Collard Greens Killing Crickets??

[Jordan]

Freezing veggies actually makes them lose their nutritional value. With what you have listed the mix would be good for about 3-7 days at maximum potency in freezing conditions.


I suppose collard greens with pesticide contamination is a risk. I would think it unlikely though. Collard greens are one of the few vegatables that have a higher nutritional value after being cooked then when raw. The reason being is their extremely tight cellular structure. Collards truely only fall prey to a couple different types of bugs. The number one is the cabbage worm. These are actually white moths later on in life. Infestations are generally only a problem going into the fall. So really this time of year most farmers would not really be covering these crops with pesticides unless the absolutely had too and in some areas they might. Even if they did the cell structure of the leaves would allow any residual pesticides to come off rather easily with cold running water.

There are actually some products that remove residual waxes and pesticides off of veggies/fruits. These are not really avaliable to the public. About the only place you see them is in the back of cooperate/franchise restaurants. Most of these restaurants don't even carry them even though they are suppose according to policy. They can become very expensive, at least from a business prospective.

 

[JoshCrane1]

interesting, i figured the salsa wouldnt be AS nutritious after frozen, cuz i know once its thawed the shelf life is much less than fresh. but when you make a batch of this stuff you have soo much and its either use a tenth and let the rest rot in the fridge or baggie it up, freeze,and use it as needed.

if this were my only gutload i would prob. not freeze it, but im also using the cricketfood.com grain gutload in conjuction with the salsa, soo i think ill be alright.

 

[Mael]

I've been experiementing with feeding my crix the leftovers from my own smoothies i make in the morning. I think the last concoction had soy milk, pinapple, mango, and strawberry. They absoloutely loved it and every cricket in the cage was eating it within about 10 seconds! My cham more than willingly gobbled em up the next morning.

I've also played with feeding my crix pinapple. It seems to make them go all weird and yellow though from the amount of citric acid. Their wings shrivel up and it looks really weird. Has anyone else ever noticed this?

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

There wings shrivel up! Thats funny. Does it stop their chirping?

 

[Mael]

It only happens to a portion of the colony so i'm not quite sure. I should pay more attention next time

 

[Kat77]

Wow. I wonder what it was that killed all of my crickets then! I haven't had that happen since. The only ones that die are the ones that get eaten, for the most part. It was the strangest thing. And even that batch of crickets stopped dying after I stopped feeding them the collards. I switched to organic greens and smooth sailing. Maybe something else was wrong with that batch of collard greens? Very odd.

Freezing veggies actually makes them lose their nutritional value. With what you have listed the mix would be good for about 3-7 days at maximum potency in freezing conditions.


I suppose collard greens with pesticide contamination is a risk. I would think it unlikely though. Collard greens are one of the few vegatables that have a higher nutritional value after being cooked then when raw. The reason being is their extremely tight cellular structure. Collards truely only fall prey to a couple different types of bugs. The number one is the cabbage worm. These are actually white moths later on in life. Infestations are generally only a problem going into the fall. So really this time of year most farmers would not really be covering these crops with pesticides unless the absolutely had too and in some areas they might. Even if they did the cell structure of the leaves would allow any residual pesticides to come off rather easily with cold running water.

There are actually some products that remove residual waxes and pesticides off of veggies/fruits. These are not really avaliable to the public. About the only place you see them is in the back of cooperate/franchise restaurants. Most of these restaurants don't even carry them even though they are suppose according to policy. They can become very expensive, at least from a business prospective.

 

[beenpanced]

This is just a suggestion for all Cham owners, but I grow my own collards in a little garden I've done up. Nothing fancy or anything, and I grow a few other things for me, but the collards are mainly for my crickets. My point in this is that collards are VERY EASY to grow. Just a little water everyday and the plants will seriously produce. And you dont have to take everything off the plant at once, just take what you need. This way you never have to worry about pesticides. Still rinse them though.

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

Beenpanced. I do the same in an AeroGarden that sits on my counter in the kitchen.

 

[Kat77]

Wow, oddly enough, I had never even considered growing my own. What a money saver that would be! I think it's too late to start this year. I live in Minnesota, AKA the lower 48's crappiest climate 8 months out of the year.

Maybe I'll invest in one of those Aerogarden things like Ryan has....

 

[beenpanced]

I do live in Fl. so I'm in great veggie growing weather but collards are very hardy.