Worm News

The cute guy and I visit the humane society regularly. We flirt with cats and cruise the dogs. And then we go home. To the worms.

Worms are the best pets. They don't leave hair on the couch or need to go on walks. There's no barking, no grooming. And their poop is succinctly contained. It's even good for the garden I've read.

Not that I've put worm poop on the garden. I used the liquid run off last year. In the beginning it was a green revolution. I saturated the lawn with my version of worm tea. And then the roses began to turn yellow, drop leaves. The pepper plants began to perish. Which I thought meant everything needed more of the undiluted, unaerated worm bin runoff I called tea. (Yes, I should have read something first. Anything. But I was excited.) The yard is still recovering and the liquid from the bin now goes down the drain.

But the worms, the worms are flourishing. I've done nothing but feed them our produce skins and trimmings since they arrived a year and a half ago. This summer they ate everything from the kitchen plus the back yard bad apples.

When I need an animal or farm fix I dig in the worm bin. Not long ago I was in a recurring I want a plot of land funk and lazily raking through carrot tops in the bin. With the headlamp turned on high I flipped the shell of half a melon and nearly peed my pants. I was Faye Ray in the hands of King Kong. There were hundreds, it seemed like thousands, of worms knotted together beneath the rind. I had no idea.

Did I say they were big? They were really big.

I snapped the lid back on the bin; checked it twice. And gave getting a cat some more consideration.

The cute guy suggested a second worm bin. I'm liking his idea.

6 comments:

Tricia said...

Oh no! I've been watering diluted 'worm wee' straight onto my garden for ages.

It's my much loved morning ritual. I wander out with my cuppa and collect the days wee and after dilluting wander around the garden selecting just a few plants to water. :-( So this is not good? Off to read more. Thanks for bringing to my attention.

Kelly said...

no no. Its not the worm wee! Arck! maybe its just to alkaline for your soil and for the type of plants??? need to dilute it... top up with other nutrients that are missing...Tipping it is making my heart bleed. lol

Kale for Sale said...

Tricia - Don't stop your ritual. The nursery where I bought the worm bin does exactly what you're doing too. With success. I've read that it's fine, that's it terrible, not worm pee at all but vegetable rot juice, that you have to aerate it, add syrup of some sort and another website said that worm tea doesn't even work. In my yard the undiluted runoff didn't work which could mean it was too strong, or vegetable rot or who knows. I'm just happy the worms eat the kitchen trimmings.

Kelly - I know. The first time I tipped a container down the drain I hurt too. Now I just do it. You're right, I should have diluted it. My sense is I'm getting vegetable rot juice and not the good worm juice though and if I poured water and drained that from the bin I would get to the the good stuff to dilute for the garden. But the bin is in a perfect cool spot and doesn't ever get dry and I'm reluctant to add water even if I drain most of it. The bottom line is the bin is working with such little care and one day I will harvest the castings to forgive all this liquid dumping.

Kelly said...

ps.vege rot juice is good for the garden too! grin

Tricia said...

OK...I'm feeling relieved. i'm gonna continue watering with diluted worm wee. My plants seem to love it.

Kale for Sale said...

kelly and tricia - My new word is dilute. I'm going to pick one plant, dilute and try again.