I have wanted to compost forever but was just too lazy or confused, (or is that dazed and confused?) as how to start and how to keep the dogs out. Then, I saw this YouTube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIyEQoxgocY
and besides wanting to move next door to this woman, yes in Australia, I thought that this looked doable! So, follow along to see the evolution of our "chateaux des wormies"!
First, get a Godfather that, when you say, "Hey, I was thinking of making a composting worm tunnel." replies, "I have some PVC tubing and a drill. Let's do it."
We drilled about 15 holes all around the bottom 2/3 of the PVC pipe.
Then, find a beautiful spot in your garden and dig a hole
that is deep enough to cover all of those worm holes.
I forgot the other important part of the Godfather requirement;
make sure he has some good manure laying around.
Howard the Steer was our manure producer.
He did a superb job. So, PVC tube is in the ground, manure goes in the tube:
Photo credits: Dominic Zappia. So, manure, then Hey! Hay! Sorry...
The kids were more than happy to help with the hay, the manure? Not so much.
After the hay is the best part of all...
My Godfather said not to waste our money on "compost worms" because they are really
the same this as red leaf worms. Our local bait shop had both "red" and "leaf" worms, so
I went with the "leaf". Aren't they beautiful?
Manure, hay, we threw in a bit of dirt, then the WORMS!
Happy worms.
Now, something that we have been cooking up for our dream worms on our counter...compost!
My patient husband was a bit grossed out, but this compost was nice and warm on its own!
When we threw it in, it was steaming!
Yummy! Well, at least the worms thought so.
Some dry leaves and stems for good measure...hay after that.
And then the question of how to cover it so air can get in, but Jerry and other critters can not.
For now, Sophia came up with the idea of plastic wrap so we can see what's happening:
Eventually, we are going to get a mesh and a pot to cover up the whole thing, just like my Australian friend recommended.
So there it is! Our worm tunnel is in the tomato plant section of our garden, so we are hoping for extra juicy tomatoes, fertilized by our wormy buddies.
One great result of the tunnel thus far is that the kids are eating even more fruits and veggies so that they can run out and feed the peels to the worms!
We will keep you posted as to how everything turns out.
Oh! And if you want the deluxe, super-duper worm garden, you have to go back to the Godfather again and ask for a totem animal/night watchman.
No one messes with our attack bunny!
Happy Spring!
Jessica and Family
this sucks shit
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