Vitamix liquid compost

Anyone ever blend their scraps in a Vitamix (or equivalent) and then add directly to their boxes?  I've been blending and pouring into my composter, but was just watching a couple of YouTube videos where they poured directly into their gardens.

I'm curious why you would think you need to do that. Are your plants growing poorly?

I wouldn't do that unless I had a good population of earthworms in the bed.

Camprn, no my plants are doing fine.  It just seemed interesting.  Was wondering if anyone had done anything like it.  

Had not heard of that, lol.  My scraps go into the compost; anything I put in my Ninja gets pulverized and goes into my tummy!!  Green smoothies are great in the morning!

As a matter of fact I use the Vita-mix to chop up all my kitchen scraps. First I freeze them real good and then virtually liquefy them before feeding it all to my worms. The freezing breaks the food down at the molecular level and the liquification allows all ages of worms to feed. I do mix in finely strained aged horse manure and coffee grounds since the coffee grounds help in the gizzard as does all the eggs that I grind up to almost a powder. When I was feeding my container garden before I started keeping worms I would just bury the whole bag down in the container. Next time, next container. The Vita-mix speeds up the process especially after freezing. Even a Ninja will do the trick.

Tom, I've been seriously considering starting a worm bin.  That would be a great idea to freeze and blend  the "food" for the worms.  That should result in faster castings, wouldn't it?

I may consider using my standard blender to make some "compost soup" for some of my landscape plants.  Many years ago, my elderly uncle suggested this technique.  It seemed to work well.

Not for my SFG, though!

Denese wrote:Tom, I've been seriously considering starting a worm bin.  That would be a great idea to freeze and blend  the "food" for the worms.  That should result in faster castings, wouldn't it?

Hi,
         Freezing has been "universally" accepted in the worm community for some time. Kinda like chewing food for a baby or feeding them "baby food". If you think about it even WE as adults can eat baby food as can little babies. So that shows that all sized mouths can "absorb" nutrition from newborn worms to adult sized when you consider that there is powdered egg shells for the tiny gizzards to coffee grounds for the larger adult gizzards. Now as to faster castings I will tell you how it seems to work (at least for me). With the softer food the worms seem to overpower the food to the point to where I don't have to dig for castings but rather can literally scrape them from the top. One thing that seems to "sweeten the pot" (quite literally) is to mix a bit of diet soda (or regular if you wish) to the mix. The caffeine seems to drive them and the sweetness seems to make them want to eat that much more. I would be more than willing to help you with your worm endeavor BUT my geographic situation makes my approach a bit different from many others. The traditional bin has bedding made from cut up papers and cardboard. With an average humidity of 20% that really doesn't work here. The paper and cardboard will dry out in record time. My feed is a mix as I have described and I have to add water twice a day. Not just a spray from a bottle but from a 1 1/2 liter bottle with holes drilled in the top. I don't drown them BUT I need to attack those areas that have dried out. The texture when I feed is just a smidge more than a slurry. When I check them I will run my fingers through the bin down to about a quarter inch looking for dry areas. You can actually stick your fingers down to 3 inches and run through checking on wet/dry conditions. With this lack of humidity the top layer can need some wetting a couple of times a day. Not a TON but some. I envy those in more humid climates that feed and come back in a week. That would be nice for you BUT I can't afford that luxury. Let me know where you are and I will help you as much as I can. I know several good web forums that have wormers from all over. Good luck.

Tom, thank you for the info.  Just curious.  What kind of bin do you use?  There seems to be differences of opinions on which style is best for the worms.

Denese wrote:Tom, thank you for the info.  Just curious.  What kind of bin do you use?  There seems to be differences of opinions on which style is best for the worms.

Excellent question. The cheapest way in is those plastic bins that measure in gallons. 14, 16, etc.. They go up to 50 or so. Many folks "get their feet wet" with these since the total cost of the bin is about $6. 10 gallons is very popular. The bins go about $5 and the rest is ripped up newspaper and cut up cardboard (cereal boxes or other food grade boxes) cardboard boxes made in the USA and egg cartons. If you are in it for the long haul many folks make them out of wood since they are very forgiving on moisture. They absorb excess water. With our lack of humidity plastic is the bin of choice. The main rap against them is that they retain moisture ... well, for me that's GOOD. For someone in an area that boasts high humidity it is perhaps NOT so good in the long run. If you go the plastic bin route and it doesn't work out then you are out about $35 bucks counting worms BUT you now know what will NOT work. You can change strategy at that point. You Tube is rife with videos about the different bins, preparing food, what kind of food, inside or outside. The best book on the subject is "Worms Eat My Garbage" by Mary Appelhof. She has passed but her book remains the best source of knowledge on the subject for the individual that raises worms for compost that they themselves will use. Many people have started at that level and have become a successful business. Start at home for you. Sell to friends and neighbors and perhaps if you want sell "set-ups" to people. That is a bin with worms and some food to get started. Marys' book is still available in bulk so you could include it with the start up package. The company that handles these books now is (I BELIEVE) Flowerfield Enterprises. I believe there is a web site. If not then just try her name and I'm sure something will jump up. Any questions just let me know.
P.S. I did a search and "Wormwoman.com" seems to be the link for the book.