fetida, can eat around half of their body weight every day. That means more you will have the opportunity to transform food scraps into compost.

Worms will eat a wide variety of common household foods. Here are some of the basics you need to consider when feeding your compost worms.

Good Food

Compost worms can eat a wide variety of common items like lettuce, carrots, watermelon,  avocado, apples, broccoli, and more. I’ve created a list you can reference with a full list of worm foods as well as a dry worm chow recipe.

Bad Food

It is important to note that some food is not good for worms. Often it is because you are using a small apartment or small space compost bin. Items like tomato, garlic, onions, and cabbage are not the best. This is often because they are highly acidic, which can upset the pH balance o the bin.

pH Balance

When you feed your worms, you want to consider ways to balance the pH of the food as it decomposes. Your worms like to live around a pH balance of 7- this is considered neutral. Highly acidic items can kill your worms, so you must manage the pH balance for your worms.

Grit

One item that can help manage pH and also gives grit for your worms to eat is eggshells. Eggshells add calcium to the soil, balancing the pH. They also help the worm’s gizzard process the food you add to the bin. Adding items like ground oyster shells or eggshells speed up the process of turning table scraps into nutrient-rich compost.

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