I’m Back! And I have Worms….

How’s that for an entrance?

My good friend Beth Chapman Buck (admittedly I still forget the Buck part occasionally) pointed out that I hadn’t blogged in months.  This happens from time to time.  And I will TRY to do better.  I am going to forgo the ubiquitous “recap on my life through these months to justify why I was too busy to write” since the radio silence has been unacceptable.  I’m working on consistancy in many aspects of my life (practicing music, packing my lunch, keeping the dog on the schedule, keeping the Miranda on a schedule), so why not add the to “Striving for Consistancy List.”  Now that the “I’m Back” part is out of the way, onto the Worms.

Last year, I purchased the MIO recycled plastic Composter,that was part of the Target Earth Day Collection, but I never got around to getting the creepy crawlies to put inside.  Fast forward to last week.  I finally got around to planting my new veggies.  I had lapsed in the gardening, letting my ground lie fallow rather than planting winter crops…there’s that consistancy thing again.  (On a side note, I’ve got arrugala coming up already! )  Last week I decided it was time to do something about the lack of worms.  After trolling the internet looking for the best deal on Red Wigglers, which are surprisingly costly,  I found a deal for 1 pound, for 22 bucks with free shipping on ebay.  Worms on Ebay…who would have thunk!?!  I ordered my pound and waited patiently for them to arrive.

They got here yesterday, in a USPS marked “Live Worms.”  So I set to work preparing their worm condo.

The composter I have is two tiered.  The instructions I found online indicated that the worms, bedding, and food should go on the bottom tier to start with, and as that gets full, prepare the tier above it for wormy habitation.  The idea is that as the bottom tier fills with compost, the worms will move into the next tray.  Easy enough.

I used some shredded newspaper advertisements and junkmail, moistened in the sink, for my bedding.  After I had accumulated about 4 inches of dampened bedding, I added the worms.  They seemed a bit dry and shell shocked, after their sojourn through the postal service (I can’t imagine that being sorted is fun), so I gave them a light shower with my plant mister.  This seemed to perk them up a bit.  I gave  them a nice dinner of left over veggies and egg shells.  The calcium in the egg shells should promote healthy reproduction among the worms, which is highly desirable, as new population is needed to replace the old, and since I only got 1 pound of worms, and my composter is intended for upto 2 pounds of worms.

I was a bit concerned last night, when I added my worms, because they seemed clustered and unhappy, like a giant pile of worm pasta.  A quick check this morning revealed that they seem to be taking to their little habitiate nicely, and are getting to the business of composting.

Special thanks with Green with Glamour, for the online tutorial!

(I do have pictures….but I need to format them and I can’t do that at the moment.)

Hearth and Home