Can I feed my worms cornmeal?

Asked by: Shelley Dykes

Cornmeal is the perfect food to keep your worms lively and healthy. This is a simple trick that makes keeping a worm bin easier than ever. During the winter months, if you want to go on vacation, simply sprinkling a layer of cornmeal on the top of your bin, will give your worms a fresh supply of food the entire time.

How much cornmeal do you need for worms?

Diet for Captive Worms



Combine 1 pound of cornmeal with 1/2 pound of lard, mixed into the first 3 inches of worm bedding. You can also feed night crawlers a mixture of ground corn, cornmeal and commercially sold worm food.

What food items should not be given to the earthworms?

Items you cannot compost in a worm bin:

• Lemon, lime, orange or other citrus peels and juice (in excess this will make the soil too acidic)
• Onions and garlic (a good rule of thumb is if it makes you smell, it makes your worm bin smell)
• Meat, fats, grease, bones or oils (no butter, lard, stocks, soups, etc)

What to feed worms to make them big?

One of the surest ways to not only grow big worms, but also keep your worms healthy, is to spray you worm bedding and added food with a weak mixture of VermaPlex® (a liquid soil inoculant fertilizer made from worm castings) and water (80 parts water to 1 part VermaPlex®).

How do you make homemade worm food?

But a little bit of sugar is really good for the microorganisms. And the bacteria that's inside your web and it helps break down the food a lot quicker when there's more microorganisms.

Is oatmeal good for worms?

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.

Is celery OK for worms?

Eating organic material is their method of composting and providing nutrients for the worms to grow and remain healthy. Cellulose is in all plants. Fiber found in foods like celery are favored by worms for their crop and gizzard.

What foods do worms Hate?

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 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.

Do worms eat eggshells?

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.

What is the best worm food?

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.

Can I give my worms flour?

Yes, you can add flour to a worm bin but sparingly. The moisture in a worm bin can quickly turn big lumps of flour into impenetrable dough balls that the worms will avoid. The best way to add flour to your worm bin is to lightly coat the surface and then spray it with water.

What do commercial worm farms feed their worms?

Most commercially raised worms live in surface litter and feed on decaying organic matter. The primary bait worm raised in the United States is the red earthworm (Lumbricus rubellus). It is the most popular variety because of its hardiness and ability to tolerate large concentrations of decaying organic matter.

Can you feed worms chicken poop?

Though chicken manure can be great for a flower garden, it is not the kind of food you ought to feed your composting worms. Chicken droppings are relatively dry, contain high levels of salts, off-gas ammonia, and offer far too much nitrogen to put into the worm bin “fresh”.

What can I use for grit in my worm bin?

Worms have a gizzard like chickens so fine grit should be added to help the worms digest food. This gritty material includes cornmeal, coffee grounds and/or finely crushed egg shells (dry the shells and then crush). Avoid large amounts of fat, meat scraps or bone.

How quickly do worms multiply?

Worms are ready to breed once they mature from 50 to 90 days. Earthworms are hermaphrodites; they can be male or female (a great advantage!). They can perform both male and female functions and mate every 7 to 10 days. The mating process takes around 24 hours.

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).

How do you fatten up red wigglers?

Measure out one cup of the powdered eggshells and add them to your food supplement mix in place of the lime. According to Janet Hogan Taylor, co-author of “The Worm Book,” grit materials, such as eggshells and lime, allow your worms to grind up and digest their food more quickly.

How often do you water worm farms?

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.

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.

How do I know if my worms are happy?

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.

Should worm blankets be wet?

The presence of a damp worm blanket on top of the kitchen scraps will help maintain humidity levels, meaning the worms can feed at the surface happily and still breathe easily. Worms also like to lay eggs in the top layers if it has a covering.

Do worms like 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.

Can I use newspaper as a worm blanket?

I always use newspaper or pieces of cardboard instead of a worm blanket, and the worms seem to love eating them. It is a great way to get rid of newspaper and old boxes etc. I actually don’t add much water at all as the worms can drown.