First, during the initial time go easy on the acidic stuff like tomato. Actually, go easy on the amount of food in the earily days as over feading is a normal problem in the beginning. I hear that they really like a sprinkle of corn meal on occasion. I can say they seem to love sweet stuff like old mellon too.

Corrugated cardboard is great, especially if you have a shredder that can handle shredding it without breaking (I've broken two shredders so far but the fellows powershred seems to do cardboard much better.) Corrugated cardboard is about the only material that is both food and bedding at the same time and doesn't seem to pack down or ball up the way paper does.

Even if you can't shred the corrugated cardboard, it is still great to use. I like to line the bottom and sides of the bed with the corrugated stuff before putting shredded stuff and worms in the bed. I've also found that if you have a bin or tub of water you can dunk the cardboard in, it makes ripping it up much easier (also pealing plastic tape off is easier sometimes that way.)

Box board or paper board like cereal boxes are not so great in the worm bin.

My first batch had lots of shredded paper and paper board and there were lots of bits to pick out of the finished castings. I now mostly use the shredded corrugated cardboard in my beds.

If you can pulverize some egg shells (let them dry and then use an old coffee grinder is a really easy way) to sprinkle over the bed when you get your worms, it will give them the grit to help digest the food when you start to put it in. If no coffee grinder for the purpose, I've heard a rolling pin on a cutting board works.

I didn't have any food in the bin when I got my worms. I just sprinkled the grit and a tablespoon of corn meal over the bedding. I opened the cardboard box the worms came in and place the whole box with the worms open on it's side right in the bedding of my bin. tat way the worms could spread out in their own time and not be shocked by the change. Give em a couple days and then check to see if they have moved out into your bin, if so, try a hand full of food buried in the bedding somewhere (remember where so you can check on it.) Wait untill that is gone or mostly gone before feeding again in another location. As your worms settle in and breed, you will be able to feed more but be patient for the first month or so.

That is the hardest part with new worms, being patient and leaving them alone to do their job.

I like to keep a big bit of cardboard over top of the bedding in my bin.

Here is a link that might be useful: Worm Bins.

If you have a recycling center in your area, try asking them if you can take some newspaper. That ought to surprise them! Or ask a friend if you can have their Sunday paper when they are done with it. Unless your bin is huge (or your Sunday paper small), that ought to keep you in good shape for a long time.

Cooked acorn squash is also a favorite. Anything in the curcurbit family is well-liked by the worms, but the acorn squash creates a real feeding frenzy in my bins. As you mentioned, kelser01, corn meal is something they like, but use it in very small doses. Sprinkle it lightly and mist it. My worms will devour it in the space of 12-24 hours.

Finally, you don't actually have to peel the tape from any cardboard you put into the bin. I used to but don't bother now. When I harvest, I find the tape is picked clean. The worms get every bit of cardboard from it and I just remove the tape.

Leaves make a great bedding and food source, as well. If you are worried about critters coming in with them, you can boil the leaves. (I don't, but I know someone who does. It smells like pot pourri with a fall scent!) Some people say to crumble them up or shred them first. I just layer them: a layer shredded newspaper, a layer of leaves, a layer of shredded newspaper. Others have expressed a concern that the leaves can matt. But I've found that that is exactly where the worms love to hang out-- in between the leaves glommed on to each other. They also like to leave their cocoons there. So, it works for me and they seem to really like it.

RoseLover