![]() She’s getting up there in age now so we take our time. ![]() Often I will walk to the farm office under the light of the Moon with Clo following close. She, like all dogs, is a descendant of the wolf. No different than when we are walking in the woods and she decides to suddenly tree some evasive varmint. She sits by the large window of our small back porch, staring up into the moonlit winter night sky - appearing as if possessed by the inexplicable. I known it has arrived when our lab - “Clo” - howls and barks at it for most of the night. It rose on the 17th of this month lighting up the night sky like an incoming comet. There has got to be more than a zillion, and our plants really dig their poop. There is no telling how many worms are working their mojo on the farm now. When enough worm compost has accumulated, we just move the food source farther down the line and the worms follow - leaving behind the black gold. It helps in allowing the worms to move freely from the food source back to drier more comfortable humus conditions. If you take a look at our pics you’ll notice we use the natural lay of the land - such as an earth bank facing north. So good drainage is key and north facing slopes are good. FYI: Worms will die if they cannot escape temperature around 95 degree Fahrenheit, and they will drown if things become water logged. ![]() Mainly, an initial stress reducer from the heat of the sun, and Red Wigglers are terrible swimmers. We laid cardboard over the top of the finished bed to shade heat from the sun and to help shed heavy downpours of rain. We added the 5# sack of worms, and then top dressed it with discarded vegetables. Our first bed started with a wheel barrow or 2 or 3 of loamy shiitake log compost as a base about 6 inches deep. We began in late March - being it is the “Worm Moon” month. Years ago, we started with red wigglers purchased from Uncle Jim’s about a 5# sack if I remember right. This essentially consists of discarded vegetable waste, along with spent shiitake logs. Now, with that said, here on the farm we use what is available. Essentially our composting is just a much bigger version of what any homeowner can do. If you check out the links, it will save me a whole lot of time explaining what others have already discovered, in great detail, and I can do other things like farming. And, around here, these little critters work their wiggle through mountains of discarded produce and spent shiitake logs turning the combination into black gold. Worm beds provide an invaluable source of rich compost. Life on earth, as we know it, could not exist without earthworms. Setting into mysterious motion “The rise of the earthworm”. The full moon of March is called the “ Worm Moon” arriving on the 18th of this month.
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