Keeping Worms Happy
Information about worm bins for younger audiences
By Trisha Smith
Worms can eat half their weight in food every day! Their poop is called “castings,” and it is very good for soil and plants. If the worms are happy and healthy, we will have lots of castings to help seeds get a good start in the spring. We will also have more worms than we have today.
Our worms are called “red wigglers.” We need to provide them with a home that protects them and allows them to eat, breathe, move around, and make more worms!
- Worms need to live in a warm, dark place. Red wigglers like the temperature to be between 40-75 degrees. They will not live long on a sunny windowsill or out in the cold.
- Worms need moisture in their environment. The texture of their bedding should feel like a wrung-out sponge.
- Worms need air. Worms breathe through their skin! Make sure their bedding doesn’t get too packed down or wet.
- Worms need food! They will eat some of their bedding, but they really love scraps of fruit and vegetables. Worms will eat the parts you won’t, like cores and peels. Don’t feed them too much or too often at first. A yogurt container full of scraps once a week will be enough.
- Worms need to wiggle! Bury their food in a different spot each week.
FAVORITE WORM FOODS
(little pieces are best)
- melons
- apples
- berries
- banana
- tomatoes
- cucumbers
- carrots
- squash
- pumpkins
WORMS DO NOT LIKE
- spicy food
- onions
- garlic
- dairy foods
- butter or fats
- meat, bones, or skin
- citrus fruit or peels