Organic veggies (rant)

[gothra]

I bought a bag of organic bok choi (green leaf vegetable) for my feeders today. Being organic means its free from farm chemicals and no pesticide, right? I had been strictly feeding carrots, apples and oranges in the past years; I feel uncomfortable with offering leafy vegetables to the feeders, as I have strong feeling that they must have some kind of bad chemicals soaked in them that will eventually harm my geckos. (I looked at the label and its a product of China, really increases my confidence, huh...:main_lipsrsealed.

A few years ago, I bought some normal choi sum for the crickets; I soaked them for 1 whole hour, and then washed them leaf by leaf before throwing it in the crickets bin; and all my crickets died the next day after eating the stuff...Now I'm going to try the leafy vegetables again; I have selected several crickets to try it first, if they don't die in 2 to 3 days, I'll offer the vegetables to my beloved roaches!

p.s. Maybe I should just stick with carrots, but I thought some chlorophyll might be good once in a while.

 

[Khrysty]

Oh geez, well let us know what happens. I don't give my feeders leafy greens for that reason :| I usually stick with carrots, banana peels, orange peels, and potatoes

 

[daniellebluetoo]

use kitchen scraps.

Soak your produce in a solution of a gallon of water to about 1/3-1/2 cup of HYDROGEN PEROXIDE, then rinse. this removes most pesticides and is completley harmless ot humans and the like (it's what I use to clean my veggies and fruits)

THen feed your scraps, peels and veggie ends to your feeders.....

try and stay away form the dirty dozen
http://www.organic.org/articles/showarticle/article-214

there are "safer" conventially grown items.

 

[snowgyre]

Never underestimate wild greens though. If you know your yard is free of pesticides (NOTE: herbicides are perfectly SAFE for animal consumption, believe it or not. They mimic plant hormones and are water soluble, so your kidneys filter the chemicals out in 24-48 hours. Most herbicides are less toxic than sugar and salt.), wild greens such as wild plantains, clovers, dandelions, heck, even kudzu if you're in the south are great plants to feed your insects.

 

[gothra]

As of today, most of the crickets and beetles that ate the green are still living. Though one cricket turned on its back this morning, its not dead, just lied on its back. Just wondering how many people here feed leafy greens to your feeders? Maybe I should buy some seeds and grow them myself...

 

[GeckoTrouble]

I feed leafy greens to my mealies.

Some greens may be better than others.
I know someone who is allergic to bok choi which indicates to me that there is something there that may hurt feeders

 

[GeckoHut]

Leafy greens are fine to feed your feeders. Peoples' allergys are of no concern to bugs they aren't people, and do not have the same physiology so that isn't an issue. I pretty much use leafy greens exclusively for a number of reasons;
1)Can be grown year round
2)Doesn't have a chance to mold-gets eaten too fast
3)Much more natural food source-Crickets and the like eat wild greens not carrots and apples though I do supp. with these items
4) Finally if I have to buy/ not harvest, it's CHEAPER!!! A bag of apples or carrots cost $3 and a head of lettuce can be purchased for under a $1, plus since it is easier for them to eat you don't throw out $$ in moldy food items either.

I have never had anything die from leafy greens though even I WON'T EAT lettuce/bok choy from China. They still use lead in paint and kids toys. I'm amazed that they aren't all retarded yet from lead posioning. There are plenty of USA grown greens, I would opt for those next time.

 

[GeckoTrouble]

I used my friends allergy as an example that not all greens are the same.

It makes sense to me that it would be possible for some insects not to do well on some greens.

The animal kingdom have allergies too.
I have a parrot who is allergic to peanuts, soy, wheat and sunflower seeds. He is a wild caught 30+ year old bird so his allergies are not a product of human breeding practices.

I do not appreciate your mention of retardation... I used to work with "retarded" children and it is an insult to them and the Chinese to use it in the manner you did.

I find my feeders do well on dandelion greens. Normally I get them at my local farmers market.

 

[gothra]

Well, I'm Chinese, I can only say its really disappointing that Chinese products have earned such bad reputations in the world. As with the comment on retardation, I don't mind if you target it to the bad apples that produce all the bad/fake products; but please don't apply to the general public, they don't deserve the comment. There are good people in China too.

Back to the Bok Choi, I think I'll stop using it. I have quite a few crickets turned on their back; but the mealworm beetles seem to do fine. I might get some seed and see if I can grow them indoor...I live in an apartment and don't have the luxury of a garden...

 

[Ratman667]

I use a mix of parsley, kale and shredded carrot. Usually one carrot, one bunch of parsley and kale. I mix up a big bag, leave enough out to feed with and freeze the rest. I can mix up enough for a month or two for less than $3.

 

[GeckoHut]

Frozen greens lose A LOT of nutrients and vitamins when frozen in your homefreezer.The whole point of feeding greeens to bugs is to give it to them fresh. It can be for under $3 but it is like feeding them sawdust. It might be economical to freeze but it isn't doing any good to the greens or the bugs.

P.S. When China stops polluting the ENTIRE planet with their waste and emmisions, as well as produce quality products(that don't poison or kill people and/or animals) I will stop "making fun" of them. Did your dog get sick from their nasty a#$ dog food? Mine did and I almost lost her to the same food they feed their own people. So Chinese people that think this is ok, and do nothing about it ARE retarded. It was supposed to be an insult to the Chinese!

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Making racist and/or predudicial comments are NOT cool, and are against the TOS of this forum! Knock it off or take a hike.

 

[Olimpia]

Holy cow, that's horrible! Let me remind everyone that the US produces food with poisons or disease bacteria in it every once in a while - lets not forget that thing with tomatoes a few months ago. And this country has had its fair share of faulty products, so lets not generalize and say that the Chinese are the root of all evil. And it's safe to say that China makes the world go round with the sheer amount of products they manufacture. Everyone polutes and everyone has their own issues, so lets not get into pointing fingers.


As far as the greens is concerned I always give my feeders lettuce, it's always worked just great for me so I have no reason to change. It sounds to me as if you guys just had bad luck, or maybe it's that specific type of green. I just get that whole head of lettuce and feed my feeders and my roommate's beardies with it just fine.

 

[GeckoTrouble]

Making racist and/or predudicial comments are NOT cool, and are against the TOS of this forum! Knock it off or take a hike.

Holy cow, that's horrible! Let me remind everyone that the US produces food with poisons or disease bacteria in it every once in a while - lets not forget that thing with tomatoes a few months ago. And this country has had its fair share of faulty products, so lets not generalize and say that the Chinese are the root of all evil. And it's safe to say that China makes the world go round with the sheer amount of products they manufacture. Everyone polutes and everyone has their own issues, so lets not get into pointing fingers.

Here Here!

The USA is actually the worlds number one Carbon polluter.

I like dandelion leaves, dark green lettuce, apples, carrots and sometimes I give lightly sprouted seeds