What to Feed Worms (and What Not To)
Get the diet right and a worm farm runs itself. Get it wrong and it smells.
Worms eat about half their body weight in food a day once established, so a kilo of worms handles roughly 500g of scraps daily. Feed in one corner at a time, add the next lot only when the last is nearly gone, and always balance wet food scraps with dry bedding (torn cardboard, paper) to stop it going sour.
The golden rules
- Chop it. Smaller pieces disappear faster.
- Underfeed, do not overfeed. Rotting uneaten food is the number one cause of smells and pests.
- Balance wet with dry. A handful of torn cardboard with every few feeds keeps the bed sweet.
- Bury or cover. Food under the blanket, not exposed, so it does not attract flies.
Can worms eat...? Search it
The never list
Meat, fish, dairy, oily or salty food, citrus and onion in bulk, pet droppings, and glossy printed paper. These cause smells, pests and a sour bed. Everything else from the kitchen is fair game in moderation.
Log your feeds. The app's worm farm tracker remembers when you last fed and harvested, so you never overfeed.
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