Worms love to eat coffee grounds, and that's great news for your garden. Add coffee grounds to your compost pile to help attract worms, which help speed up the process of turning food scraps into compost. You can also add coffee grounds directly to the soil, but you'll have to be careful not to overdo it.
Pre-compost your coffee grounds to promote microbial activity. Limit the amount of coffee grounds added to 25% – 50% of a worms diet. It's a good idea to add small amounts first to see if your worms like it or not. And to use pocket feeding so that your worms can choose to feed on it as they please.
Your morning cup of joe can do more than just get you ready for your day. Those used up coffee grounds make perfect worm food for hungry red wigglers! Are Those Flavored Grounds Just as Safe? Even mocha, or salted caramel flavored coffee grounds are made from organic matter, so, YES, bring 'em on!
Every time a coffee is made, the used pod is put into this bucket along with any organic kitchen waste that is created during the day. If possible we cut the kitchen waste into smaller pieces (not necessary, but this helps the worms get through them more easily … they only have small mouths!!)
Bananas are a great and inexpensive snack for both us and our worms. Those peels are desirable to compost worms no matter what shape they're in. They'll make short work of what otherwise would have taken up space in your trash.
Carrot peelings, potato skins, broccoli and cauliflower stalks, lettuce, kale, even onion peels (in limited quantities) are perfect for the worm bin. Vegetable waste like this isn't prone to overheating your bin either, so this is another low-maintenance food.
Items you cannot compost in a worm bin:
Lemon, lime, orange or other citrus peels and juice (in excess this will make the soil too acidic) Onions and garlic (a good rule of thumb is if it makes you smell, it makes your worm bin smell) Meat, fats, grease, bones or oils (no butter, lard, stocks, soups, etc)
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.
Coffee grounds have about the same amount of nitrogen as grass clippings, therefore they heat up quickly when added into organic matter. Therefore, you should only add coffee grounds in moderation to help avoid killing your worms.
Red wigglers' favorite foods are bits of fruits and veggies, like apples, carrots, cucumbers, and lettuce – and they go crazy for melon! They also enjoy eating plain pasta, bread, unsweetened cereal, tea bags, coffee grounds, and shredded cardboard.
It's best to start with small amounts to see how your worms will react, then work around that. As a general rule, coffee grounds should not make up more than 1/8th of your bedding material or compost, as excessive amounts could result in too much acidity.
Don't overfeed!
If you add more food than the worms can eat it may go rancid and create a toxic, smelly environment. As a rule of thumb, add food when about half of the previous feed has been eaten, and spread it out in a layer of no more than 50mm thick.
Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott, Extension Urban Horticulturist and Associate Professor at Washington State University Extension, recommends keeping coffee grounds at less than 20 percent of the total volume of your compost pile.
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.
What can I compost in a worm farm? Grains, cooked or uncooked (rice, oats, barley, wheat, etc.) The smaller the pieces, the quicker they'll break down in the compost pile. Be sure to cut cores in half and break down the pumpkin you forgot to eat.
If you're using tap water, you'll need to let the water sit overnight so the chlorine can evaporate. (No point in having all those good micro-organisms in your worm castings killed off by chlorine!) If you don't have the patience to wait 24 hours, use distilled water or rain water.
Once every week, pour about five litres of fresh water into the Top Working Tray, which will flood down through the lower trays, ensuring the entire worm farm remains very moist. The sudden 'flood' will not harm the worms. Adding water is especially important in the hotter months of the year.
Ô Always completely bury food under the bedding material. Burying fruit waste will prevent fruit flies from being attracted to the worm bin.
"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.
Sugar- Keep sugar to a minimum, especially processed sugars. Your worms actually feed mostly on the bacteria cultures that develop on food that rots and sugar creates a rich environment for the bacteria.