"Raising worms for their poop."
I was going to link to some educational sites, so those of you not already acquainted with vermiculture, or worm composting, could decide for yourselves if I was cracked or not. You can google it. I have gotten most of my information at redwormcomposting.com, but there are a surprising number of places online to learn about worms as pets!
OK, they're not exactly pets. I don't hold them or pet them. But I do talk to them. :) Basically, you give them some kitchen waste (veggie only, no animal stuff, except egg shells are ok, and they don't like citrus, either) and they magically turn it into the best, absolute most nutrient-packed black gold plant food there is.
But how do you separate worms from their poop? You pour the gook onto some newspaper in the shape of a cone, and they naturally burrow to the center, where it's darkest. They hate light. Then you slowly take off the edges and top, and they keep going to the center. They you put the worms back into their house, with some new bedding (moist newspaper or such), and some more food. And you put the worm poop, or compost, onto your favorite vegetabel plants in the garden.
Viola.
2 comments:
Very interesting - I couldn't do it, worms gross me out and scare me...in fact, having them in your kitchen is throwing me into convulsions - no offense.
Separating the worms from their humus and the eggs from the hummus as a final stage before it could be used on plants was my major chore for the year we lived in the bungalow we rented in south Austin. I was 10 1/2 and almost 12. My father then sold or gave the humus to friends.
He built a very large bin, about eight feet long and four feet deep and four to five feet across to the garage wall. The eggs were placed in wooden vegetable flats with a bed of humus and we had to gently water them every couple of days. Grass clippings, fallen leaves, manure, peanut shells, wet garbage (no animal garbage) were placed in the outside bin. He was truly passionate about earthworms and organic gardening, which is pretty paradoxical when you consider that he was an exterminator for about five to six years. And he wasn't good with plants. My mother was. In Kanarraville, Mother always had a garden, and canned and they ate a lot of fresh vegetables. Her garden didn't compare with Carms's garden, which Chet always helped with; in a way it was both of their garden, but it was more Carma's because she planned it, chose the seeds, and made a phenomenal reputation for her cooking and canning.
He found a book in the library there in Austin, during that time, which he checked out, and never turned it in, because it was out of print and he wanted it. It was titled "Harnessing the Earthworm", written by a British guy. I looked it up on Alibris not long ago, when I first saw your project and they had only one copy and it was selling for about $170.00. So, I would say it should be brought back into publication. Acres Magazine has a big book store and I've seen a number of books that have been out of print for years and have been re-published. So there is hope.
Just thought you might be interested.innessid
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