Worms are not picky eaters. That being said, there are a few items you should avoid feeding your worms. For instance, any meat, dairy, or anything with butters and oils are not welcome in the worm bin. These items will either hurt the worms or attract pests you don't want and make your compost smell.
In moderation, you can give your worms citrus peels and tomatoes. I say "in moderation" because the pH levels of your worm bin are important. Worms like to be at a neutral pH, so adding fruits or veggies with too much acidity could affect your worms. If you do feed them citrus, you can always balance the meal with carbon-rich materials (cardboard and shredded newspaper for example) or a more alkaline food such as ground up eggshells.
What you should feed your worms: vegetable scraps, fruit scraps and rinds (especially watermelon), potatoes or potato skins (with no butter on them), banana peels, ground up eggshells, coffee grounds, coffee filters, tea bags, shredded cardboard and newspaper, leaves, and the list goes on. This list is just off the top of my head, so if you have a specific item you're wondering about, comment below and I'll get back to you!
Now that you know what to feed your worms, let's talk about balance of feedings. You should balance nitrogen materials (veggies and fruits) with carbon materials (newspaper and cardboard). Too much nitrogen materials without any carbon will make your bin smell. Tip: cover your fruits and veggie scraps with bedding or newspaper to avoid fruit flies and other critters. Some critters (bugs mostly) will be attracted to your bin and that's OK! I will talk about what organisms are safe to keep around and which ones are harmful in a later post.
Remember, what you put into your worm bin is what you get out of it. Happy worm farming! Check out my Instagram where I make informational posts on worm farming and fun reels! https://www.instagram.com/ts_vermicompost/
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