From Bark Box to Worm Wigwam!

As much as I love worms, I love my dogs even more!

If you haven't already, meet Benjamin and Franklin. Ben and Frank try to be as green as possible.

You may have heard stories about people vermicomposting their pet waste- and that is definitely not where this story is headed- no worries!

The boys tend to get bored easily, and we are always on the lookout for new toys and treats- which is how I found a snappy little service called Bark Box.

Every month, Bark Box delivers a package of snacks and fun straight to our doorstep:

All we had to do was tell them what size dogs we had (small & cute/just right/big & bold) and how long of a subscription we wanted (monthly/3 month/6 month).

Then, on the 15th of every month- voila! Instant canine happiness! Typically, the box includes 3-5 different types of treats, a toy, and one "thing that makes you go hmmmm".

The treats are natural/organic, the toys have proven to be quite durable (none destroyed yet!), and the "thing that makes you go hmmmm" has ranged from dog beer to dog smoothies.

As an added bonus, they share plenty of opportunities for you to earn extra months or share a discount with others. (PS- If you order one using my secret code E813867031, you'll get $5 off and Ben & Frank get an extra month added!)

So how, you ask, did the Bark Box eventually benefit the worm wigwam?

You might remember that the worms LOVE corrugated cardboard bedding. After the Bark Box was delivered, this happened:

And after some quick soaking in rain water, that Bark Box went straight to the worms!

Bark Box has all the pets in our house- four-legged and no-legged - waiting for the middle of the month!

 

OG2013 Keeps Going & Going...Thanks to the Worms!

The Worm Wigwam continues to provide a sturdy, safe place for my worms to turn our kitchen and paper scraps into fluffy, organic garden superfood, AKA vermicompost.

And OG2013 (Organic Garden 2013 for you newbies!) is still going strong thankfully- the lettuce is unstoppable; cucumbers are plentiful; blackberries keep blooming; even the tomatoes are finally living up to their potential.

A few weeks ago, I took you on a quick journey back through my life and times with the Wigwam, but now it's time for a current worm bin update!

Recent summer scrap-portunities using my family worm bowls have been pretty berry/banana/lettuce heavy, with the exception of one minor incident where my dad included pizza crust (whaaaa? I said ORGANIC SCRAPS!). 

Here's one that's almost ready for feeding: 

Worm Central, AKA the corner of my basement, has really grown over the past few years. I have table space to put the display, cotton bags for shipping worms or vermicompost, and the rest of my organic garden tools and seeds:

 Once the lid is lifted, things have been looking pretty normal- including some random seed sprouts:

Being the curious worm farmer that I am, I can never resist pulling back the top layer and admiring the worm herd!

And what does all this amount to, you ask?

Amazing organic fertilizer!

For the flowers around my house, I mixed it into the dirt before planting (about a 1 part vermicompost to 3 parts soil), and have added a few tablespoons to the base of each plant twice this summer:

In OG2013, I added a heavy dose of vermicompost mixed in with the soil over the winter, and again when I planted the seedlings. I did one other application of a few teaspoons to the base of each plant one other time this summer, and I still have blackberries for my cereal and more cucumbers than you can...well, shake a cucumber at!

I'll admit, the last vermicompost application was not sifted...and had a few seeds floating around.  The result? These ROGUE PUMPKINS:

So I say:

LETTUCE be thankful for WORMS!

The Best of the Bin: A Collection of the Squirmiest Worm Posts

Since I originally started this site to chronicle my adventures with a worm bin, I thought I'd return to my roots (ha ha! worm humor!) and revisit my favorite posts.

Wiggle on, friends!

My first post ever was on July 27, 2007! The worms arrived, shockingly to me at the time, via US Postal Service, and into the bin they went. After all the anticipation, I was immediately bored.

Within a year, the herd had multiplied and they were looking for a housing upgrade.

Enter the Wigwam and moving day!

Some crazy things have happened in the worm wigwam:

-An egg saving mission

- Amazing feedings with boxes of scraps, including these strawberry tops

- Some peachy food and a watermelon ring of honor

- The puzzling pumpkin shells

- A tomato growing fiasco

I even got the opportunity to teach others about vermicomposting with a snappy display and poster at a sustainability fair in my area.

I took my best worm picture ever during the worms most favorite time of the year: Halloween (even though the pic actually appeared in the next post about my trash pickup)!

I started my first (and second!) organic garden using the vermicompost my small herd produced....with great (and delicious!) results!

What's up next? More environmentally friendly adventures, of course!

Let Us Admire Lettuce

Yes, let us!

The two veggies that almost have me nominated as Organic Gardener of the Year are my cucumbers and lettuce.  After the last vermicompost application, the cukes are growing all the way up the hill, and the lettuce just keeps going and going and going...

 With any luck, these will grow right up to the door, and I can just pick them while standing on the porch!

Since I've focused quite a bit on cucumbers here and here, I thought I'd give lettuce some props as well.

Although lettuce-flavored items are in short supply (ok, I couldn't find any), there are some interesting facts about lettuce you might not know:

-There are 5 types of lettuce: romaine (or cos), butterhead, leaf, stem, and crisphead. Leaf is the most popular.

-Lettuce grows better in cooler summer weather than in the hot humid type.

-Lettuce has shallow roots and does not respond well to overwatering.

-One cup of leaf lettuce has only 9 calories!

WORM UPDATE! The worms have been eating their way through the summer, munching frequently on watermelon rinds, banana peels, and strawberry tops- typical fruit salad fare.

They particularly enjoyed the scraps from my recent creative creation, minus the quills in this pic:

Keep in mind I added the skewers once the porcupine made it to his final destination to complete the spiky look!

More wormy updates from in the bin coming up next...

Guest Post: New Ideas for the Humble Backyard Shed

When it rains, it pours...and it's been pouring Guest Bloggers at Lilliworm!

This month, meet Ivy! Ivy Delfin is a copywriter working with SteelChief, the leader in design and manufacture of garden sheds, workshops, garages, pool sheds, aviaries, fowl houses, cubbies, dog kennels, pet runs, small sheds, timber sheds, steel frame sheds and pump houses for over 20 years. When Ivy's not writing content she enjoys swimming, shopping and taking her dogs for a walk.

Ivy has some creative suggestions for that small box shaped building in your yard...


New Ideas for the Humble Backyard Shed

The backyard shed often seems to be looked over in favor of large garages or sometimes abandoned for the messy corner of the porch which has become the home of your garden tools. This poor little shed has so much more to offer if only you gave it a chance. Maybe you no longer need to store your tools there or you got rid of all your camping gear, your shed still has so much to give if you only gave it a chance.

With a little TLC, a new paint job and some organizing, your backyard shed could become a whole new room to add to your home, even adding value and style to your backyard which can be worthwhile if you are looking to sell. If you don’t have a shed yet, I’m sure these suggestions will get you out to Steelchief to pick out your new shed.

Backyard Home Office
A converted potting shed, giving a complete makeover with new paint, sturdy interior walls and flooring can make a beautiful and functional home office. If you work from home, having your office placed outside of your house could increase your productivity immensely, it’s amazing what a new exciting environment can do.

Outdoor Bath
If you are desperate for a bathtub but your bathroom just won’t allow for it, turn your backyard shed into a bathhouse. Again, painting and putting a new tiled floor down, you could have a beautiful outdoor bath in no time. You could train ivy to grow around it to give you some privacy or install some sheer curtains over the windows.

Kitchen Garden
Use your shed by bringing it’s use back to it’s roots. Start a beautiful kitchen garden by starting seedlings in a sheltered environment, arrange flowers, raise tomatoes, dry out peppers and shallots and store your garden tools. It’s amazing what you can do with your shed if it is just given the time and attention!

Greenhouse
Install a shed with lots of window space, or renovate your current shed by adding windows. With lots of light coming in, you can turn your shed into the perfect greenhouse, raise seedlings and grow summer flowers in the winter.

Playhouse 
If you have kids and you’re running out of room in the house, a backyard shed can become the perfect play area. With some imagination, your shed could be your kids new place to hang out, have friends over and play. The best part is, since you have taken the effort to fix it up, when the kids grow up, you can convert it to whatever other purpose you choose.

Artist Studio
Need I say more? The backyard shed is the perfect place for a rustic artist studio. Outdoors surrounded by trees, there is nothing more inspiring.

Summer Room
The summer months can be really harsh when your home doesn’t have the best cooling system. You want to be outside because the weather is so beautiful, but it’s just so darn hot! Solution: turn your shed into an outdoor shady shelter. Placing your shed under a nice big tree, surrounded by shrubbery will keep your new space nice and cool while you entertain guests with an outdoor BBQ.

Don’t give up on that shed, there is still hope yet!

Cucumber Flavored Whaaaat?

Last fall, I featured "Pumpkin Flavored Whaaaat?", because the amount of products debuting with pumpkin flavored versions was amazing!

It seems that the pumpkin has met its match in none other than...

THE CUCUMBER! 

A few quick cucumber facts! Did you know that cucumbers:

• are the 4th most cultivated vegetable in the world (next to tomatoes, onions, and cabbage)

• belong to the same plant family as melons

• are only 8 calories per serving

• are best grown in full sun with room to sprawl 

And now for everyone who can't get enough of the fresh taste and scent of cucumbers, here's a list of the interesting cucumber flavored and scented I found:

This gel mask is said to be calming and hydrating...and full of cucumber extracts!


Who thought you could improve on all natural Witch Hazel as an astringent? Cucumber lovers, clearly.


Cucumbers are 90% water, so I'm not sure what exactly they are adding to this water.


Cucumber teamed up with its melon cousin to bring you this Bath & Body Works scented soap.


Just the other day, my dog was saying, "This ear cleaning sure would be more enjoyable if that cleaner was cucumber scented!".  And, voila! Now it can be.


You love the smell of fresh cucumbers in your yard, in your salad, in your kitchen...now how about in your car?


I adore Tazo Teas, but I admit to slacking off in having not tried the Cucumber White flavor just yet.


Just go for it!  Grow your own cucumber and flavor whatever you'd like with its cool fresh scent!


Related Posts and Links
Pumpkin Flavored Whaaaat?

OG2013 Update- Compost & Colossal Cucumbers

The time is long overdue for an OG2013 update. By the look of my plants this week, they were ready for a healthy dose of sifted vermicompost.

I say "sifted" (via my high-tech method of a large colander to remove twigs, stems, and seeds), because in a pinch when planting the seedlings, I used "unsifted".

What resulted was a plethora of small plants growing everywhere- and I had no idea what was what. Lesson learned! Sift the vermicompost!

Basically, I put a few large spoonfuls at the base of each plant:

Then I had the gardener's assistant (husband) crawl into the anti-bunny fence and apply vermicompost to the strawberries, lettuce, spinach, and onions:

 
Next up, he soaked the vermicompost with....

you guessed it: RAINWATER!

In my opinion, this year the cucumbers are stealing the show and growing like weeds.

Do you know the heaviest cucumber ever grown, as recorded at Giant Gardening, was cultivated in England and weighed 27 pounds?! I may break that record this summer!

Which gives me a great idea for a cucumber flavored type of post...