This is a reader question  submitted through this ‘ask a worm composting question page‘. Thanks for the question! Keep them coming. Other worm composters may have the same questions you do.

So, Can you feed garden waste to red wiggler composting worms?

Yes. But it is a bit tricky. First, lets define what we mean by ‘garden waste’. If by ‘garden waste’ you mean rotting veggies, then you can simply add them to the worm bin as you would any other worm food.

What about old plants/ plant refuse??

You can feed plant refuse and trimmings to your composting worms but you will need to do some work to prepare them before hand. Often, plant refuse (end of season tomato plants, small branches, stems, stalks, etc) are very large and very woody. For your composting worms to eat it, you will need to chop it up into smaller pieces. Also, consider soaking the chopped up pieces in water overnight. Remember, composting worms need a moist environment.
 
Your composting worms will treat your garden waste/plant refuse like worm bin bedding. They will slowly eat it but it will take a long time. Waste in your worm bin needs to start breaking down (rotting) before your composting worms can start to process it.

Why not start a compost pile as well??

Another option for your large woody plant refuse/garden waste is to start a large outdoor hot compost pile.
Here are some instructions: How to start a hot compost pile