What Do Worms Eat And What Should You Feed Them

I know you love vegetables. Vegetables are excellent choices for both taste and nutrition. Your every meal is incomplete without adding some sort of vegetable items into your dining. Just like you do, worms also prefer taking vegetables from the worm bin.

While preparing your meal, we're pretty sure you create a significant quantity of vegetable waste such as carrot peelings, potato skins, broccoli and cauliflower stalks, lettuce, kale, and so on. Worms love to eat veggie waste, which is a pretty much low-maintenance food as well.

Pumpkin and Squash

It has been found that composting worms like to eat any members of the Cucurbitaceae plant family like pumpkins, squash, cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon, and so on. They are around 94% water and high in sugar content. Try putting them in your worm and get ready to observe the quick swarming of the worms.

These vegetables are easily breakable if cooked or left to soften, being a very good friend of the worm's digestive system. In addition to that, these vegetables contain excessive quantities of vitamins and antioxidants helping both worms and soil to thrive. Make sure to bed your worm bin before adding them!

Carrot Peels

Carrots are considered a very good source of vitamins. The vitamins are responsible for the overall development of the worms, supporting their every health aspect. The worms actually enjoy munching on the carrot tops and peels.

These peels are thin and easily breakable, making them decompose pretty quickly. Worms like to eat this easy-to-go food that is good for their digestion as well.

Leafy Greens

Leafy greens such as lettuce, spinach, and kale attract the worms. Being highly rich in nitrogen, these greens are responsible for their growth and reproduction. They are also found to decompose rapidly, making an ideal food source for the worms.

From helping the compost mixture achieve a more balanced moisture content, these leafy greens make an excellent choice for worm bins around the world. Make sure to rinse off all the hot spices, sauces, oils, and cheeses from these vegetables before putting them into the bin.

In vermicomposting, pre-composting means the early active phase of aerated composting when pile temperatures exceed 55° C for a minimum of three days. Here, vermicomposting actually means the use of earthworms to convert organic waste into fertilizer.

Being slightly harder to procure than regular vegetable and food waste, pre-composting manure is a delightful food for the worms. Manures coming from the cattle, rabbits, and houses are quite popular. If you wonder, what does worms eat, pre-composted horse manure is regarded as one of the best manure for worms to thrive.

Banana is a good source of nutrition for both humans as well worms. They are quite a favorite for many composters. In the same way, their peels are not less than the flesh in the composting world. The peels are rich in potassium which can break down quickly providing an energy-enhanced meal for the worms.

In addition to that, the banana peels also contain essential minerals like magnesium and phosphorus which are responsible for contributing to the healthy worm castings. Worm castings are an organic form of fertilizer produced from earthworms, in more simpler terms it is a worm poo.

Apple cores are what does worm eat. They are the central portion of an apple containing seeds that usually remain after the main part has been eaten. This is another fruit waste that is considered perfect for the worm bin as it essentially contains the moisture required for their survival.

The apple cores are enriched with natural sugar and fiber that provide the worms, especially earthworms a source of energy and a balanced diet. In addition to that, the apple scraps are also known to help in the digestion of the worms.

Melon rinds are the tough, outer layer of watermelon. They are typically green on the outside and pale white on the inside, left after the main reddish part has been eaten up. The rinds of watermelon, cantaloupe, and other melons are popularly used to treat the worms.

The rinds of the melon are mostly water which helps to keep the compost bin moist. In addition to that, they break down easily enabling the worms to munch more comfortably and happily. If the rinds are quite thicker, you can cut them into fine pieces before putting them into the worm bin.

If you are thinking about what might be the common food for useful earthworms then you shouldn't be surprised to hear that earthworms do like to eat coffee grounds. Coffee grounds are a favorite to go into the worm bin, especially in urban areas where coffee is consumed quite voraciously.

Many people are quite confused regarding the acidity of the grounds, but you should be aware, only the unused grounds or the coffee itself in liquid form is acidic. The used coffee grounds are actually pH-neutral and rich in nitrogen content. They can be excellent food for the worms which promotes their growth and reproduction while improving the soil retention ability.

Tea leaves are the things what does earthworm eat. They like to eat tea leaves as well. The tea leaves are rich in nitrogen, being a good source of diet for the worms. These days people are seen using tea bags more commonly in their worm bins after they have used them initially.

You should be careful the tea bags are made from natural materials like paper and silk rather than something that worms can't digest such as synthetic fibers. The cellulose of the natural tea bags can add carbon to the compost which further helps to balance the nitrogen-rich tea leaves.

The eggshells that often get piled up in your kitchen bin can actually be used as food for the worms. The eggshells are known to possess slow-releasing calcium that is vital for the development of worms, more specifically their reproductive system for breeding.

In addition to that, they also help regulate the pH of the compost, acting as a buffer to prevent it from being excessively acidic. You need to crush the eggshells and put them into the worm bin in significant quantities. These will certainly be consumed by the worms quickly.

Grass clippings are another organic matter, if used in moderate quantity in the worm bin, can provide an excellent source of energy for the worms as they are rich in nitrogen content. However, you shouldn't add them creating a compact layer inside the worm bin because proper aeration is very crucial.

Similarly, the decayed fallen leaves can be best for the diet of the earthworms. The leaves are enriched with carbon as well as nitrogen depending upon their stage of decomposition. The dried leaves that are brown are rich in carbon while more greener leaves contain excessive nitrogen.

Paper products can also be used as food for the worms. The carbon content of the paper, mostly of newspaper or office paper are good source of food for the worms. It has also been suggested to use shredded paper for bedding the bin as it can help to aerate the environment of the worm bin.

In addition to that, you can make use of the shredded cardboard as well. Having the ability to break down more slowly, the cardboard pieces can be a good source of carbon for the worm for a prolonged period.

1. Kitchen Waste

You should develop the habit of zero waste to make a significant contribution to reducing the global carbon footprint. This doesn't end here, the waste created in your kitchen has the potential to establish a thriving environment for the very beneficiary worms.

Why not make the best use of waste such as all the fruits and vegetable scraps like banana peels, lettuce leaves, apple cores, carrot shavings, and many more that would eventually go into the landfill? These are a great source of food for the worms, packed with nutrients and moisture and easily digestible.

2. Garden Waste

Well, there are some more waste to be looked upon on your house. Your garden also produces a lot of waste upon which the worms feed. In fact, they not only feed but thrive in such an environment. Yes, we are here talking about the decayed leaves, fresh grass clippings, trimmed portion of your plants, and many more.

These are the food source, worms will munch for the weeks to come since most of them are slow-release food. In addition to that, these materials are rich in nitrogen and carbon.

3. Fiber-rich Materials

The fibrous goodness of shredded paper and cardboard has a special place in the heart of the worms. The fiber contents on them are found to help the digestive system of the worms and keep running things smoothly.

In addition to that, these materials which contain carbons, help to balance the nitrogen contents coming from the foods and vegetables into the worm bin. Make sure they're shredded properly before using them in the bin.

4. Calcium Boost

Calcium is essential for keeping the worms healthy. It is responsible for aiding in their digestion while playing a crucial role in the reproductive system as well. In fact, calcium acts as a multivitamin dose to the worms.

Earthworms feed on calcium-enriched eggshells and leafy vegetables quite interestingly. Eggshells are suggested to be crushed before putting them into the bin, while small cut leafy vegetable pieces like collard greens, spinach, and kale are also used as a calcium source for the worms.

5. Easy-to-go Substitute Goods

 We are sure, you are familiar with the term substitute goods. Substitute goods can be used for the same purpose by the same consumers. The main reason to bring this term over here is because of the reason they can never be shortened in your house or life.

In fact, coffee and tea are substitute goods. It is almost certain you either go for coffee or tea and these elements are highly probable to be found in your house. After its use, the leftovers such as coffee grounds and tea bags are widely used in the worm bin. These treats are rich in nitrogen which is highly favored by the worms.

Worms are long cylindrical tube-like-bodied bilateral animals. They do not possess limbs and usually have no eyes or any teeth. However, they have a liplike extension over the mouth that helps to direct the food. This food is then grabbed and coated with saliva by their throat.

After that, the food is stored in the esophagus before the gizzard receives it. The gizzard is an organ in the digestive tract of the earthworms where the food is further crushed and moved into the intestine. Some of this food is passed into the bloodstream for the intended use while the rest passes out as poop, also known as worm poop.

Worms can survive without the essential food supply for a surprisingly long time, however, their overall well-being and productivity have been proven to decline over time. It has been found that they can survive for about 4 weeks without fresh food. During this period, worms will depend upon the organic matter and microbes present in the soil.

However constant feeding on soil nutrients is not sufficient for the worms. They are likely to weaken after 2 weeks if new food is not added to their diet. They will start to experience reduced energy levels being inactive most of the time for another 2 weeks. Prolonged periods of absence of the required nutrients will eventually shut them off, declining the worm population.

Soil Formation

Soil formation involves the process of breaking down the primary minerals and the gradual fusion of organic matter in the soil. This process usually takes a long time and majorly depends upon the climatic conditions, if earthworms were not to assist. Earthworms are found to be partially responsible for soil formation through their casts.

Actually, Charles Darwin was among the first people to recognize this vital assistance of earthworms in soil ecology. In addition to that, earthworms also help in the mineral weathering of the soil, which means the breaking down of the minerals and rocks on the earth's surface.

Soil Aeration

Another beneficial factor of earthworms is the soil aeration. Worms like earthworms are found to develop a network of tunnels in the soil as they constantly feed on the organic materials found in them. These tunnels will loosen the soil allowing the air to reach the plant roots.

In addition to that, they increase the permeability of the soil so that the rain and irrigation water are easily seeped into, allowing the roots to get sufficient moisture. It has been studied that a temperature of around 70 degrees Fahrenheit of moist soil is best for them to be productive and active.

Improved Soil Fertility

Soil fertility refers to the ability of soil to supply plant or crop nutrients in the required quantities and qualities for the intended period. This ability is enhanced by the presence of earthworms in the soil. Earthworms help to bring the minerals to the surface level that are found at the depth of the soil.

Similarly, earthworm castings are found to contain essential plant nutrients such as calcium, phosphorus, and nitrogen in very high quantities which will enrich the soil by increasing the microbial activity several times more than the surrounding soil.

Reduced Soil Erosion

Earthworms form the channels at the soil level by feeding on the organic matter found in the soil that enables the deep root development of the plants while stabilizing the soil. This makes the soil more compact increasing the resistance to high currents of water.

It has been found that the water absorption of the soil, with the help of the earthworms, is certain to increase by 35 times. Similarly, earthworms are found to reduce the need for tillage during crop cultivation.

We've listed out some of the interesting facts about the worms, you wouldn't regret learning:

1. Worms Have Five Hearts

We are pretty sure, you must have been surprised to hear that! But worms indeed have five heart-like structures called aortic arches. In fact, worms do not have a genuine heart.

The function of pumping blood through their bodies is done by the aortic arches which connect ventral and dorsal veins. These arches help to circulate the nutrients and oxygen.

2. Worms Breathe Through Their Skin

Unlike us, worms do not have lungs to support the breathing mechanism. Instead, they breathe through their skin. Therefore, the worms must stay moist to absorb the required oxygen from the environment.

This is the reason, they are often found in the damp and dark places hiding in the soil. You must be aware, the dry skin of the worms means their breathing mechanism has stopped.

3. Worms Do Not Have Eyes

Worms do not have eyes but these creatures are very sensitive to light. The special cells in their skin are responsible for detecting the changes in light intensity. Extreme exposure to light is harmful for them. The worms, thus prefer to burrow deep into the soil during the day.

4. Worms Are Cold-blooded

Cold-blooded animals represent those animals whose body temperature entirely depends upon the temperature of the environment. This means, their internal body temperature varies in accordance to that of the environment.

Worms are cold-blooded creatures, that's why they can't control their body temperature and remain the same as that of the environment or surroundings where they live.

5. Worms Can Eat Food as Their Weight

You should know worms are efficient and voracious eaters. It has been found that a single worm can consume food up to its weight in a single day. Their diet consists of decayed organic matter.

Here's an interesting thing, if we as a human decide to eat like worms then a single person should be eating over 100 pounds of food every day. That is some really fun stuff!

6. Worms Can Regenerate Lost Parts

Regeneration of the lost parts is the process of reproducing the parts that have been lost during the accident. Worms are found to have the remarkable power of regeneration. They can regenerate the lost segments.

It should be noted that if their body is divided into two parts, the anterior part will be able to regenerate the entire posterior part but the posterior part is unable to generate the anterior part to the full extent. Also, you need to know that the reproductive organs can't be regenerated.

7. Worms are Ancient Creatures

The history of worms dates back millions of years ago even before the dinosaurs. Yes, worms have been around for longer than the dinosaurs. It has been believed that the dinosaurs existed around 252 million years ago on the earth, while the fossil of the worms is estimated to be around 514 million years old.

The oldest record of the existence of worms are fossils of the annelid worm, which was found in China. The worms have a long history of being called upon on this earth!