Of Worms and Vermicompost
Some worm jokes to get us going!
What do worms write notes on?
Compost it notes
What do you call two worms that were made for each other?
Soil mates
Why are worms so great to hang out with?
They're really down to earth
What's worse than finding a worm in your apple?
Finding half a worm...
How can you tell which end of a worm is which?
Tickle it in the middle and see which end laughs
How about some kids books?
Diary of a Worm, by Doreen Cronin
Wiggling Worms at Work, by Wendy Pfeffer
Yucky Worms, Read and Wonder, by Vivian French
Garden Wigglers: Earthworms in Your Backyard, by Nancy Loewen
How to Say Hello to a Worm: A First Guide to Outside, by Kari Percival
Superworm, by Julia Donaldson
About Vermicomposting...
Seriously, taking care of worms and creating our own beautiful compost is a lot more forgiving and fun than we imagined! Peter and I are employed in the Northern Virginia, DC area and do much of the work of caring for our worm friends from afar.
We dutifully collect our coffee grounds, egg shells, and organic fruit and veggie scraps to bring to our "Gerards" (the name we gave the worms as a collective entity, think the Borg of Star Trek: The Next Generation) on the weekend. The worms have a space to hang out in large totes on our front porch, but we monitor the temperatures and move them inside our entryway if the temps will be above 85 or below 55 degrees. We lovingly call them our "latchkey worms," as they are often left to do their thing without our supervision and they are thriving. And by thriving, I mean making lots of little worms and converting the food scraps to vermicompost!
We harvest the beautiful worm-made compost and use it as a natural fertilizer, but without all the chemicals/pesticides, and with the added benefits of microbial magic that helps the unhealthiest of soils have a fighting chance of growing plants and trees! We have not ventured into the business of making worm-tea which is made from vermicompost and is good to use as a natural pesticide and multi-vitamin for your garden. However, it is a goal of ours to add this to our homestead regimen in the next year or so.
What's next? As we recognize the benefit of using vermicompost in and on the depleted soil of our homestead, embrace the composting fun of watching our food waste put to very good use, and desire to share the beautiful product that our worms are making, Peter recommended that we build a dedicated, temperature-controlled, worm-shed where we can quadruple our worm bins and not have to worry about moving the Gerards in and out based on the temps. Details, pics, and stories coming soon!
