Winter
Worm
Report
The weather is changing - warming temperatures, rain, days getting longer - soon it will be time to dig into the worms and see how they survived this winter.
This winter was different for me from any other winter so far, since I have started worm farming.
- We had an early, heavy snowfall in December which caught me unprepared to carry my worms into the colder months of winter.
- Time constraints kept me from working the worms properly in the fall to prepare the bins for winter.
- I had decided I wasn't going to spend time out working the worms in the winter months.
- I had decided to not harvest any worms for sale through the winter months.
The snow that fell in December is still on the ground and covers all of my bedding material with a thick, crusty snow. Today I thought the snow was melting enough that I could drive out the other half of my circular drive, but I almost got stuck.
But it's close. Soon I will be writing and or video taping my Winter Worm Report. So stay tuned.
Those of you who have asked to be put on a list for worm orders...you need to stay tuned too. If you are not on my list you will not recieve notification of when I am going to start harvesting worms in the spring.
I'm a little apprehensive, but the worms have never ceased to amaze me. They are resilient and can survive much neglect.
Talk soon,
Christy Ruffner
Wormnwomn
VermiCultureNorthwest.com
2 comments:
Hi Christy. Came across your blog in my search for maintaining a worm bin. I've wanted to start one for awhile. I also have a little guy, still pretty young but I'd like him to learn about this, too. We have THREE worms from a recent garden show that had children's seminars. Can you also use worms you find in the yard or is is best to order a particular variety?
Hi Gardeness,
The worms that are used to compost are not the same as the worms you will find in your yard. Soil dwellers do not eat as much as the composting worm and spend more time burrowing a hole and venturing out to grab small amounts of organic matter. Because of this they will not thrive in a composting bin where the material is being disturbed to incorporate air into the bedding.
The composting worm on the other hand spends all of it's time moving through the bedding/food stock, eating and pooping.
If you want to find your own red worms/composting worms you will need to look in piles of organic waste, i.e.. leaf piles and manure piles. The red worms are generally smaller than the soil dwellers and have a small glowing tip at one end of their bodies. Harvest these and put them in your worm bin, they should do fine.
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