We have worms

We've had them for about six months. They're contageous, too. At least to a certain type of person.

Homesteading in the city can be a hard thing. Especially when you're working with the few square feet of dirt we have. Our entire lot is about 30 wide by 100 long and it's got a house, shed, and parking on it. That leaves little for the myriad of outdoor activities we try to persue; playing, hanging laundry, water collecting, hammock swinging, gardening and last but not in the most least, composting. It's not feasible with the large collection of wild animals in the city and the limited ground resources to have a large multi-tiered compost area. That's where the worms come in folks.

While I'm still learning the quirks of tending natures composters, we've successfully raised hearty fat red worms in our front yard. We've had to pluck out grubs that infiltrated and clean out the bins when ants invaded. Finding that right mix of greens and browns can be tricky. So far, I've found that my mistakes haven't seemed to harm my wormies. Though I worry about the upcoming cold. The weather's finally turned chill. The photos were taken today.

It started out with a black tiered bin specially made for our purpose and two pounds of worms, shipped to me live off ebay (you really can get anything online) in coconut coir for under $20.  I feed them about once a week or whenever I have scraps. Worms can eat half their body weight in organic matter in a day. Doesn't sound like much? What if you have three to five pounds of worms wriggling in your bins? See, that's a lot of table scraps, people.  Usually, the days I process fruits or veggies for freezing or dehydrating is feeding day. I don't have a large enough outfit to compost everything we dispose of...yet.

These quiet garden helpers hang out inconspicuosly in the front yard on what is supposed to be a dining table that gets mostly gardening use. There is no smell and they really need very little attentions. Every couple weeks I empty out the bottom drain and feed my plants safe, natural liquid fertlizer.

It can be fairly inexpensive depending on the set up you choose -and there are many and varied to pick from - but be sure to remember the make and model if you need to expand your set up. I found our set up on sale with free shipping, I think it was somewhere around $70. I added a few more bins later on (that's why it's helpful to remember the brand/type you bought!). The worms proliferate all on their own after your first batch. If you end up with too many you can help a neighbor set up their own wormery or use them for bait. It's a great way to make your own organic fertilizer, dispose of scraps and maybe even throw in a homeschooling lesson.

If I've piqued your interest in starting your own worm farm here are some helpful links:
http://www.redwigglerworms.com/
http://www.finegardening.com/how-to/articles/worm-composting.aspx
http://www.amazon.com/Tray-Compost-System-Factory-Terracotta/dp/B000S6LZCS
http://www.savvygardener.com/Features/worm_composting.html

Todays happenings

A few days ago i noticed some critters taking up residency in my worm house. The worms were staying mostly on the bottom tier and black fly maggots and ants were taking up the middle and top tiers. I did some research and though the wormies didn't seem to be bothered by the ants or maggots I decided to evict them anyway. I took off the top 2 tiers and dumped the stuff in a bucket. Then spent the better part of an hour rescuing the worms from the compost. Fun stuff.

My girls "helped" by overseeing the project, naming the worms as they came out of the garbage and having me put worms in their gloved hands as they came out, pretending to be worm doctors. They did help me pick out the stray maggot that got mixed in with the worms so that was good. That being done we cleaned out the trays and put in new bedding and foods for them.

I ordered a few additional trays and coconut coir which should be here soon. I have a kitchen composter on my wish list for next payday so I won't have to run out everytime I have scraps. I think that was the issue i had with the maggots and ants; too much food scraps and not enough browns and greens. This way I can schedule time to properly add scraps to the bins when my inside bucket is full.

I also have a little family of really scary looking bugs eating my tomatos. The daddy at least flies which is kinda scary as he's almost 2" long and has a huge needle on his face which he sticks into the tomatos and makes yucky yellow spots on them. I'm not really interested to see if he'd use it on me. They just hatched a bunch of little red babies ugh. As much as I love babies I really don't care for bugs much, especially the harmful kind. I'm trying so hard with these plants this year (my first year) but I keep learning what NOT to do or what will go wrong.

After we came in we made lunch, I brewed my coffee for the week and am now making homemade ice cream in my kitchenaid ice cream maker. Coffee toffee caramel crunch (my own concoction; a decaf coffee cream base with Heath bars, raw pecan pieces and caramel swirl. Ok, so not totally healthy, but I'm not sure anyone has attributed health with ice cream. I do point out the fact that there are fewer chemicals in my mix and I do use light cream and fat free milk. This quart will last me a few weeks also. Ok, so enough justifying. I highly recommend Ben and Jerry's ice cream book. Not only does it tell you the how but the why of ice cream and sorbet making.

Today is also supposed to be bread baking day though I'm not sure if it'll get done as laundry day is screaming at me for attentions. Oh and bathroom cleaning day is also vying for my time.