Winter Worm Feeding
Does this look YUMMY?
You bet!
Does it look Yummy to a worm?
Not Yet!
I often talk about Red Wigglers eating less when it is cold than when it is warm. All cold blooded animals slow down when it get’s cold. Even so, Red Wigglers do a pretty good job, even in cool weather.
Often times people feed their worms in winter by just burying chunks of food waste in their bedding. That is perfectly fine, AS LONG as you realize that unlike summer temps when scraps break down quickly, wintertime temps basically preserve your food scraps, much like keeping scraps in a fridge.
Remember, worms are bacteria feeders, and have no teeth. Until the scraps start getting broken down by bacteria, the worms cannot eat them….even a nice, sweet piece of watermelon rind.
How do you get scraps mushy when the temps are cool?
*You can microwave your scraps.
*You can put them in the freezer, and when they finally defrost, the cell structure of the scraps breaks down nicely.
*You can chop them up, increasing the surface area of the scraps, as bacteria processes scraps faster given more surface area.
*You can blend your scraps(Be careful not to overfeed as blended scraps tend to pack a concentrated punch)!
*You can put your scraps in a slop bucket(A lidded bucket with some tiny air holes or a carbon filter).
or……
*You can put some pieces of scraps in your bin knowing that they will take awhile to break down in the cool bedding.
Things are not always as they appear. If your worms seem to be eating REALLY slowly during the winter…it’s probably not the worms!
When it comes to feeding worms, MUSHY IS GOOD!
Tags: Feeding Red Wigglers, red wigglers, worms