What Can I Put in My Worm Bin?

Everything breaks down over time.  But some things take longer than others.  Some might assume that worms will eat anything but that’s simply not the case.  There are things they won’t eat, things they can’t eat, and things that simply shouldn’t be composted.  The following will help you understand exactly what you should be feeding to your worms to maintain healthy and happy composters.

Keep it all in balance

All composting methods require a balance of green and brown inputs.  Greens are nitrogen heavy and browns are carbon heavy.  The microorganisms that aid the worms in the process, many of which reside in the worms gut, require a balance of greens for protein production and browns for energy production.  That makes sense, right?

A general rule is to provide your worms with an equal balance of browns and greens to maintain an optimal balance in the bin.  You will often see the reference to the C:N ratio (carbon to nitrogen).  Those inputs that are greater than a 30:1 ratio are considered browns and those less than 30:1 are greens.  For reference, cardboard has a 350:1 ratio and bread has a 20:1 ratio.  If you’d like to understand browns and greens better, you can review our article Browns and Greens: Understanding Carbon and Nitrogen in the Composting Process for a deeper dive into the topic.

Worms WILL eat:

• Coffee grounds
• Coffee filters
• Stale bread
• Eggshells
• Vegetables
• Fruits
• Pasta
• Teabags
• Plant stems and leaves
• Paper
• Egg cartons
• Yard leaves
• Cardboard
• Nut shells
• Corn cobs

Worms WILL NOT eat:

• Onions
• Oranges
• Potato skins
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Overly acidic scraps

Things you should NEVER put in your worm bin:

• Salty or spicy foods
• Fats of any kind including salad dressings, oils, meat, or dairy products
• Plastics
• Pharmaceuticals
• Animal waste

For reference, you can look at the items that can be composted using the hot or cold composting methods.  These methods rely solely on bacteria to perform the process so there is a broader range of inputs that can added to the pile.  Some might surprise you in fact!

 

Feel free to download and print this infographic from The Squirm Firm.