Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Wormies

Yesterday we had temperatures in the 60s (we're back in the 30s today) so we decided to take advantage of the warm weather and do something we've been needing to do for a few weeks. The worms needed their bedding changed. They were living in pretty much pure castings as you can see in the picture below. We needed to sort all the worms out of the castings and put them in fresh newspaper.

Logan loved sorting through the castings looking for the worms.


Worms are so much fun to hold!
It was particularly exciting when we turned over a hunk of castings and found a ton of worms under it.
Here is the nice fresh bedding. I left some of the castings in the container because I've read a number of things that suggest the worms like having some of it around.


I'm glad we were able to do this outside because the bin had gotten a bit stinky and we had a fruit fly problem. We were able to get all the flies and larva out so hopefully that will take care of the problem and having fresh bedding will take care of the smell.

Having the worms is so much fun!

8 comments:

Danni said...

I had no idea that worms like to live in newspaper! Do you have to make it moist or anything? I would have assumed one would at least start with a base of garden soil or something. That look on Logan's face makes me question his love for the worms! :-)

Kathryn and Ari said...

I've been thinking about vermiculture for quite some time now, and I'd love to hear more from you. What are the pros and cons compared, for instance, to straight-up composting?

Christy said...

Farmgirl - Composting worms like to live in newspaper, yes it is damp and you have to add some dirt and sand. Here is a good webpage about worm composting: http://www.savvygardener.com/Features/worm_composting.html Logan actually did enjoy the worms a lot I'm not sure why he has such a weird look on his face, I'm going to blame the sun ;).

Kathryn - The benefits are you can do it in the winter when a compost pile may be dormant and you can compost things you shouldn't compost outside like dairy because if you keep the worm bin inside you won't attract rodents. And it is fun!

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

Gosh, I really don't know how you do it. But you actually make caring for worms sound like such a thrill!

I caught the reflection of my face while I was reading your worm post and I was actually grimacing! hahaaha!

Truly, though, I love the idea of vermiculture. We were gong to try it a few years ago when we thought we might start a rabbit manure/breeding/selling business.

I bet that composted worm soil is the richest thing for a garden.

Will you be using that in your own garden this year?

Anonymous said...

How cool! I didn't even know you had the worms! How'd I miss that! How long have you had them?

Christy said...

Twinville - I've got the compost in a bin right now saving it for the garden. I'm not sure if I'll use it here or save it in hopes of using it in a new garden.

Farm mom - I'm not sure if I ever mentioned the worms here. I got them from my cousin for Christmas. They were her's but she moved to Mexico for an intership and gave them to me. I've been wanting worms for awhile but hadn't gotten around to ordering them.

Wendy said...

That is so cool! We have a huge composter in the backyard, and our garden beds are full of worms, but we need something for during the winter, when getting to the composter is ... well, a challenge ;).

What a beautiful, sunny day! It must have been very nice being outside ;). Makes me yearn for spring, but I know it's still a good month away for us.

Christy said...

Wendy - it was a beautiful day and wonderful to be outside. Unfortunately since then it has been in the 20s and snowed :( I think having a warm day may have been worse than not since it really got me geared up for spring but spring clearly isn't here yet.