We all go through phases of eating healthier and of course, eating not so healthy. Depending on our moods, timetables and budgets, eating healthily is sometimes put on pause.
For those of us who have worm bins and/or worm farms, this can cause a bit of an issue. You may find yourself with plenty of bedding but not nearly enough worm food to feed your red wigglers. So, what can be done?
Chances are that you already have the solution in your pantry. Worms will eat all sorts of grains and other foodstuffs, including cornmeal.
Cornmeal is something that we tend to have in, just in case, but that we don’t necessarily use all that much. In a way, that is a good thing, as it means that you may have extra worm feed in your house. Why not feed your worms on these extra scraps, as well as coffee grounds?
Is cornmeal good for worms?
Yes, cornmeal is good for worms.
Cornmeal is full of nutrients that are good for your worms. In fact, some have found that the best way to get big, fat worms is by feeding them cornmeal.
Of course, as with humans, it is important for worms to have a balanced diet. Feeding them some cornmeal every now and then is fine and can be quite good for them, but do remember to balance it out with other foodstuffs.
Cornmeal, being made, as the name suggests, from corn, makes it an organic food source, which we know the worms love. They will only eat organic material and the corn being in that form, actually makes it better for red worms (and other varieties).
By better, we mean that it easier for them to eat it in that form. The corn is dried and ground down into small, flour-like pieces.
Thanks to the powdery form of the cornmeal, the food is already in a form that is easy for the worms to eat and digest, and makes it readily available to them, as opposed to having to wait for a fresh piece of fruit or vegetable to decompose.
Cornmeal is also good at absorbing moisture. With that in mind, when you introduce it into your worm bin, make sure to add some liquid or watery food, in order to keep the worm bin nice and damp.
Remember that worms breathe through their skin and so a damp environment is essential to their survival. Kitchen scraps like cornmeal do run the risk of rendering it a bit dry, so just keep an eye on the habitat and the worms will be grateful for it.
Feed worms on food scraps like corn meal and you’ll have a thriving worm farm in no time.
Does Corn Meal Encourage Worm Breeding?
It is indeed a popular belief that cornmeal encourages worms to breed.
If you are wanting to attract more worms to your garden in order to improve your garden’s soil, then you may have come across the recommendation of laying down cornmeal over the surface of the ground.
Cornmeal is a cheap and organic way of attracting worms to your garden and due to the environment that you provide for them being favourable, chances are that they will stay and mate.
Obviously, more offspring means better soil for you!
Should you be already working with a worm composting bin or a worm bin outdoors, then mixing in some cornmeal with the compost or worm bedding could be worth the try.
Many do in fact believe that the cornmeal not only helps to fatten up their worms and seemingly makes them very happy, it does also encourage them to mate, and so, creates more worms in the bin.
Naturally, people want more worms in their households because more worms means faster composting, and more castings (i.e. worm poop) for your garden.
Of course, feeding them an abundance of cornmeal will not necessarily help anything at all. A well balanced diet is the best way to ensure your worms survival and reproduction.
Do worms eat oatmeal?
Worms can indeed be fed some of our starchier foods, such as oatmeal. You may already know that they occasionally enjoy bread and pasta alike, and it is important to know that oatmeal is no exception.
Oatmeal tends to take quite a while to go bad so throwing it away is rarely an issue. Should you find yourself in the position of not having much food to feed to your worms though, oatmeal is a great back-up to keep in the pantry.
Need to read up on what to feed your worms? Check out our guide on egg shells!
