Fallen flowers & pollen from locust tree--good for worms?

11 years ago

We have several large honey locust trees (the sterile kind-- no pods thank goodness!!) that have been dropping their spent flowers on all flat surfaces in our yard. (Not as bad, I am quick to say, as the astonishing bumper crop of bloody maple keys from the numerous trees all around ours and several adjacent yards and now are all starting to sprout EVERYWHERE).

My back patio was covered with these tiny flowers so I got out the shop vac (which was empty since I recently had cleaned it out) and sucked them all up--wondering as I did so whether these would be a nice treat for the herd.

When I opened the canister I found the whole inside (& filter) just covered with pollen, with the teensy petals down on the bottom. I banged & brushed the pollen off the filter and in with the rest of the stuff before emptying it all into a small bucket-- altogether it comes to about a gallon of flower bits.

Now, I know that humans can eat certain kinds of pollen for the health benefits, but I just want to be sure the worms can tolerate it. Since there is so much, I am thinking of just storing it until it's time to change the bedding again (later this year, since I just gave both tubs all new bedding a month ago) and mixing it in with the shredded paper along with a few big handsful or so of chopped fallen leaves I always like to use. (Making new bins in fall is a snap!)

So...anyone think of any reason not to use this organic resource? Thanks for any input!

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Comments (5)

dowbright
11 years ago
I'm kind of shocked nobody has answered this! I guess everybody is outside revving up the summer heat loving plants. I hope you get an answer soon. I'd like to know. :)
patsuweb
11 years ago
I have a similar type of locust tree which dropped many spent flowers loaded with pollen that I added to my fairly new(6 wks) rubbermaid bin of RFs. It seemed to give off a smell for a few days that was different but not unpleasant and seemed to heat up slightly when mixed. So though the worms didn't seem to be hurt, I would be careful when adding this again and treat it more like a green addition than a brown. Perhaps, once the flowers have dried up for a few weeks, they could be used as bedding? I do like to use the tiny leaves that drop from my tree as bedding, but let them age a bit first, too.
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weedlady
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks patsuweb, I always am a bit leery when putting together new bedding in case it begins to heat up, but I will be even more careful with this. What I'll do is make up a box of bedding with the usual shredded paper and some leaves now (I have a spare bin) and let it sit for a few months until it's time to re-locate the herd again.

Today I need to go vacuum up more fallen flower bits...they ain't done yet! Figured I had better sift out the maple keys too, before using the stuff, or they will start sprouting en masse as they are doing now all over the yard--veggie beds, flower beds, driveway cracks, gravel...(At least we do not have cottonwood trees!!) I do not need a rerun of the great post-canning Tomato Seed Jungle Fiasco of a couple of years ago... Live & learn!! LOL
dowbright
11 years ago
Now THAT I would love to read about! Do tell. :D
weedlady
Original Author
11 years ago
OK, I will relate my tale as it was quite a joke on me and others can benefit from my folly!LOL
What happened was this: I had gotten my worms the winter before a bumper fall tomato harvest. As usual, I was using my Villaware food strainer/mill to process a 5-gallon bucket of assorted tomatoes for sauce. This great little machine only requires the raw fruits be washed and cut into quarters (or eighths for the big Brandywines, etc.) before feeding into the hopper--no blanching or cooking rnecessary. The machine separates the pulp and juice from the skins & seeds, each product going into separate containers. Very efficient!
(And even better--that happened to be when my then-8-year-old grandson was visiting. He thought it great fun to do the cranking!! Shades of Tom Sawyer and his whitewashed fence...But I digress...)

So here I was with a big pot of juice to simmer down for lovely sauce and a large bowlful of -- everything else. Well, of course, I says to meself--a treat for the herd!--so I spread the waste into their big Rubbermaid home, crooning lovingly to the lot as they seemed to wriggle in thankful ecstasy.

I suppose the seedlings first began to appear a couple of weeks later... and kept appearing, and appearing... Even after changing the bedding and sifting the compost for use in my houseplants and seed-starter, those &$^%#@* tomato seeds kept on appearing! For more than 2 years --all through winters, springs, and summers, I have had to weed my houseplant pots! Seems no matter how deep they were planted, the determined little seedy bastards eventually found daylight! I start a lot of veggies, annuals, and perennials in pots & cell packs each spring, using my own blended seed-starter that (of course!) has Black Gold mixed in. Fortunately, tomato seedlings are so easy to ID (they certainly became VERY familiar to me!) I am able to rogue them out quickly from the desired seedlings. But what a pain in the neck!

So, fellow composters--be sure you treat your guys only to cooked tomato seeds and toss your raw canning waste into an outdoors bin for redworms do not eat tomato seeds!!

Fallen flowers & pollen from locust tree--good for worms?

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Fallen flowers & pollen from locust tree--good for worms?

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dowbright

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