worms 101 part three

prettier than a worm bin

Cautionary worm tale (tail?)

We ordered 1,000 worms (about a pound). The instructions that came with the worms warned that the worms might be just a wee bit discombobulated after their first jet plane flight (worms are apparently not accustomed to flying, tending to stick to terra firma or below). To compensate for their disoriented feelings (did you know worms had feelings?), we were told to leave the lid off the top of the worm bin. Also to leave the light on overnight.

Remember I told you that worms, though they do not have eyes, do not like light. In theory, they burrow down under the bedding. In theory.

Our worms after their presumably traumatic journey did not read these instructions. We followed all the instructions to the letter and went to bed that night, confident that our worms were safe and secure in their new home.

We were wrong.

During the night several dozen worms escaped. Some of them traveled as far as the downstairs bathroom, 15-20 feet from the bin. I was impressed.

Being the frugal person, that I am, I tried to pick them all back up and put them in the bin. This was not as easy as you might think. Some of them traveled through the downstairs bedroom and did not easily disengage from the carpet.

After the first night they stayed put. The only time they get out now is when we harvest castings or take them fishing.

Lesson learned: next time we entertain worms that have just jetted in, we will leave the lid on the bin.

Be sure to put a water proof barrier under the worms. We use a plastic tray. Sometimes (especially when I feed them watermelon rinds) there is more moisture in the bin. This has to go somewhere. Rather than have it leak on your floor it would be better to contain it. It will only be a small quantity and you could use it to water plants.

Worms are easy to care for. They are not as cuddly as a puppy, Abi, but like I said, you can take them fishing. You just can't generally bring them back home again.
(If you have any more questions about worms, please leave them in the comments.)
I do have a few more worm blogs in me, but I think 3 days in a row of worms is enough.
~~~~~
Today and tomorrow are busy days. This morning we will cook all the food for the food pantry dinner. Tomorrow night is the big event. Looking forward to it!

sparkly snow

worms 101 part 2

For all of you who have been waited with 'baited' breath (didn't see that comin' didja?), here is my second tutorial on worms.

Today, class, we will be talking about harvesting worm castings.

I generally feed my worms about once a week. There is really no hard and fast rule about this. You don't want to starve them, of course, but if you feed them too much, too often, you can tell because there will be a lot of undigested food in the bin.

After a few months of feeding, you can begin to harvest the castings. When you handle the worms and the castings, it is best to wear rubber gloves. Not your scrub-the-toilet rubber gloves, nor your do-the-dishes rubber gloves, but rubber gloves that you solely use for the worms. This is not only to help the more squeamish among us, it is also better for the worms. We apparently have oils in our hands that are not helpful to worms.

So, put your gloves on and dig into the bin. Grab a few handfuls of castings and worms and take them out. Form these glob into a sort of pyramid looking thingy. Maybe about 8-10 inches tall.

(see top photo)


Worms do not like light. They don't have eyes, so I don't know what the big deal is with not liking light, but they don't. So, they will seek darkness. You have piled up a glob of castings and worms and the worms will gravitate toward the bottom of this pile. After about 30 minutes you can come and scrape off the top 3-4 inches of the pile. (see second photo) It should be primarily castings. These you can put in a pail or something to take out to the garden.

Now there may be a few worms in this top segment of castings, but it is not your fault that they did not read the instruction manual that says they don't like light and should move to the bottom of the pile. You are now giving them a vacation to a beautiful garden spot.

back in the bin

Worms do not like light. They don't have eyes, so I don't know what the big deal is with not liking light, but they don't. So, they will seek darkness. You have piled up a glob of castings and worms and the worms will gravitate toward the bottom of this pile. After about 30 minutes you can come and scrape off the top 3-4 inches of the pile. It should be primarily castings. These you can put in a pail or something to take out to the garden.

Now there may be a few worms in this top segment of castings, but it is not your fault that they did not read the instruction manual that says they don't like light and should move to the bottom of the pile. You are now giving them a vacation to a beautiful garden spot.

Wait another 30 minutes or so and scrape another few inches off the top of the pile. Again, put these castings in the pail to take out to the garden.

After you have done this you can put the remaining worms (and yes, there will still be a lot of castings) back in the bin, add more food and bedding and you are set for another few months.

That is pretty much it. I have some cautionary tales I will share with you on Monday. Today is a pretty full day -lots to do including some more work on the food pantry dinner for Tuesday night. All the food is purchased, but I have several organizational phone calls to make.

Plus the wind chill tonight is supposed to be -35-45*. Yes below zero again. I need to bring in more wood.

here are the pictures ....

...that for some reason are not appearing in today's post

bin

red worms

worm castings

worms 101 part one

The next few blogs, due to popular demand (okay, three people), will be devoted to the art of raising worms.

First you need a bin. Almost any bin will do, except for clear ones. Punch or drill several holes in the bottom of the bin. I just used a hammer and a nail, some of you may want to get out the power drill. These holes are for drainage, because once in a while your worm bin may get a little soggy.

While we want liquids to drain out, we don't want any worm escapees, so after you have drilled the holes place a piece of fabric or an old pillow case in the bottom of the bin.



Next, add worms. About 1,000 will do. You need to make sure you add the right kind of worms. Red worms, aka red wigglers, are the ones best suited to basement worm bins. You will need to order them and I will give you a resource for that in a minute.
To the 1,000 worms add about 1 Cup of garden soil (which is a little difficult to come by this time of year up here on the frozen tundra) and some kitchen scraps. Potato peels, carrot peels, onion skins, lettuce and apple cores, coffee grounds, bread crusts, the science projects that have languished in the back of your fridge. Just not meat or dairy. Why not? asked momawake. Because in just a few days, before the worms really get around to eating meat and dairy products, they will stink (the meat and dairy products, not the worms).

My worm bin doesn't stink. When you open it up there is a nice earthy aroma, but no stink.

So, now you have a bin with worms, kitchen garbage and grit for the worm's gizzards. That is the purpose of the cup of soil you added. Just like chickens, worms need grit for their gizzards to aid in digestion. Worms are much quieter than chickens, though.

The next step is to add a bunch of shredded newspaper (not glossy) to the bin. This becomes the bedding. 'They' tell you to shred a bunch of newspaper, soak it overnight, squeeze out all the moisture and spread it over the top of the worms, grit and garbage. I did this the first few times, but now I don't soak it at all and just spread it over the interior of the bin. Since my bin has been established for many years now, I have more than enough moisture in it.

The rest of the work is up to the worms. They begin to digest the grit and the garbage and turn it into beautiful (in the eyes of this beholder) rich castings. Yes, Jon that would be poop. And you are right Becky, he is a character.

This can be spread on your garden and sprinkled around your houseplants. Organic fertilizer from stuff you would have normally thrown away.

This is your best resource for more extensive info on worms.
The Earthworm Buyer's Guide is an excellent resource for places to buy worms.

Tomorrow's blog will be a tutorial on how to harvest the worm castings. I know. How can you possibly wait until tomorrow?

my conversations...

...with this particular four year old usually begin like this:

"I been to you house." he declares.
"Yes, you have." I affirm.
"You have worms." he accuses.
"Yes, I do." I sigh.

My mind flashes ahead to a probable inscription on my tombstone:

Here lies Cheri.
She had worms.

I truly do. A bin full of worms in our basement. Why?

We feed our worms our kitchen scraps. Potato peelings, coffee grounds, stale bread heels, egg shells - anything that is not meat or dairy.

In turn they give us castings, a rather euphemistic name for worm poop. This we spread in our garden and around our houseplants. It is a wonderful fertilizer and rich in nutrients.

It is also apparently my claim to fame among the four year old set. I have a tee shirt, too.
It says, I've Got Worms.

As you can imagine this is not a staple in my wardrobe.

I will show you pictures of my worms, if you are interested. But not today. This morning, the trees were covered in the most delicate shimmery hoarfrost (can't we come up with a better name for this beauty than that?).

These pictures don't begin to do the hoarfrost justice, but perhaps can give you Floridians and Tennesseeans a glimpse of today's Northwoods wonder.

...