4Feeding your Subpod
Feed you Subpod an equal mix of kitchen scraps and dried garden scraps, gently stirred. Start slow then grow!
Feeding time
Feeding your Subpod is easy, there's even a handy feeding guide on the lid explaining what and how much to feed your worms!
- Peel back the worm blanket or cover you have created.
- Sprinkle your food scraps over the top to a maximm thickness of 5 cm,
- Mix the food scraps and air into the top 1-6 inches with 3 gentle stirs.
- Sprinkle an equal portion of dried garden scraps on top.
- Replace the worm blanket / cover and close the lid.
If you feed your Subpod more than your worms can manage, the food will rot and your worms will wriggle away. Start with just a couple of handfuls each week while your worms settle in and breed up,
Increase gradually, as per the feeding guide in your subpod’s lid. After 6 months or so, a Subpod Classic should be able to process 10-30L of food and garden scraps a week (5-15 for the Subpod Mini).
You don't need to wait until the worms eat everything before you add more, but don't add much unless the food looks like it's being eaten – it will appear darker and will have reduced in volume.
Worms are little, so it stands to reason they will get through food faster if it's cut into small pieces!
Subpods love a balanced diet,
50% Kitchen scraps: vegetables, egg shells, tea bags, coffee grounds, fruit, bread, leftovers.
50% Dried garden scraps: mulch, clippings, sweepings, shredded newspaper.
These things can go in your wormfarm, but only once your Subpod is thriving. Even then, keep an eye (& nose!) on it and don't add too much!
- meat, bones, seafood, cheese,
- gum leaves, pine needles, camphorlaurel
- pet poo,
- onion, garlic, chilli & citrus
- oil, fats and salt.
Tips
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Cut your food and garden scraps in golf ball sized peices or smaller. Some people even blend their food scraps to get their worms working really fast!
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Don’t let sugar be the majority of your Subpod’s diet (or yours) these turn acidic and irritate your worms (and your body!)
- Remember to aerate you Subpod every time you add food so your worms have air too, and scatter dry garden scraps on top so they have a balanced diet.
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When you rinse your food scrap container, pour the water into your Subpod or onto plants to avoid wasting water.
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To keep your worms moist and prevent flies use a worm blanket, or cover with a shirt, towel, moist newspaper, or hessian sack.
Did you know?
Your worms will be ok if you leave them without food for a few weeks. If you go on holidays for a month or two, just be sure to put a thick layer of soaked newspaper in as a slow release food. For longer trips ask a friend to do this tutorial and feed them while you're away.
