Winter Worm Report - Promised update

It's amazing how a worm responds to warmth, moisture, and food supply.

On the 20th I took my first look in the worms bins since November of last year. With the winter I had to deal with, there was simply no time or energy left, plus all my bedding was buried under about4 feet of snow.

Needless to say, the bins were a big downer for me as the worm population appeared to be almost non-existant. What was there were huddled in the corners and along the edges.

I brought them into the center of the bedding after turning everything for air, added fresh bedding, a little food stock and of course some moisture and low and behold, the worms come out of the woodwork.

They still need a little time to rebound, but it looks like I will be back in business relatively soon.

If you remember, I sent out a special notice to all my subscribers that the pricing on my website will be going up this year. I offered last years pricing to anyone who wanted to pre-order worms. A few of you took me up on that offer. You will be hearing from me soon regarding your orders.

Now all I need is a little time to rework the website. I have new products to add as well which I am very excited about.

Also if you remember, I have mentioned a membership site. This will be highly interactive, educational, affordable and will include many bonuses you won't find anywhere else.

I am thinking seriously about making it an organic gardening membership site as I have much to share that goes beyond worms. But the worms will make the big difference between what my Worm Bin Academy will have to offer organic gardeners.

The VCNW monthly newsletter is due out soon, so all you subscribers, old and new, be on the look out for that. It will cover the second of a series of articles I am planning on AACT (Actively Aerated Compost Tea).

The bulk of the newsletter will be simple text from now on with a link to view online if you want to.

Well, just taking a break from the worm bins and I better get back before it gets any later. Just thought I'd take the opportunity to catch-up with you guys.

See you in a day or so with the VCNW newsletter. If you haven't subscribed yet you can go here and get on the list. Do it now and you may still be able to see the last newsletter before it gets replaced with the next one.

Peace,

Christy
Wormnwomn
http://www.vermiculturenorthwest.com

Winter Worm Report - Updates to Follow

Here we are, first day of spring 2009. Winter has been long and hard. Snow hit very heavy just before Christmas and I wasn't quite ready.

Things look bleak for the worms, but if there is one thing I have learned is that it always looks worse than it is. But only a few days will tell.

I will be out there watering every day to bring the bin back into moisture range for the warmer weather.

I turned the bin and the bedding was pretty dry. Most of the worms were congregated in the corners and along the edges of the bin.

I have added food waste and fresh bedding and will water on a regular basis and watch closely.

The bedding material, which has been under a heavy layer of snow until recently (days) is the perfect moisture level and there are worms working away deep in the pile. Always good to see critters in the bedding, especially worms. That's a pretty good indication the bedding is habitable, don't you think.

I'll keep you all posted as things progress. I know a lot of you are looking for worms. I won't be harvesting for a while and when I do I have a few orders that were placed to get my old pricing as the website will be getting an overhaul and new pricing will be going into effect.

I'm excited for the 2009 season. I have some special videos planned, the first one being on brewing compost (worm compost) tea. This is to follow up on my latest newsletter.

For now, that's it. We will talk soon.

Compost Tea - the real story

My next newsletter, due out soon (it's already late), will be about "Worm Tea".

With the gardening season just around the corner, there is a lot of talk about "tea" and a good deal of it is not coming from people who have done thorough research. As a matter of fact I wonder if any research has been done at all.

My initial thought was to find some good information on YouTube I could share, that someone else had already put out there, but there wasn't anything that I found that I could conscientiously share with you. None of it had any evidence of any research behind it. And real "Compost Tea" has a great deal of science behind it.

There is a lot of good scientific information available on "Compost Tea" and the value it has in gardening and landscape applications. But bad or incomplete information can do more harm than good when it comes to the reputation of such a product, or a similar product made improperly.

I am planning a series of articles/videos that will explain the science of "Compost Tea" , the value of properly made "Compost Tea", and how to properly make "Compost Tea".

There are experts in this field who have explored the science and verified the findings. And while Nature has a way of using all levels of healthy biology for the good of life on earth there is value to understanding the why behind every level of success.

In other words, why does the compost tea from a simple home made tea brewer made from aquarium pumps and air stones work when applied to the soil or plant and how does using a properly designed worm tea brewer improve the process?

So stay tuned and I will share what I know and the valuable resources where I got my information.

Happy Worming,

Christy
Wormnwomn
http://www.vermiculturenorthwest.com/