So I've had my worm bin for about a month and a half and although the little squirmers aren't a lotta trouble, the sprayer I bought at the local Rite-Aid is a python sized pain in the posterior! Every time I go to spritz the wormies, it gives me two good sprays, starts leaking all over for two more squirts, and then just quits altogether.
Today I ventured to another fine discount establishment and bought a new and hopefully much improved sprayer. This one was a little cheaper- only $1 versus the first $2.99 one- and much more cheerful looking in an enticing clear bright yellow. They also had super-inexpensive plastic containers- so I now have three new homes for when the current arrangement starts overflowin' with worm happiness!
August 30, 2007
August 27, 2007
Scrappy friends and family
Just when you thought it was safe to look in the fridge...it is overrun by worm food! Seriously, how do two people (and two of our friends) produce so many biodegradable scraps? I have two almost overflowing worm bowls taking up a lot of fridge shelf space, and that's just from four people over about week! I am trying to imagine how much of this kind of WASTE my street/neighborhood/small town must be throwing away EVERY DAY! AARRGGHHH! That's terrible, embarassing, and FIXABLE!!!
I fed one of the bowls to the wormies tonite, and it had a bad peach in it. This bad peach was so squishy and juicy and made the whole mixture real runny, ew. But, it smelled peachy and sooooo much better than the last batch that almost knocked me out cold. This mix was kind of like a fruity coffee perfume for worms.
This week I am going to get a few more bins and start dividing these suckers up. They are eating like crazy, and the castings are all over the place and seem a few inches deep now. Look out worm world, here I come!
I fed one of the bowls to the wormies tonite, and it had a bad peach in it. This bad peach was so squishy and juicy and made the whole mixture real runny, ew. But, it smelled peachy and sooooo much better than the last batch that almost knocked me out cold. This mix was kind of like a fruity coffee perfume for worms.
This week I am going to get a few more bins and start dividing these suckers up. They are eating like crazy, and the castings are all over the place and seem a few inches deep now. Look out worm world, here I come!
August 19, 2007
I spy
I spy with my little eye....a bunch of squirmy worms I am not supposed to keep looking at! That's right, I am a peeping tom with these dang worms. I know I am supposed to just spritz them, feed them, and add some nice bedding and be on my way, but I feel like I NEED TO KNOW what is going on underneath that shredded paper!
Before I leave for work in the morning, I turn off their little nite-lite and I cannot resist popping the top off, putting on my garden glove, and pulling back some bedding to see WHAT IS UP. Are they eating? Are they sleeping? Are they mating? I NEED TO KNOW.
Then when I arrive home, I give them some spray water and again, I put on the garden glove, pull back the bedding, and do another check. WHAT ARE THESE WORMS UP TO? Let me tell you, NOT MUCH. They are really squirming in their new batch of food- this time featuring mashed grapes, berry tops, coffee grinds, and potato peels. But, that's about it.
Worms as pets on a scale from 1 to 10 would get about a 1.5 for excitement and a 2.5 for activity- however, as far as ease of upkeep, they'd be a solid 10, and keeping me environmentally friendly, another solid 10!
Before I leave for work in the morning, I turn off their little nite-lite and I cannot resist popping the top off, putting on my garden glove, and pulling back some bedding to see WHAT IS UP. Are they eating? Are they sleeping? Are they mating? I NEED TO KNOW.
Then when I arrive home, I give them some spray water and again, I put on the garden glove, pull back the bedding, and do another check. WHAT ARE THESE WORMS UP TO? Let me tell you, NOT MUCH. They are really squirming in their new batch of food- this time featuring mashed grapes, berry tops, coffee grinds, and potato peels. But, that's about it.
Worms as pets on a scale from 1 to 10 would get about a 1.5 for excitement and a 2.5 for activity- however, as far as ease of upkeep, they'd be a solid 10, and keeping me environmentally friendly, another solid 10!
August 8, 2007
As the worm turns...
As I may have mentioned, worms are not the most active and exciting animals on the planet. So here's a pic of my real pet and husband, who are pretty fun and always exciting.
Back to business. The food from the first batch seems to be done, except for a few potato peels. The next worm bowl of food comes from the hard work and recycling efforts of a fellow co-worker, and is full of different foods than last time like carrots and banana peels. Hats off to her for giving them such variety in their little lives!
HOWEVER...this one smells wildly and mind-blowingly worse than the last and took a lot more cutting and mashing and crunching up to make it into mush. Like my instructions point out, WORMS DON'T HAVE TEETH! I would like to point out, CARROTS DON'T MUSH!
Last week, I shredded another edition of our city newspaper to add more bedding, as it seemed to be disappearing. When I pulled it back to put the food in (new row!), some of the worms were mixed in with the paper near the top.
Hmmm.
I hope in wormspeak this means "Put in new various delectables- I am hungry, ready to mate, and make lovely organic fertilizer!"and not "Just wanted to check the local headlines from a few days ago!"
As for ever getting a shot of that feeding frenzy, forget it. These dang worms are private eaters and not hot on light, so every time I try to pull back the paper and snap one of them squirming around- FORGET ABOUT IT! Away they go!
Back to business. The food from the first batch seems to be done, except for a few potato peels. The next worm bowl of food comes from the hard work and recycling efforts of a fellow co-worker, and is full of different foods than last time like carrots and banana peels. Hats off to her for giving them such variety in their little lives!
HOWEVER...this one smells wildly and mind-blowingly worse than the last and took a lot more cutting and mashing and crunching up to make it into mush. Like my instructions point out, WORMS DON'T HAVE TEETH! I would like to point out, CARROTS DON'T MUSH!
Last week, I shredded another edition of our city newspaper to add more bedding, as it seemed to be disappearing. When I pulled it back to put the food in (new row!), some of the worms were mixed in with the paper near the top.Hmmm.
I hope in wormspeak this means "Put in new various delectables- I am hungry, ready to mate, and make lovely organic fertilizer!"and not "Just wanted to check the local headlines from a few days ago!"
As for ever getting a shot of that feeding frenzy, forget it. These dang worms are private eaters and not hot on light, so every time I try to pull back the paper and snap one of them squirming around- FORGET ABOUT IT! Away they go!
July 30, 2007
The Feeding Frenzy....not really
It was time to do some feeding. The worms had been with me a week or so, and I had issued various friends and family "worm bowls" to save their veggie scraps in. The first "worm bowl" filled up at my house.
I mashed up potato peels, strawberry tops, egg shells, green and red pepper tops/stems, and more coffee grinds. It looked not good, and smelled not good. I tried to keep in mind this would have all ended up in the garbage, but I was turning it into yummy (gulp!) food for helpful creatures. Ew anyway.
Went downstairs and pushed the shredded newspaper out of the
way about a quarter way across the bin. I had read to feed them in a new row each time and slowly move across the bin, so by the time they get to the last row on the farthest side from where they started, you'll have all the castings (POO!) left. That sounds like a swell idea, but my worms seem to be all over the place. Hopefully, I have received intelligent enough worms that they will understand this slow migration of food across the bin.
I mashed up potato peels, strawberry tops, egg shells, green and red pepper tops/stems, and more coffee grinds. It looked not good, and smelled not good. I tried to keep in mind this would have all ended up in the garbage, but I was turning it into yummy (gulp!) food for helpful creatures. Ew anyway.Went downstairs and pushed the shredded newspaper out of the
way about a quarter way across the bin. I had read to feed them in a new row each time and slowly move across the bin, so by the time they get to the last row on the farthest side from where they started, you'll have all the castings (POO!) left. That sounds like a swell idea, but my worms seem to be all over the place. Hopefully, I have received intelligent enough worms that they will understand this slow migration of food across the bin.
I will try to photograph the worms actually feasting, if and when this feast takes place.
By the way, worms are kind of boring. I was very elated building the bin, overjoyed when they arrived, and way ecstatic to show them their new home. Then, a lull in activity. Hmmm...worms just don't take all that much energy. I guess that's a good thing, or I would be complaining how much work the worms are!
By the way, worms are kind of boring. I was very elated building the bin, overjoyed when they arrived, and way ecstatic to show them their new home. Then, a lull in activity. Hmmm...worms just don't take all that much energy. I guess that's a good thing, or I would be complaining how much work the worms are!
July 26, 2007
There Was Darkness and Potential Escape
In the morning, I got ready for work and headed to the basement on my way to the garage. I stopped to take a heartworming, Earth-loving peek at my bin.....HOLY TERROR and ALARM! I was witnessing an escape attempt by about forty of my creepy crawlers!
They were crowding up around the top of the bin, which thank
goodness had a top on it (with the middle cut out and replaced with screen so they could breathe!). Still, I looked around with a panic I had not known would come with worming. WHEW! No escapees had made it past the top! A few quick taps on the side of the bin later, they were all laying back in the bedding.
I got to work and emailed my supplier- what the heck was going on? Were they trying to get back home? Did these worms have a innate sense of direction I had not read about while I was researching them? HELP! I did not want unhappy guests!
My connection to the worm world, a great gentleman from Da-Le Ranch with the quickest, most complete, and positive thinking emails EVER, emailed me a nice calm reply and noted that I should leave a light on at night so they stay put in their bed (bin). They tend to move away from the light, and you don't even need a bright light- just a small one.
I obviously need to consult my directions more closely. I have been missing some key points.
Stay tuned for the first feeding.
They were crowding up around the top of the bin, which thank
goodness had a top on it (with the middle cut out and replaced with screen so they could breathe!). Still, I looked around with a panic I had not known would come with worming. WHEW! No escapees had made it past the top! A few quick taps on the side of the bin later, they were all laying back in the bedding.I got to work and emailed my supplier- what the heck was going on? Were they trying to get back home? Did these worms have a innate sense of direction I had not read about while I was researching them? HELP! I did not want unhappy guests!
My connection to the worm world, a great gentleman from Da-Le Ranch with the quickest, most complete, and positive thinking emails EVER, emailed me a nice calm reply and noted that I should leave a light on at night so they stay put in their bed (bin). They tend to move away from the light, and you don't even need a bright light- just a small one.
I obviously need to consult my directions more closely. I have been missing some key points.
Stay tuned for the first feeding.
July 25, 2007
In the beginning...
I couldn't wait to see how worms were shipped through the US Mail like a Christmas card. I was amazed that within two or three days, a whole pound of living wiggling worms would be on my doorstep. They arrived from a ranch in California. After mapquesting, I found out my little friends travelled over 2,400 miles. They have already logged more miles than me this year!
The worms arrived in a regular cardboard mailing box marked with red felt pen alarmingly "LIVE BAIT!" Yikes! I was not planning on hooking my worms as fish food!
In the box was a ton of shredded newspaper, and in the middle lay a tightly packed cloth bag with a little drawstring. I dampened the newspaper and placed it into my bin like the directions mentioned- oh, yes, worms come with directions! Sometimes in projects, you might just breeze over the directions figuring you know the deal- but THIS WAS NOT ONE OF THOSE TIMES! Not with hundreds of little lives on the line!
Not knowing how productive/successful I would be, I only ordered 1 pound for about $30; however, it looked like I had received the bargain deal of the century because there looked to be, oh, about a kizillion in the cloth bag.
The worms arrived in a regular cardboard mailing box marked with red felt pen alarmingly "LIVE BAIT!" Yikes! I was not planning on hooking my worms as fish food!
In the box was a ton of shredded newspaper, and in the middle lay a tightly packed cloth bag with a little drawstring. I dampened the newspaper and placed it into my bin like the directions mentioned- oh, yes, worms come with directions! Sometimes in projects, you might just breeze over the directions figuring you know the deal- but THIS WAS NOT ONE OF THOSE TIMES! Not with hundreds of little lives on the line!Not knowing how productive/successful I would be, I only ordered 1 pound for about $30; however, it looked like I had received the bargain deal of the century because there looked to be, oh, about a kizillion in the cloth bag.
I dumped them quickly into the bin and shuffled them around with the newspaper. Then I sprinkled in the coffee grounds I made my husband save and shuffled them aro
und, too.
I gave them a few sprays with my new water sprayer purchased strictly for worm sprinkling.
I looked at the worms, newspaper, peat moss, and coffee grounds in the bin. I pushed some stuff around to make sure they were still alive.
And then I thought, wow, that was easier than I imagined. I had pictured wild worms needing to be wrangled back into the bin by way of worm lasso.
And then, with day one of my worming adventures over, I shut off the light and went upstairs. You'll never guess what was going on the next morning...
und, too.I gave them a few sprays with my new water sprayer purchased strictly for worm sprinkling.
I looked at the worms, newspaper, peat moss, and coffee grounds in the bin. I pushed some stuff around to make sure they were still alive.
And then I thought, wow, that was easier than I imagined. I had pictured wild worms needing to be wrangled back into the bin by way of worm lasso.
And then, with day one of my worming adventures over, I shut off the light and went upstairs. You'll never guess what was going on the next morning...
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