Worm Composting Update

We have compost and more worms!

I have only been feeding my worms about once every 10 days since I didn’t have many worms and they were slow to eat.  Last time I fed them, I didn’t have time to play around in the bin to see what was going on in there.  I had moved them to the garage last week since it has been in the upper 80’s and lower 90’s here and I don’t really have anywhere in the yard that is shaded all day.

I went to feed them today and noticed that a couple were trying to escape, which usually isn’t a good thing since it can mean that the conditions aren’t up to par.  I dug around in there a little and noticed it was a little wet.  With the high temps and being a dark container, it was most likely due to condensation from when it was outside.  It wasn’t wet enough to drip out of the bottom, but still pretty damp.  I dug around and noticed there were worms everywhere.  Usually I would have to dig a little to find them and they’d all be clumped together.  This time they were all spread out and there were twice as many as before.  I didn’t see any babies, they all seemed normal sized, but I’m not sure how fast they grow.  Like I said, it had been almost a month since I had dug through it.  Also, the food that I put in there last time was gone and the corn cobs have disappeared.

There was also quite a bit of compost.  Not nearly enough to harvest yet, but enough that when you open it up and lift the bedding, you see what looks like dirt.  I’m pretty excited about that.  So today I cleaned out one of the crispers in the fridge and noticed some grapes that had got a little icky and had a little mold so the worms got a little treat today.

Garden update

I finally have tiny cukes and tiny green tomatoes.  I was starting to get worried since it seems like everyone else was starting to harvest theirs.  Part of my problem is that I didn’t fertilize until about 2 weeks ago and I should have done it from the get-go.  I finally remembered to pick up some organic fertilizer for my plants since it will be a couple of months before I get compost from my worms.

The worms are doing great.  I still haven’t seen any babies, but there are cocoons in there, so it should be any time.  There are lots of flies since I keep it outside, but they don’t seem to bother anything but me.  I just have to open the container and walk away for a second until they all fly out.  Then I’m free to poke around in there and feed the worms.   I have a couple of corn cobs in there and I read online that someone else put corn cobs in theirs and when they went to take them out (because they were taking too long to decompose), there were all kinds of baby worms hanging out inside the cobs.  Maybe that’s where mine are.  I did find a couple of earthworms when I was digging the new flower beds a couple weeks ago and put those in my containers of tomatoes and summer squash.

I picked up a couple more perennials today.  I was on a quest to get a trumpet vine to grow up the privacy fence on our deck.  I stopped at Lowes and they didn’t have any, but they did have some nice Lavender (Lavandula angustifloia ‘Hidcote’), Chocolate Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium rugosum ‘Chocolate’), and the hanging baskets of petunias were only $4.99, so I had to pick one of those up too.  Since Lowes didn’t have a trumpet vine, I stopped at another garden center that is a little more high end.  They didn’t have any either, but they did have an amazing Honeysuckle.  It was $59.99 so a little out of my league, but beautiful none the less.  I stopped at another flowershop/garden center and they had trumpet vines and they were even on sale!

When I got home I planted everything.  I’m kind of sad that I don’t have any more empty places to plant more flowers.  I am still planning on the big flower garden behind the garage, but I didn’t really want to start on that until late summer.  I might just have to get started on it a little earlier…

An Update

I dug two new flower beds today in the 85 degree heat.  I was dying when I was finished and had to step into the little kiddie pool in the back yard to cool off.  I thought about laying down in there, clothes and all, but I didn’t have a towel and didn’t want to drip my way through the house to find one.

Anyways, we have two bird houses at the back of our property line.  They divide our yard from the people behind us.  They’ve always looked a little awkward just sticking out of the ground on their wooden poles.  I’m grateful for them, don’t get me wrong.  I love the birds that live in them although, in the spring the bluebirds have nests in them and in the summer, the sparrows live there.  I don’t know if it’s the sparrows kicking out the bluebirds or if the bluebirds are just done.  Ok, back to my project.  I dug the sod out in a half circle shape around each one and planted a butterfly bush.  I’m sure the bird houses will be hidden by the butterfly bush one day, but I can’t wait for all of the butterflies and bees.  I’m sure the birds will get a tasty treat too when they feast on the bugs.

After the beds were planted, I added mulch to both and also the bed that I dug about a month or so ago.  It looks so much better back there now.

Jen tagged her readers for this:

1. Where is your cell phone? Charging
2. Your significant other? Downstairs
3. Your hair? Blah
4. Your mother? Home
5. Your father? Deceased
6. Your favorite thing? Family
7. Your dream last night? Unknown
8 Your favorite drink? Sweet Tea (I know it’s two words, but I couldn’t help it!)
9. Your dream/goal? Healthy
10. The room you’re in? Bedroom
11. Your hobby? Gardening
12. Your fear? Loss
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Here
14. What you’re not? Crazy
15. Muffins? Yum
16. One of your wish list items? Composter
17. Where you grew up? Clinton
18. The last thing you did? Read
19. What are you wearing? Pj’s
20. Favorite gadget? iPod
21. Your pets? Roaming
22. Your computer? Lifeline
23. Your mood? Headache
24. Missing someone? Dad
25. Your car? Awesome
26. Something you’re not wearing? Shoes
27. Favorite store? Ikea
28. Like someone? Jason
29. Your favorite color? Pink
30. When is the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? Hmmm

She also asked what everyone was reading, so I’ll answer her here.

I’m about 1/4 into Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky

I’m about 1/4 into Red River by Lalita Tademy

And about 1/2 way through Second Nature by Michael Pollan

I have a hard time just reading one book at a time.  I have books that I keep in my room, in the car, and down stairs.  So when I want to read, it just depends where I am as to what book I read.  I just finished re-reading all of the Little House on the Prairie books.  I love those books!