Comments on: Citrus Vermicomposting

By: Dani

Dani — Mon, 07 Apr 2014 23:39:04 +0000

Hi! It’s been a while since your last comment, so I hope you’re still reading this… I have a TON of citrus peels and occasional moldy fruit (lots of tangerine trees), as well as loads of wood ash. I’m trying to figure out some way to combine them and neutralize the acidity/alkalinity, and also to minimize the limonene contribution so my worms can deal with the citrus. Do you think letting them sit in a separate bin to mold and break down for a while before adding them to the worm bin would help? What was the end result of your citrus experiments, or is there another post I can read following up on this? Thanks!

By: Bentley

Bentley — Sun, 17 Nov 2013 12:20:44 +0000

Shara – there is no single definitive answer. Citrus is definitely a material you need to be careful with, but in moderation (ie NOT like I did in this particular experiment – haha) it should be fine – especially in systems where the worms have plenty of room to spread out in, and when there is some buffering capacity of the habitat.

By: shara

shara — Wed, 13 Nov 2013 02:18:36 +0000

what is the answer i need it for a research paper and no one else has eny thing like it because i think the citrus in lemons kill composting worms

By: Bentley

Bentley — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 14:43:47 +0000

Thanks for the nudge, Al.
As it turns out, I will need to do this one again – but this time with one of my indoor bins. I guess the good news is that the citrus waste was readily processed in my outdoor beds – but it was tough to actually monitor it or do any sort of comparison.

Will definitely come up with a better way to test this out.
8)

By: Al

Al — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 14:37:05 +0000

Hi,

I just wanted to hear how things are progressing with your
“Citrus Vermicomposting” experiment?

I noticed one of the comments suggested that the peels/”waste” citrus
be bokashied first. I bokashi many things before they go into my worm
bin. Including citrus. But (and this is an inadvertent “other topic”) I
often run into the problem of overheating as the bokashi gets to a point that the worms feel comfortable to move into it.

Anyway, would really like to hear how things are progressing with your
“Citrus Vermicomposting” experiment.

Cheers,
Al

By: Jeff Cummings

Jeff Cummings — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 06:52:05 +0000

Neat idea, I was wondering about this too, because the Worms Eat My Garbage book says the Limonene in the Essential Oil of the peels is toxic to the worms.

However, I think the limonene is non-toxic to the worms, but is an anti-bacterial essential oil constituent. This would kill the worms food, wouldn’t it?? Imagine being covered and your house saturated with a substance that would kill your food, or make it poison. That would not be good.

I did think that perhaps letting the peels compost or rot first, the mold being the first thing that would attack them, would first allow the mold or fungi to eat the limonene and make it inert, and render the energy bio-available to bacteria after that…?

What do you think? Hope your experiment works also, as I am an avid juicer, and always have lots of fruit peels, and rarely feed them to my small worm bin, as I don’t want to kill their food…or them.

Sincerely,

Jeff C

By: Deb

Deb — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 04:50:53 +0000

I put a half lemon that had been in the fridge a couple months in my bin. I put it to the side, just in case. Every time I checked, the red wigglers were all over the inside of the peel. Also put fresh squeezed lime peels in another bin. Without the fruit, it’s not nearly as popular.

By: John Duffy

John Duffy — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 02:15:00 +0000

I’m looking forward to the outcome of this experiment.

By: Laura

Laura — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 16:43:10 +0000

Or you could Bokashi the citrus first. I add the occosional lemon peel (after the 2 week ferment) to my worm bin and they move in after a couple of days and demolish them.