Blenders for worm goodies

Hi fellow wormers.... I'm still new to this ~ I've read some posts on the web regarding using a blender or other chopping device. I seem to trust DG folks more than any ~ do any of you more experienced ones have anything to share? So far I've just put in the scraps. (Yesterday I even bought more worms, because the first batch I bought was only about 300. Have to support my habit! LOL!)

and question #2: re: eggshells. I wash mine, and crush them, but haven't dried them. Is it recommended to dry them simply to maintain moisture balance in the medium? or for another reason.

Happy Sunday to all ~ beautiful early spring morning here, albeit a bit cool, and I can't wait to get outside. Many plans for the day!

Sanna

Well, if I had to blenderize the kitchen scraps, my worms would go hungry!
I do chop up bigger stems, but most scraps go in as is. The worms seem to do fine with that. I'd be concerned about adding too much liquid to get the blender to work.

I watched someone (there's a yahoo vermicomposting group) who made a short video and posted it on the web, that showed his bin and what he does. He actually made a "smoothie" in his blender and poured it into the bin. I somehow think that's not what would be preferred. I did remember I have in my kitchen a mini-chopper, and I may use that for some of the bigger things. I dunno.... like I said, this is all new and exciting! Thanks for the reply.

Sanna

Sannajane, I'm with garden mermaid. Personally, I'm anti-blender because I think vermicomposting is supposed to be a green activity- the fewer electric devices, the better!

Worm bins are far more efficient if there is a functioning biosphere in there. Worms can't easily eat food without helpers who break down the food, such as springtails, fungi, bacteria, earthworm mites and the like. To improve your biosphere, add a handful or two of healthy outdoor garden soil (not from a bag) or decaying leaf litter to your bin. Avoid critters you can easily see such as ants, centipedes, earwigs (especially centipedes- they eat worms). If the biosphere is strong, you're less likely to have food spoilage and foul odors, waste breaks down a lot faster, and the worms are happier, too.

And don't worry, the critters will stay in the bin.

I'm a blender addict when it comes to feeding my red wigglers. ilexwhite makes a good point about the 'helpers' which are always present to some degree. The addition of egg shells to my blended peelings has helped to reduce the numbers of these helpers. Since my worm compost bins are indoors I have to watch closely for spiders which are attracted by the moisture, and as ilexwhite mentioned in another thread centipedes, which will eat your worms.

My media is soaked and strained peat moss (to remove excess acidity) and I frequently add new media to each bin when feeding the worms. This helps regulate the moisture content and is recommended by the commercial growers I have spoken too. Since I am constantly removing the top 1/4 to 1/2-inch of media for germination and potting mixes I can maintain the required 15% (minimum) replacement of the media each month.

Mraider, what else do you put in your germination mixes besides worm poop?

ilexwhite: I use straight worm spent compost media (peat moss) for germination mixes, and for potting up mixes I add an equal amount of peat moss that has been soaked in warm water overnight and the excess moisture removed with a six-inch nylon aquarium net. For hot peppers which will remain in a 10-inch diam., 2.5 gal plastic pot I add other materials as well; composted horse manure, Vermiculite and Pearlite among them. I mix potting soil in a wheel barrel so I can't give you an exact formula.

For some time I have been struggling with various method of growing hot peppers in our short, cool growing season. The germination process has been one of my problems. I have chosen a method this year of placing an entire package of (20 to 30 seeds) in a single peat pot and potting up from there to single peat pots once the seedlings have two sets of true leaves. I am using a heat mat, and a standard 11" x 22" tray with insert to hold a18 four inch square peat pots. When I pot up to the individual peat pots I will go from a 3-inch clear plastic dome to a larger 7-inch vented dome cover. When the individual plants reach the top of the 7-inch cover I will transplant to the 10-inch plastic pots as mentioned above.

As you can see with this many pepper plants I will be using quite a few 10-inch pots. I have 120 dedicated to peppers if I get that many to germinate. This means lots of worm poop as you can see. That is why I use a four bulb overhead florscent strip light on my four bins, taking 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch of spent media from the top of each bin on each feeding. I replace a minimum of 15% of the peat moss medium every month with new medium that has been soaked and the excess water removed as I mentioned.

I use gravel syphoned aquarium water with the spent worm media to feed an grow my seedlings. Never burns, and I can grow tomato seedlings to more than a foot in less than four weeks.

Mraider, can you elaborate on what you mean by "straight spent compost media"? I've been turning that phrase over in my brain, and I don't understand what you mean.

My appologies there...a bit vague. What I do is take a small portion of the compost media from the top of each worm bin just prior to feeding. By using a four bulb florscent light fixture above the four worm bins there is about a half an inch of dried out media which is easily removed with a hand trowel. Once removed I place it in a plastic pail with a lid and when that pial is full I transfer it to a covered 60 gallon trash container for later use as my germination mix, or mixed with the other ingredients which I mentioned above for potting up seedlings. By 'straight' I meant that I don't incorporate anything else with the spent compost media for the germination mix. Typically this material contains more worm 'poop' than the rest of the media so technically it could be referred to as 'worm cassings'... if you like.

I have experimented with 'cooking' this spent media in a lab oven at 200 degrees F for twenty minutes to remove any pathogens, but I don't see the same results germination results with heat treated media as the untreated. My best guess is this is because of the destruction or volitilization of the ammonia nitrogen.

What I tried recently was to place the spent media in a lidded gallon plastic jug and add some Hydrogen Peroxide. Cap the jug off, shake it vigorously, then let it sit overnight. Next day I plant my seeds. I have seen various formulas for the use of hydrogen peroxide in oxidizing potting soil, but frankly I don't see the point. Hydrogen peroxide is water with an added oxygen molicule which detaches rather rapidly, making it a safe and effective oxidizer.

I wonder if using EM1 or Bokashi leach in that media wouldn't solve to problem of potential pathogens. Those are loaded with beneficial microbes which supposedly will overwhelm most harmful microbes. And where would the pathogens be coming from, I was under the impression that the worm bin would be a pretty pest free environment?
I'm new to both of these things, but I've been experimenting with the Bokashi "leach". Using the diluted formula on my houseplants.
have 3 ornamental sweet potato cuttings in a jar of water, as well as a new jade plant. I watered those with the Bokashi and we've noticed a marked increase in growth in both plants. I just watered the houseplants in our front bay window today. I'm going to be really interested to see what happens there. I have 3 big Christmas Cacti in bloom or loaded with bud. As well as a very aggressive spider plant( I hesitated to feed it, LOL I 've got to get this thing in a hanging basket!) a couple of varigated ivy and some hen and chicks.

Pathogens in finished worm castings, in my experience anyway, are a pretty rare occurrence. I've never cooked my finished castings- I don't want to also kill the beneficials. I can't speak to "spent worm media" as the explanation is still somewhat unclear to me (I'm dim that way, mraider, sorry).

I wouldn't be surprised at all if EM1 could fix pathogen issues should they arise. I would be concerned that natural beneficials would also be outnumbered. Worm poop is alive, and that's exactly what you want for living soil. I wonder: How much does EM1 replace or change the balance of already occurring beneficials? It's a question I would love to have answered. I've recently experimented with feeding my worms boksashi'd waste, and they scarf it down. I have yet to send the resulting castings into a lab for testing, though.

Doccat, care to undertake an experiment and report back to us ;) ?

I will be happy to do so. Worm bins on hold for today, as I got up and have that nasty flu. Good thing we have lots of buckets around, miserable stuff. Had to call the DH home from work, I was so sick I was afraid I was going to faint. Hopefully this doesn't last long, cause I feel like warmed over bat dodo......I have other things to do!!! LOL

Oh no-- so sorry to hear it. I had that flu for two solid weeks. Just got over it last week. It's a doozy. My worms were on their own. Glad I hadn't started my seedlings yet.

Be prepared to sleep a lot! Tamiflu helped me a great deal. Broke my fever instantly and reduced body aches.

Pathogens from worm casings or worm media, whichever you prefer, is my paranoia from reading postings on using compost generated from worm bins for tomato seedling germination mix. Personally I have never had a problem even though I don't doubt that their could be a risk from store purchased vegetable peelings. Your comments on the media enviroment destroying any harmful pathogens makes perfect sence. My fears are reduce...thank you very much!

ilexwhite...sorry but I don't know what else to tell you. Do you have a specific question about the 'spent' worm media? It is nothing more than that portion of material I remove from the tops of the worm bins prior to feeding the worms. I make it a regular practice to replace the removed media portion with new media (peat moss soaked overnight w/ excess acedic water removed w/ a 6-inch nylon aquarium net).

One of the principal reasons I like the blender for processing peelings is the extra water is necessary to keep the bins hydrated, and the blended peelings disappears overnight in my established bins. I can see where Bokashi would be beneficial in procedures which have a problem with too much moisture. For my methods I don't see any need for the extra step.

No worries, mraider. I was just curious about your germination mix.