Vermiculture

I pulled Hollywood out of STAR testing for several reasons. None of which I need to discuss openly here but if you want more info let me know. We (me) wanted to do something educational while they were out for 3 hours a day for 3 days this week. I had always wanted to make a "worm box" so we did a little research and got some rubbermaid bins and got started.

Tuesday: Drilled holes for the worms to "breath" and the air to circulate. I had never used a drill before. It was kind of cool to do that. I drilled holes around the top, just under the lip of one 18 gallon rubbermaid container and then in the bottom for the "worms" to drop down into the second comtainer and for the "worm tea" to collect into the bottom. I did drill some holes about 3 inches above the bottom of the outer container so it could get some air circulation too. We made some fruit salad with pineapple, apples, kiwi, banana and other fruits for our afternoon snack. We shredded newspaper for some bedding and have started collecting food in a seperate bowl to put in the compost bin.

The kids started writing up their information packet to present to their class including what they needed and what they did that day.

Wednesday: We went to The Worm Farm today. Mark showed us around and talked to us about Vermiculture. We learned lots of neat things about red earthworms and how they live and reproduce. We learned how, when and what to feed them and we learned how to keep them happy in their little "worm farms" we'll keep at home. Worm bins do not cultivate protien, starchy processed carbohydrates, oils or dairy products. Although they could probably survive, it sure would stink! Worms do LOVE fruits and vegatables. They really like melons and bananas because they are soft and they can drink the juice out of them. We enjoyed out trip out there and couldn't believe how much information Mark gave us in an hour.

We came home and the boys wrote down what they had learned today. They played a little in the field then back to school they went. Tomorrow will be the last step in the "STAR" testing days off so we will drop the worms into their seperate bins (one at the Wilhelm family "farm" and one at the Mickelson family "farm"). We will need to dampen the newspaper, place the worms in the bin then cover them up with the shredded peices, we will feed them and put the worm bin in a safe place so they can eat.I hope by the end of the year that the boys can bring their bins to school to show the finished project.