The Best Foods for the Earthworms

Earthworms are the best soil engineers who can maintain the fertility status of soils most effectively. There are thousands of farmers across the globe who are practicing worm farming to produce vermicompost, a fascinating source of nutrition in soil. To know the effect and benefits of vermicompost on your vegetable garden or field, click here. I have discussed several benefits there. Along with farmers and gardeners, there are several commercial businessmen who practice worm farming and sell them through Amazon, Ebay and other marketplace. I am acquainted with several groups on Facebook where all the people who are interested in worm farming and the people who practice worm farming have joined to share their experiences and knowledge. WormFarming, Red Worm Farming, Worm Composting are some of those active groups. You can even ask the experts anything related to worm, you can post a video or can post an image and they will tell you about your worm's health, whether they are okay or need more care.
There are still a lot of people who are confused about the health and activities of their earthworms. Remember one thing, earthworms don't require anything excessive. You don't need to water them frequently, or even you don't need to provide them food everyday. All that you need to do is proper and regular observation.

First of all, there is no need to supply water every day. 40-50% moisture is perfect for them. Keep in mind, like us, earthworms also need air to survive. So, a soggy and saturated condition will result in an anaerobic condition which will obviously affect the activities of these fascinating soil creatures. Before watering, always check the moisture status. If you feel that the moisture is present in your worm bin, then it is okay.

What are the best foods for Earthworms?

Many people out there are very worried since their earthworms don't respond so good. Don't worry. The worms may reside deep in your bin. Just provide them abundant and healthy foods like papers, food wastes. I have discussed a complete guideline to worm farming in my another post, and if you haven't read that yet, you can Click Here to visit the page. I have discussed briefly in that post on how to start worm farming.


Basically earthworms eat small microorganisms as well as organic matter that you will add to soil (not all). Organic materials include dead leaves, grasses, vegetable wastes, residues, food wastes and so on. Here are some of the best foods that you can provide your earthworms:

• Fruit peels
• Papers
• Teabags or coffee grounds
• Lettuce or cucumbers
• Pasta
• Bread
• Vegetable wastes 
• Eggshells and grain
• Animal manure (avoid dog and cat manure)

Best foods for earthworms

When you apply these foods to the bins, make sure you have cut them into tiny pieces. It will aid the earthworms to ingest the foods faster. You can make tiny pieces with the help of a knife or even a food processor.
After making the tiny pieces, add some moisture to the foods. Last of all, bury them under the soil. Always try to maintain a balance between green and brown. When adding foods to the worm bin, try to balance the quantity of food and the number of worms.

What not to use for the worms?

There are several foods out there which are very harmful for the worms. Such as, the foods that can decrease the pH abruptly, can affect the health of the earthworms. They can even survive no longer. To maintain a healthy earthworm bin, you must make sure that the pH is neutral. Like us, they are also living creatures, so they too are not able to withstand the harmful substances or abnormal environmental condition. These are the list of foods that shouldn't be included in the worm bins:

• Citrus foods
• Plastics. A recent study has proved that plastic is so dangerous that even earthworms are failed to grow there.
•  Salty and spicy foods
• Foods with preservatives
• Meat and dairy products
• Oils
• Onions