Day 5 of The Great Worm Factory 360 Pumpkin Eating Experiment!

[Sandy Christenson]

Sorry this is getting posted a day late. I got the pictures taken in time last night, but since it was Valentine's Day and all -- this didn't get posted until today.

Only about a tablespoon of pumpkin is left. The skin is all separated -- some of it is apparently already eaten by those hungry red wiggler composting worms in Alaska!!

I'll take a final couple of shots tonight just to have some conclusion to the whole experiment. Hope you have enjoyed seeing the pictures as much as I have enjoyed taking them! Next up -- the great mite eradication project!!

http://www.wormsandstuff.com/2013/02/15/day-5-the-great-worm-factor...

[George]

Will the worms eventually eat the skin too ?

And thanks again Sandy for taking us along on your journey.

[Sandy Christenson]

You are so welcome, George! I will post the final pictures today that show the complete lack of pumpkin in my bin! Next comes my mite-reduction-project. I have gotten so many good ideas from people, I can't wait to try them. This is my only bin with mites, so I hope I have enough to try all the ideas! My flow through bin has no mites and neither do any of my commercial production bins. They sure can be a mystery as to how they come about...

[Sue]

The only parts of a pumpkin that took a long time to disappear in my bins are the seed hulls and the stem (plus the base of it.)

[Sandy Christenson]

Yes! The seeds will never get eaten by the worms -- they will grow in the spring! The pumpkins I have were already hollowed out -- thank goodness! I have a picture somewhere in my photos page that shows a stem from one of my worm bins. They ate all the soft stuff off of it, and left just the woody stem. These red wiggler composting worms never cease to amaze me!

[Sue]

Actually, the viable seeds have already sprouted a month ago. It's the duds that will be there for like  "forever".

[Sandy Christenson]

That is so true... the worms just can't eat things that aren't being broken down by bacteria, and most seed coatings seem impervious to rot!

[Andrew from California]

Fortunately bacteria are very quick to grow on things like old pumpkins. It also helps that you've got a healthy worm bin environment with plenty of mites to help spread the bacteria and break down the larger pieces. That said, I have seen worms eat "fresh", bacteria-free food scraps that are soft (melons, wet cardboard, etc.).

[Sandy Christenson]

This is the main advantage to using red wigglers as composters as opposed to just doing aerobic or anaerobic bacterial composting -- the worms take care of the organic materials so much faster that the bacteria do. It is also why worms are such a great addition to gardens -- they never try to eat the live plants!