Comments on: Walnut Shells & Banana Peels – 3-07-18

By: mjswider

mjswider — Tue, 17 Oct 2023 12:30:28 +0000

Thanks Bentley! I forget if it was walnut seeds or something else, but found a reference to someone saying they did hot soaks with some nut seeds (maybe peanuts?) and they had good results. Part of my goal is a bit of moisture absorption in the bin, but I could see if one did hot soaks in water of shells the decomposition would begin, or at least be prepared better. I did put them in my pre-decompose bucket for now with other scraps and carbon prior to putting them into my UWB.

By: Bentley

Bentley — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 14:59:39 +0000

Hey Matt,
My recollection is that the shells ended up becoming quite dark and fragile over time, but it was pretty obvious that it would take a long time for them to get full broken down. I say toss em in (as long as not salty) – worst case, you end up with some extra living material which can be screened out or left mixed in with your castings.

By: mjswider

mjswider — Sat, 14 Oct 2023 14:30:40 +0000

Hi Bentley, I’m wondering if you recall how this system ended up. I have some macadamia nut shells which I’m considering throwing into a bin and wonder if they will break down during my lifetime. Hope all is well with you.

Matt

By: Stephen

Stephen — Tue, 03 Apr 2018 17:26:15 +0000

Interesting about the banana peels, as to whether they are good or not so good. We use a lot of bananas in our house, and so banana peels are a significant part of our worm food supply.

Stephen

By: Bentley

Bentley — Tue, 13 Mar 2018 12:24:04 +0000

Hi Caleb!
There may be something else at work here. I wonder if certain gases are released during the breakdown of banana peels that might not be super worm-friendly. When I checked on the system yesterday there seemed to be a lot of worms up at top (just under plastic) on the side where the new mix had been added – virtually none down below.
Anyway – should be interesting to see how things play out over time.

Critters are very normal for ANY vermicomposting system. Virtually impossible to have a batch of composting worms that doesn’t bring its own batch of critters (often as eggs, resting stages etc). If it was ONLY worms I would probably be a bit worried – lol. I don’t think I have ever really stocked a system with critters simply because they are usually in there anyway. A lot of them are “helpers” (like the pill bugs, millipedes, springtails) but some are predatory, such as beetles etc. The predators rarely seem to have any impact on the worms – pretty sure they focus more on the herds of springtails (easy pickins)! haha

By: Caleb

Caleb — Mon, 12 Mar 2018 03:38:56 +0000

Very interesting point about the residual pesticides on Banana Peels – I have not thought about that before. Makes me wonder about other produce from the store and how much pesticides they all have. We typically buy organic, but there are still “acceptable” pesticides in certified organic produce as well. Definitely makes me think.

Also curious about the critters in your system – you said these experiments are in your basement, correct? How are the critters getting into your system? Do they come in with the living material you add? Do you ever add critters like pill bugs and ear wigs on purpose? My understanding is they accelerate decomposition correct? Like, they eat the material, and the worms eat their waste?