A list of red wiggler composting worms favorite foods

I have found that composting worms prefer some vegetable scraps over others. To understand why these foods are composting worms favorite foods, lets take a brief look at how composting worms eat.

How composting worms eat

Composting worms do not have teeth. Instead of chewing, they grind up their food in very small gizzards. The gizzard (birds have them too) is a small sack early in the digestive tract that contains very small bits of grit or sand. The food passes through the gizzard and gets ground up by the grit.
Because they don’t have teeth, worms can not take a bite out of their food. They need to wait until the food begins to rot so that it is soft and wet enough for them to suck off with their tiny mouths.

Composting Worms Favorite Foods List

• Melon rinds. Cantaloupe, honey dew, watermelon, etc. They love sweet foods with soft flesh.
• Non-citrus fruit. Berries, apples, pears, etc. Be careful with citrus because it will burn their sensitive skin.
• Squashes. The soft flesh is easy for them to eat
• Slurry! If you really want your worms to love you, throw your food scraps in the blender before adding it to your worm bin. This is certainly not necessary (I rarely do it) but the increased surface area and soft mushy slurry makes it much easier for the composting worms and beneficial bacteria to eat.

What are your composting worms favorite foods? Do your composting worms have a different favorite food? Let me know on Twitter @wormcompost and Facebook.