On Wednesday, July 8th, Mr. Raj's friend Kanti came to work with us and explain vermiculture-growing worms in containers. Worms are interesting creatures. Redworms live in the top layer of the soil. They 'eat' organic matter and digest it and make it into rich 'worm castings,' which can be used to grow plants in, fertilize plants, or mix with water to make 'tea' and water/fertilize at the same time.
You put some worms in a bin with holes drilled in it for ventilation. Bedding material can be shredded newspaper or dry leaves or things like that. Some fresh organic matter (fruit peels, apple cores, vegetable waste, etc)is put in and worms added. The worms eat the organic matter, produce castings, multiply, and in a few weeks you have a great source of organic fertilizer. Of course, you keep adding organic matter and bedding every week or so.
Mr. Mark brought in the Sunday NY Times magazine section. It had an article featuring Will Allen of Growing Power in Milwaukee, WI. Growing Power has several hoop houses with worm bins, lettuce pots, fish tanks. They grow and sell over $250,000 worth of materials each year. Who would have thought?
