Should you Blend your Worm Food?? Day 13

7 days since my last feeding and 13 days since I started these bins to compare. The worms have only been fed banana at the start and asparagus in the second feeding. Now we get to see if the worms will go for the veggies as fast as they did the fruit.
Here are some of the other items you saw in this video:
For the Mud H2O gloves
amzn.to/2IRSvcL
For a kitchen scale used to weigh the food and worms
amzn.to/2GH99dl
Food Processor used to grind up the food
amzn.to/2UBAPEk
Rubbermaid Brute Totes 10 Gallon
amzn.to/2IGOmcj
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Worms not for you check out Bokashi: "Starting a Homemade Bokashi System Cheaply Second Attempt (Day 0)"
• Starting a Homemade Bo...
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[@AJsGreenTopics]

I think when you wet the bedding they may stay in there. The lid had some moisture. Thanks for sharing.

[@TheCrazyWormLady]

Qtips work great to swipe worms out of those lid corners. Interesting experiment thus far. Thanks for the update.

[@WorldComposting]

Never thought of that I'll have to bring some down next time. Hope you didn't mind the shout out to you channel!

[@darrenswoodworks8695]

I really like the side by side comparison. I've been blending and freezing my worm food and feeding them weekly. I suggest mixing and blending veggies and fruit to give them a diverse diet. They seem to love the sweet fruits. Mixing them together seems to help them eat more of a verity of food.

[@WorldComposting]

That's a great idea! I also did a timelapse showing blended vs shredded scraps and you can really see the difference. kzbin.info/www/bejne/pYmTk2lvZdKXaJI

[@johnhiggins9615]

I am blending my scaps, and it works out very well.

[@anneboyd7811]

Just as true for worms as for humans: Life is short, eat dessert first! (Worms' favorite desserts include banana and melon, of course)

[@WorldComposting]

I just cut up a melon yesterday so all my bins are going to get a treat soon

[@WileyWormFarm]

I predict the band that you're putting the banana peels in the worms will not be trying to excape next time because they will be enjoying their food

[@larsherregodts3271]

I have recently started my own worm bin and you have been helping me out a lot about what I should feed them etc. They are doing fine 😁👍

[@josephrodriguez3938]

My understanding is that the worms do not break downmayerial but rather they eat decomposed food. In this experiment I would propose that the banana decomposes faster than the asparagus. The worms will gather at the food which decomposes the fastest.

[@WorldComposting]

You are correct they eat the microbes that are breaking down the food so more surface area means more microbes.

[@PlantObsessed]

i hide the food they dont like blended up with the items they do like. good to know about asparagus.

[@WorldComposting]

Great idea!

[@spoolsandbobbins]

Funny, that’s exactly what I do with my kids!!

[@mindy779]

Looking good. They sure love that banana.

[@lloydedmonds8775]

Great Experiment!

[@WorldComposting]

Thank you!

[@alaskansourdoughwormsgarde4392]

They will always go to sweet food first. When that banana is gone they will go after the asparagus. I believe they may need more air. Worms always go to the top for air.

[@WorldComposting]

I'm not sure if it is the sugar or the fact the fruit have more water content. As far as the worms going up for air I don't know why they would squeeze into the spaces between the bin and lid. I think the moisture allows them to more actively look for food in the bin.

[@emilytheriver8722]

I agree. I think the worm migration to the lid is because they need more air. You might spritz the coir with a bit of water, leave the lid off for a while (with a light on to discourage the worms from vacating the bin). Also, I blend my worm food in a little Cuisinart food processor, and I always mix fruits and veggies. The combination seems to really maintain their interest.

[@beryldiamond]

The ground food bin is likely drier due to the heat production by the microbes causing water evaporation. As you mentioned, the ground up food has more surface area, so the bacteria can really ramp up consumption and reproduction. This generates heat pretty quickly. I just added ground up potatoes that went bad to my bin and within a couple hours I could feel the temperature increase.

[@WorldComposting]

Thanks for the suggestion, might have to test this again and include temperature! Thank you for watching!

[@beryldiamond]

World Composting Thanks for the great videos!

[@crt9082]

I found out some foods that you blend have to have more moisture added later for the worms to stay interested.

[@ricks2907]

I enjoy you videos and content is fine. I was interested in why asparagus and bananas seems like bananas high sugar causes a stampede of microbes and fast decay whereas asparagus has very tough fibers of cellulose causing a slower breakdown. Idk just trying to see what you thought. LETS Go LETS grow

[@WorldComposting]

You are probably right about the sugars!

[@elizabethblane201]

I don't have any lid on my worms; I just have a layer of bubble wrap loosely on the bedding. They never crawl out. It works great for me. I don't blend their food; I run it through the food processor without any water.

[@WorldComposting]

I have done the food processor before but found it to be sort of messy. Also my cheap food processor broke. I did print a compost shredder with a 3d printer which does work pretty well.

[@elizabethblane201]

@@WorldComposting I like people who venture into the unknown. Congratulations.

[@شهيدزاملالكبيسي]

Very nice and distinguished work, thank you

[@lastchance780]

It’s confusing trying to watch these in sequence when the bins switch sides of the screen. Helpful still

[@WorldComposting]

Never even realized I did this. I'll be sure to be more careful in the future. Thanks for watching!

[@rico99586]

looked like a jailbreak. Holy Moly. I think it's just too dry.

[@sandywest4299]

tyvm

[@buckywilson5667]

Looks good

[@ptudor63]

How many worms are in each bin. I'm not see any cocoons in mind e either. I've had my bins about 7 weeks. I wouldn't put frozen food in the bin. It messes them up trying to get out. Let it get room temperature.

[@WorldComposting]

It was just over 1 lb of worms in each

[@chaniatreides9513]

That's funny they don't like asparagus, mine dont like carrots and green beans also they love dandy lion leaves. So weird.

[@WorldComposting]

Never thought to grab the dandy lion leaves I have in the yard and adding them. Might have to try that next year. Granted I think I'm the only one in my community not putting weed and feed down as I'm the only one with the pretty yellow flowers.

[@chaniatreides9513]

@@WorldComposting yeah I have a ton of "weeds" I just give them to the worms I feed them honey succles too sometimes, I just give them wild flowers I like to eat since they prefer sweet. I like dandy lions they are so useful.

[@morganhemingway5262]

Asparagus has to fibrous and it takes too hard for them to break it down Plus read one of the reasons why that Ben is so dry is because the worms also create carbon monoxide that also dries up the bin worms reproduce better when there is calcium mixed in so yes grinding up eggshells like in a coffee grinder to where it's a powder more than granules is best so kudos to the crazy worm lady one more thing if you put some corrugated cardboard in there the worms like to go into those tunnels and lay eggs

[@WorldComposting]

Thanks for watching, the purpose of this was to show the differences between blending up your food vs not blending. The bedding material (coco coir) had crushed egg shell mixed into it. Typically I do use cardboard in my bins but for these tests I find coco coir or hardwood pellets easier to dig in and show changes.

[@sudburyrentalz7804]

Worms are looking for air.

[@WorldComposting]

Possibly due to the ground up food causing anaerobic conditions but still lots of them near the banana peels. Thanks for watching.

[@KrusinTheSierra]

So the consensus is worms don’t like asparagus hehe 🙃

[@marienz9555]

Huh! Even worms don’t like worms! 😂

[@trishoconnor2169]

So this didn't really show the difference between whole and blended food, because the particular food turned out not to be attractive in either form.

[@WorldComposting]

Check out the full playlist for this series. I have another video after this one Blend Food for Worms or Not?: kzbin.info/aero/PLLEZ5krxcR7a52eEnuhcfjJ9rRIbRBXld

[@trishoconnor2169]

@@WorldComposting Thanks for answering! That's what I was looking for!

[@Kay-xi9kv]

What does the worms on the lid mean exactly? Is it an indicator that something is out of balance?

[@WorldComposting]

A few things can cause this. Bin is too wet or dry. Bin is acidic. Low pressure outside I found my worms tend to wander a bit more. Typically it means something is off and if you correct it they will settle back in. Also some worms will wander more than others.

[@noobplayers9448]

Why you use frozen food. Could you tell me . I am from India and our climate is hot type . Should we use frozen food? Help me

[@tschirbo]

If food is frozen, it is broken down faster and the worms can eat it earlier. But it's not a must to freeze it.

[@mllokie9075]

Does the asparagus take longer to break doun

[@WorldComposting]

It is hard to say as it depends on multiple factors and what you are comparing it to. Compared to corn cobs they breakdown very quickly, but compared to lettuce they take a lot longer. If you blend it them they will break down really quickly as surface area makes a big difference.

[@rocko777p.8]

How do you get it moist? My bin is too hot.

[@WorldComposting]

Where is your bin located and how much ventilation is it getting? If it is too hot this could mean that your bin is heating up and composting similar to have a compost pile would work. You can remedy this with extra bedding material and/or cutting back on food which adds nitrogen that can heat up. The other reason is the location has too much heat and you might need to relocate the bin.

[@holokai21]

Could also be a lack of oxygen!!!!!!!!!

[@chancevicino3270]

Hard to watch/trust people who don't blink lol.

[@WorldComposting]

Haha, I've tried to get more used to being on camera but as a once man show I sometimes do stare a bit to intently at the camera.

[@chancevicino3270]

@@WorldComposting Public speaking doesn't come easy xD Nerves can make you look like a cult leader though xD I don't mean to be a dick just something to be aware of! *Nice videos, keep it up bud.