Yeh, long break down time might be okay if you have a big outdoor bin but I think I am going to avoid it for now. Also dont want to ruin my food processor. I have never tried to cut kernels off without cooking corn first, time for an experiment...

My understanding is that the guys will use the cob as habitat, similar to how they treat cardboard and half egg shells.

Corn, related: I made a big bucket of shredded newspaper and encrusted it all with half a sack of corn meal using some water. I used this to give my four bins fresh top bedding. I heard on this forum that corn meal discouraged ants, as well as being a favorite food of worms, so I'm giving it a shot :)

I think the worms will go berzerk for it. But I don't know about it discouraging ants. All manner of other critters might be fans too.

When I have corn cobs I put them in my bin, untrimmed, unblended just as it looks after the kennels are gone. It takes longer but they do compost it.

How big is your bin napapen? Indoors or outdoors?

I use 4 large compost bins-3 square and one round. all four are outdoors

Parsley, I did see a few ants crawling on the corn infused newspaper but they didn't seem disturbed one way or the other. I was reading elsewhere that corn meal disrupts their scent trails, and while ants can't eat it their larva can. I'm thinking the worms will be quicker to the punch. Tonight I will do an inspection and report back tomorrow afternoon. I treated all the bins the same so if this attracts the wrong critters I will pay. Not too worried though.

My worms eat my DIY worm chow before anything else gets touched and its mostly just corn meal.

I just caught this discussion after reading your latest posting on tools thirsty potato. As I mentioned in the previous discussion, a layer of whole cobs on the bottom of my tubs is left undisturbed and gives the worms an undisturbed area to lay their eggs. I found a five gallon bucket of old cobs from last season in my shed the other day when looking for some empty buckets. They were mostly dried and were very moldy which the worms love. Grinding these old cobs requires my yard grinder which I also use to grind cardboard for mulch in the garden and outdoor worm bins. As Parsley mentioned corn cobs are way too tough to grind up in a blender, but if you have a leaf type grinder you can grind them in those, I soak the ground cobs in water, then place them in either the indoor or outdoor vermicomposting bins.

Cooked or raw, corn on the cob makes no difference to the worms if you place the cobs whole in the bottom of you bin. If the corn is spoiled, moldy or otherwise unfit for human consumption the worms don't care. But if the corn is edible I suggest you try something which was told to me by Linda, (aka Gymgirl) from Dave's Garden: Remove the silks and the first layer of shucks; place in the microwave for four minutes; and add three minutes for each additional ear. Don't bother with the butter and salt...you won't need it!

The worms seem quite content with the corn meal newspaper. They are massing directly beneath it. No untoward critters to report, save for some maggots which were rolling around in some old avocado in one bin (i now think they came from the avocado)

So far, cucumber has been the biggest hit in the bins, hands down :)

They were far past edible I think, the husks were moldy (maybe not, IDK, we have been raised thinking that fruits must look near perfect; and I am trying to break that habit but for now ill stay on the safe side versus the toilet hugging side). I ended up microwaving them and then using a peeler to get all the kernels off and also got a good bit of cob as well.

I have corrugated cardboard in my bins so I hope they can lay their cocoons there. I am going to hunt for some burlap but I was thinking of burying an extra piece of window screen somewhere. The bottom of the bin is already covered with it so I figure they can probably use it to scrape off the cocoons.

Duane, somehow I missed your post. Good information. Next time I have a cob I might just go ahead and bury it. Ive been avoiding large food items because I really don't want fruit flies/other bugs/etc. I saw someone mention putting in a piece of wood or something in, anyone got ideas on a household item that would serve the purpose?

Maybe it's just my eyesight going to crap, but I have trouble finding cocoons in my bin, although there are scads of baby and teenage worms, and when I harvested recently there were tons of baby worms appearing in the next days in the castings, so there must be plenty of cocoons. I just don't think they are laying them in any place in particular in my WF.

As I mentioned in my other recent post, I don't think the worms *need* assistance getting the cocoons off, but they will make use of scratchy materials if they're available, and that probably can lead to a visible concentration of cocoons around such materials.

I can't remember where I saw this idea, but someone once mentioned putting a plastic dish scrubby in the bin for the worms to scratch their backs on. Sounds like a cheap, easy way to gather up some cocoons in one spot.

I usually find the eggs in the bottom of my bins - they look like little oxmocote bubbles

I probably won't be finding any then because I would venture to guess they will hatch in the bottom before I harvest. But I am definitely interested in trying burlap/something scratchy so I could see a concentration of them.

parsley, when you say a plastic dish scrubby do you mean just like a regular sponge or something in particular?

I was picturing this type:

Ahhh those things. I might pick some of them up next time I am around a dollar tree. I already have some of the scouring pads at home which seem like they would be nice if they aren't too abrasive. Ill stick one or both in the next time I feed them.