Oh dear, have not made an update in weeks. I wish I could say I'd spent all the time planting things outside, but due to illness and otherwise busyness I am way behind. I hope to at least post some pictures and summaries soon.
But for the moment, back to the worms. This is the sign I put on the bin when we started (the
Diet of Worms tag is my son's irresistible addition). It was probably a useless gesture, since no one feeds them but me, and clearly...
...I can't follow my own directions. I believe those are squash seedlings. Oops.
Also, I keep neglecting to fill the bin with shredded newspaper to keep the upper parts dry, and as before the more rebellious worms seem to be living in the foodless penthouse (though since they are excreting there, I assume they eat sometime). And a few had fallen or climbed down the holes into the lower bin (most drowned).
Per directions at
Red Worm Composting, I am going to try freezing some food scraps so that, thawed, they will provide softer and more easily digested food for the worms. It is really easy to feed them too much, but even if I keep the offerings down to a minimum some of it sits there uneaten until it molds. They do not appreciate crunch in their diet.
I may drill some holes in the top to improve air circulation, too. So, improvements still to be made, but nevertheless I think most of the worms are working away down below - at least when I poke around I see them moving, and the bedding level keeps going down.
Worms sound like work, if mostly brain work. Has it rained much there? It's been misty here, sometimes fog, which we discover by driving down the hill and staying in the mist, and sometimes clouds, so it's clearer below. Small amounts of actual rain but at least not sucking all the moisture out of the ground.
ReplyDeleteNo sign of anything sprouting in the salad table. I suspect I timed it perfectly, planting seeds just before the sun disappeared for a week or so. I have gotten very good at that, apparently.
Worms are less work than it seems for all this discussion - at least they don't need to be walked and you can ignore them for weeks, really.
DeleteNot a lot of rain here, but enough that I'm not as worried about constant watering. Some days of light rain and a couple of short thunderstorms.
Note: mentioning the salad table resulted in everything starting to come up the next day! So little green things have appeared! And I got the EarthBoxes ready, we had left the soil in them over the winter in the garage, after draining as much water as we could for fear of freezing. Added new dolomite and fertilizer and covered them with their cozy covers. Farmers Market starts on the 17th, so I can see what kind of seedlings are on sale locally to plant in them this year. They will get major, major sun on the deck with all the trees gone. Major, major watering even with the reservoirs, unless of course, it rains all summer. Since the seasons have long lost the predictability I remember as a child and young woman, who knows.
Deletefun fun fun! i keep thinking about starting a worm bin... Sounds like your son thinks it's a trip!
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