Different methods of worm food preparation
There are a number of common methods of preparing food for your worms, sometimes certain methods are said to be the ‘right way’. Here, we will focus on domestic food waste for domestic worm farms rather than commercial waste or manures.
Main food waste preparation techniques for worm farming
- Freezing
- Blending
- Adding raw
- Soaking in water
Spoiler alert, none of these methods are required, but can be advantageous. Unless your situation needs it for convenience, such as the worm farm not being nearby, all things equal, we’d recommend just placing food as it is, unprocessed daily into your worm farm. Little and often is a good way to manage your worm farm and keep on top of your worms wellness.
Frozen food waste for the worm farm
Often food waste will be frozen before putting it in the worm farm. Freezing in small containers is preferable to using bags as it it easier to remove frozen food quickly from a plastic container than needing to wait for a bag to partially defrost to empty the contents. If you are really in a hurry, running warm water on the outside of the container will defrost just enough to let the food waste slide out.
Benefits and advantages of freezing food waste
- Food can be saved hygienically until it is needed
- Some evidence freezing breaks down the cell structure of some food waste which allows it to break down quickly
- can temporarily provide some cooling to the worm farm in hot months
- Clean way of feeding the worm farm with no mess or spillage
Issues and disadvantages of freezing food waste
- Encourages a ‘famine or feast’ style of putting a lot of food waste into the worm farm in one go
- difficult to bury the frozen food waste under the surface
- tendency to release a lot of liquid in a short period of time
- not easy to mix frozen food waste into the worm farm bedding
- tendency to add a lot of food at a time which may encourage nuisance insects
- tendency to add a lot of food at a time which can rot quickly and become anaerobic
Blending food waste for the worm farm
Using a kitchen mixer/blender is used to break down the food waste into something resembling baby food or pulp. full disclosure, this is our least favourite method for our worm farms, I just find it too much effort and messy, it may work well for you though!
Benefits and advantages of blending food waste
- a lot of food can be turned into a small amount of pulp
- food types are thoroughly mixed
- food is broken down and becomes available to the worms quickly
- generally easy to bury under bedding
Issues and disadvantages of blending food waste
- the pulp ages/rots as the same time unlike a raw mix of food where the food waste decomposes at different rates
- messy to prepare and clean up after feeding (washing the blender out etc.)
- encourages flying insects
- in small worm farms the worms can find it difficult to escape the food waste if it is not suitable or if it heats up (composts)
- can leave hard solidified layers of food in the worm farm
- can introduce a lot of fluid into the worm farm at once, which can leak straight through (not worm tea!)
Raw unprocessed food waste for the worm farm
Storing up food waste in a suitable container with a lid in the kitchen to feed the worms daily is another common food waste collection method. A small container with a secure but convenient lid keeps collecting food waste simple and hygienic in the kitchen.
Benefits and advantages of unprocessed food waste
- food decomposes at differing and natural rates avoiding overwhelming the worm farm
- worms can avoid certain food types that they don’t like or are not suitable
- worms use the skins and shells as bedding and breeding surfaces (banana skins etc.)
- food tends to be added ‘little and often’ which can avoid many worm farm issues
- food waste is easy to burry in the bedding
- water content tends to be released more slowly by the food waste
- food maintains it’s structure longer and provides pockets of air in the worm farm
Issues and disadvantages of unprocessed food waste
- need the worm farm close by to ensure you take the food waste out to the worm farm each day
- food waste ‘seems’ to take longer to be eaten, though this can be healthier for the worm farm overall, especially a new worm farm with few worms
- some hard food/skins may remain when you harvest the worm castings (just add these to the top of the worm farm)
- some pests (mice etc.) can be attracted to the food waste
Soaking unprocessed food waste for the worm farm
This method usually happens by chance, when using the ‘unprocessed’ method above. Adding coffee remnants from the coffee plunger, tea bags after making a brew or the (very!) small amounts of liquid that may be on plates and dishes introduces liquid into the container. Though the food waste will only be in there for a few hours until it is taken out to the worm farm, it does affect the food waste.
Benefits and advantages of soaking unprocessed food waste
- similar advantages to ‘raw unprocessed food waste’ above
- some food types will start to soften with a few hours of soaking
- good way to get coffee grounds into the worm farm
- will generally add enough moisture into the worm farm each day without drowning it
Issues and disadvantages of soaking unprocessed food waste
- similar disadvantages to ‘raw unprocessed food waste’ above
- can start to smell when opening the lid much faster than dry food
- the liquid may run straight through the worm bin (not worm tea!)
So what is the best way to prepare food for your worm farm?
Any of the methods above work, we’d recommend the ‘raw unprocessed’ method to a new worm farm as it is much less likely to create issues or an environment the worms don’t thrive in. It also means you are frequently checking in on the health of the worm farm and can spot and deal with any issues quickly. Overfeeding is the most common new worm farm issue we come across, blending and freezing can easily create an overfeeding situation.
Overall there is no ‘right’ method and it is better to find a method that is convenient to you and your lifestyle. For example if you cook in bulk, freezing up the food waste into ‘worm farm portions’ may be much better than dumping it all into a full worm farm in one go. Experiment and see what works well for you!