What do you put in a worm bed?
7 min read
Asked by: Sarah Westbrook
Shred and moisten newspaper to make bedding and create a thick, fluffy layer of it in the bottom of the bed. Add worms, soil, and food scraps and watch your worms turn it into rich organic soil and compost. Keep the bed moist and don’t let it dry out or your worms will die.
What is the best thing to put in a worm bed?
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.
What do you put in a worm bed to feed them?
DO feed your worms a rich assortment of the following fruit, vegetable, and organic waste, including:
- Fruit and vegetable peels, rinds and cores.
- Egg shells.
- Coffee grounds and filters.
- Tea bags.
- Aged manure from any vegetable-eating animal (rabbits, horses, cows, llamas, etc.)
What kind of dirt do you put in a worm bed?
Soil and aged compost are very similar materials used oftne for worm bin bedding. Compost is a bit superior because it’s already full of beneficial nutrients and microbes that worms love. Compost doesn’t need to be completely broken down, but particles should be small for effective bedding.
What do you fill worm bins with?
- Fill worm bin with dry bedding material. (leaves, shredded paper, etc.)
- Add water (approximately 2-3 litres) and mix contents.
- Bedding should be the consistency of a wet sponge.
- Pour off any excess water. ( …
- Add more dry bedding or water as required.
- Add crushed eggshells/limestone and soil.
- Add the worms.
- 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 do commercial worm farms use for bedding?
One material that works extremely well for both bedding and food is brown cardboard. Red worms love to eat brown cardboard. It should be shredded up into small pieces to allow for better air flow and so that the worms can eat it more easily.
Do 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. They’ll make short work of what otherwise would have taken up space in your trash.
Do worms eat potato peels?
Vegetable Waste
Carrot peelings, potato skins, broccoli and cauliflower stalks, lettuce, kale, even onion peels (in limited quantities) are perfect for the worm bin. Vegetable waste like this isn’t prone to overheating your bin either, so this is another low-maintenance food.
Do earthworms eat grass clippings?
The short answer is probably “yes” – composting worms could likely be sustained on a diet of primarily grass clippings.
Can you feed worms cornmeal?
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.
Can potting soil be used for worm farm?
Because it is intended to drain quickly, potting soil is a poor choice for a worm bin. Worms must have some moisture, but not enough to pool in the bottom of the bin. Worms not kept moist have trouble burrowing and often fail to reproduce.
How often should I change my 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).
What can you not put in a worm farm?
Items you cannot compost in a worm bin:
Do worms eat shredded paper?
Shredded paper and cardboard, egg cartons, ripped up newspaper, receipts and envelopes should all be a regular part of the worms diet. LOTS of non-glossy paper should go in your worm farm – it is worth repeating!
How often do you water worm farms?
Once every week
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.
Can you put eggshells in a worm farm?
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. Eggshells don’t harm the worms, but can look a little unsightly in the gardenbeds.
Do worms like cucumber?
Keep these ratios in mind when feeding. If you’ve added a lot of watery food, like lettuce, melon or cucumber, make sure to balance it with some paper. Temperature: Keep your bin a cool location out of direct sunlight to prevent your worms from getting too hot.
Are tea bags good for worms?
Add cooled loose tea to the worm bin. Tea Bags: Yes! The tea bags will start to break down in the worm bin, and the worms will finish off the contents. The string and paper tab might not break down as quickly.
Is newspaper good for worms?
Instead of soil, composting red worms live in moist newspaper bedding. Like soil, newspaper strips provide air, water, and food for the worms. Using about 50 pages, tear newspaper into 1/2″ to 1″ strips. Avoid using colored print, which may be toxic to the worms.
Do worms eat shredded cardboard?
Worms eat shredded paper and paperboard too, so the glue can’t be the only reason worms enjoy feeding on brown cardboard.
Can you use shredded office paper for worm bedding?
Shredded Paper makes an excellent worm bin bedding. I prefer to use shredded newspaper but any type of shredded paper will work. Avoid the glossy section of the newspaper or the glossy junk mail.
Is cardboard good for worms?
Although worms do think cardboard and paper are delicious, it is not, in fact, nutritious. A diet too heavy in cardboard and paper doesn’t add much nutritional value to your worms, and if they’re not eating properly, they won’t be able to compost efficiently (source).
Can you feed pizza boxes to worms?
Inspect the cardboard for excessive grease (such as pizza boxes) and plastic coatings. Oils are not good for worms. They cannot digest plastic. Greasy and plastic-coated corrugated cardboard should not go into the worm bin.
Can worms eat paper towels?
Egg Shells – although they take a very long time to break down. Paper Towels – as long as you have only used them to clean drink spills, etc. Do not put paper towels that have chemicals on them in your worm bin.
Can worms eat cereal?
Pureeing your table scraps will make them easier to eat, which means the worms will eat more of them! What about other kitchen scraps? Leftover cereal grains are great worm food.
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.
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.
