A worm composting buddy of mine once told me with a very serious look on his face, “Never stand up in the middle of a party and announce ‘Who wants to watch me feed my worms?’ Strange looks and awkward whispering are sure to follow you out of the room.”

I don’t know if he was speaking from personal experience or not (my guess is “yes”), but it did make me laugh because I know how he felt. I often get the same reaction around the office when I bring up my own red wiggler brood. From digging through the trash to rescue an abandoned banana peel or apple core, to boxing up the shredded paper in the recycle bin to take home to my babies, I’ve definitely had my share of strange looks. But all of those looks have given me the perfect opportunity to educate my co-workers on the joys of vermicomposting. I’m even steps away from convincing my boss to allow me to bring in a worm composting bin for the office… if only her assistant was not deathly afraid of escaping worms!

But I digress. I’m here today to talk about keeping your worms happy and healthy with a proper diet. Of course we all know they love shredded newspaper, cardboard, banana peels and apple cores, but there is a whole smorgasbord of things out there worms love, and also quite a few things they hate.

So here is a list of worm eats and don’t eats (by no means, though, is it complete):

Worm Eats:

• Fruit: apples, pears, banana peels, strawberries, peaches, melons, plums—pretty much any fruit as long as it is not citrus (more on that in the “don’t eats” section)
• Vegetables: beans, cabbage, celery, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, all greens, corn, corncobs and squash – if it will grow in your garden, your worms will eat it!
• Cereals and grains: oatmeal, pasta, rice, breakfast cereals (if non-sugared), corn meal, pancakes
• Miscellaneous: coffee filter paper, tea bags, crushed eggshells, dead flowers
• Other food/bedding: newspaper (no shiny or coated paper), cardboard, paperboard, paper egg cartons, brown leaves
  

More Worm Eats (in moderation)

• Breads — sandwich bread, rolls
• Potato skins, onions, garlic, ginger
• Coffee grounds
  

Worm DON’T Eats

• Meat, poultry, fish, dairy — very likely to rot and cause REALLY BAD odors
• Potato chips, candy, oils — unlike kids, worms do not like junk food
• Oranges, lemons, limes — citrus contains limonene and many argue this chemical is toxic to worms. Others, however, feed their worms citrus all the time and insist it is safe in moderation
• Pet waste – dog or cat poop
• Anything non-organic – rubber, plastic, glass, aluminum foil, staples, paperclips
  

With a proper diet, your worms will be very happy. So happy, in fact, that a healthy colony of worms will double their numbers every 90 days. Thus leaving you plenty of worms to take to the office or even give out at parties if you can stand all the strange looks!