Worms can't digest meat proteins or lactose, so no dairy products either, like milk or cheese. While worms do like egg shells, the egg cannot go in the bin. Citrus and salt can actually harm the skin of the worms.
Materials to use (and avoid) in a classroom worm bin
We recommend using only raw fruit and vegetable scraps. Stay away from meats, oils and dairy products, which are more complex materials than fruits and vegetables. Thus, they take longer to break down and can attract pests.
Acidic foods - citrus, pineapple, garlic and onions. Spicy foods - worms are plain eaters, and don't like spicy food such as chillies, chives, curries etc. Chemicals - avoid any materials contaminated with toxic chemicals, such as sawdust from treated wood, paper towel used with cleaning sprays, disinfectant wipes etc.
What will worms eat? Worms will eat a wide variety of organic materials such as paper, manure, fruit and vegetable waste, grains, coffee grounds, and ground yard wastes. While worms will eat meat and dairy products, it is best not to feed these materials or oily foods to worms, due to potential odor and pest problems.
Worms can't digest meat proteins or lactose, so no dairy products either, like milk or cheese. While worms do like egg shells, the egg cannot go in the bin.
Dairy products tend to be high in fats and proteins, which can be difficult for our humble worms to digest. You see, worms have a delicate digestive system that thrives on a balanced diet of organic matter, like fruits, vegetables, and other plant-based scraps.
Worms hate: meat or fish, cheese, butter, greasy food, animal waste, spicy and salty foods, citrus.” The food-to-worm ratio is not precise, nor is the amount of castings they will produce. The rule of thumb is that a pound of worms will eat one to two pounds of food in a week.
Banana peels are an excellent worm food.
Onions- This one has been the most trusted remedy for hundreds of years for killing parasitic infections or worms. Onion is rich in sulphur compounds that stop the worms from multiplying. It is best advised to have a combination of onion and garlic in the morning for the best results.
Worms love lettuce, kale, Swiss chard, to name a few of these vegetables. Be sure to cut these scraps down into small pieces or even food process them. Remember to thoroughly rinse off all hot spices, sauces, oils, dressings, and cheeses because they can harm your vermicomposting project.
The molds that form on most vegetables are usually OK, but the molds on some fruit and bread can be problematic. If you're in doubt, try a small amount first and see if the worms are bothered by it. If not, then it's probably OK to use it, otherwise, you should put them into your backyard bin instead.
"Worms love hair. They love lint from the dryer and they love nails." Gellert mixes these ingredients up with coffee grounds and other organic waste.
Tea Bags: Yes! The tea bags will start to break down in the worm bin, and the worms will finish off the contents. The string and paper tab might not break down as quickly. You can rip them off before saving a tea bag.
When food is frozen, the water in each cell expands and breaks the cell wall, which speed up decomposition. Freezing also kills any insect larva that may be in the food. Make sure to thaw before feeding.
Worms will swallow eggshell powder to add grit. Since Red Wigglers don't have teeth, they need a bit of grit to help break down the food scraps. Eggshells are perfect for this.
Foods that Composting Worms Love
They will happily digest a wide variety of organic plant material into nutrient rich worm castings. I put old lettuce in there, rotten vegetables, potato peels, fruit, grass clipping, and leaves, just to name a few. They especially love the fruit.
Bruised portions of bananas, or even whole ones tossed aside for being overripe, are welcome in the worm bin. Avoid putting them in whole as the fruit will likely go sour in the amount of time it takes the worms to get through the skin. To make food easier for the worms to consume it is good to chop or puree it.
Grass clippings are a great addition to a traditional compost pile and worms will eat these as well in their natural setting, but in your vermicomposting system, they will heat up the soil and can kill all of your worms.
The worms' job is to eat the food before it gets super-rotten and stinky. If you add too much food at a time, they cannot keep up. Too much food can also push the air out of the bin, leading to foul-smelling anaerobic decomposition.
Avoid feeding the worms large quantities of meat, citrus, onions and dairy foods. Some processed food also contains preservatives, which discourage the worms from eating it. These foods won't harm your worms, but they will avoid them and those scraps will break down and rot in the bin.
After worms are added, bedding should be kept moist but not soggy and the top 6 to 8 inches turned every 7 to 10 days to keep it loose. About every 6 to 9 months the old bedding should be replaced with properly prepared new bedding. To change bedding, remove the top 5 or 6 inches (where most of the worms are).
Composting worms can absolutely be fed with crushed shells from eggs. You should know that compost worms will eat just about anything that's organic (all except meat, seafood, poultry, dairy, oily, or spicy stuff).