To stay healthy, composting worms need good food and bedding material. But what can you add to the bin to meet their needs? Here are six things I add to my worm composter regularly, as well as a few tips on what not to give your worms.
1)Coffee Grounds
Give your worms a caffeine boost with your old coffee grounds. The grounds encourage the growth of benficial microorganisms in your compost, and they also help build good compost texture. If you’re using a drip coffee maker, you can even throw your paper filters in, but its a good idea to rip them up first. Just be sure to keep an eye on the moisture level of your bin, because wet grounds add a significant amount of moisture.
2)Old Fruit (But No Citrus)
Banana peels, apple cores, any old or moldy fruit in the fridge will be quickly eaten by your composting worms. Avoid citrus however, as the worms do not like it and it encourages the growth of mold in your bin. Watermelon and watermelon rinds seem to be a particular favorite among the worms, and in my experience it has been the best food for encouraging an increase in the worm population in my bin.
3)Shredded Paper or Cellulose
Adding some finely shredded paper, carboard, or dry plant material is a good way to help bring down the moisture level of your bin. It also provides good bedding material for the worms, and helps to build good compost texture.
4)Old Bread
Your worms will devour moldy or stale bread in short order. Larger pieces should be crumbled or cut into smaller pieces. I have never added any other baked goods to my bin, so I would advise caution before doing so. Start with small amounts if experimenting with new compost materials.
5)Egg Shells
Old egg shells may be added to the bin in order to boost the mineral content of your compost. I like to collect a number of egg shells, break them into pieces and lay them on a baking sheet. After a quick bake in the oven to drive off excess moisture, I grind them into powder in my blender. I then mix the dry powder into my bin.
6)Fruit and Vegetable Pulp
If you make fruit or vegetable juices at home, or if you are near a source of recyleable pulp (a juice or smoothie shop), then you have access to one of the best worm food sources available. Pulp has already been mechanically broken down by the juicing process, so the worms can process it that much more quickly. Rich in minerals, micronutrients, and fiber, pulp is an amazing worm food, and it’s addition is a good way to add some moisture to a dry bin.
I fa large amount of pulp can be procured in a short time, an entire bed may be filled with a layer of soil or compost, followed by a large layer of pulp, some worm bedding, and finally more soil or compost on top. Worms added to this bed may feast for weeks or even months, finally leaving a finished bed full of amazing compost. Once the worms have finished, place some new food in one corner of the bed to attract the worms, remove them, and you can empty the whole bed and start again.
What Not To Put In Your Worm Bin
One thing you should not add to your bin is animal products. Worms don’t like meat, milk, dairy, etc. If I ever have some animal products that I want to compost, they go in my large composter, not the worm bin.
As mentioned previously, you want to avoid adding citrus, especially citrus rinds, to your composter. Something about citrus seems to repel worms, perhaps the acidity or the essential oils. Regardless of the cause, the worms will not eat these, and they will rot and encourage the growth of mold in your bin.
It’s also important to manage the moisture level of your compost bin. Worms don’t like to be dry, but if the compost in your bin becomes too wet it’s not good for them either. If your compost begins to feel like mud, or if you notice any smells of decay, this means bad anaerobic bacteria may be growing in your bin. If your bin does become too wet, avoid adding any moist foods for a few days, and add some shredded paper to dry things out a bit. Likewise, if the bin seems a bit dry and lacking in moisture, adding a wet food source will impart plenty of moisture in a short time.
How to Collect Your Kitchen Waste
I keep a 1.3 gallon stainless steel compost container next to my sink that collects all my kitchen scraps. It has a carbon filter in the lid that blocks and absorbs any odors that might come from the bin, and this is actually quite effective. I empty the bin once a day, stopping first at my worm bin, and then dumping anything that they didn’t get into my larger compost pile.