Hello ALL! Lainey here for the next edition of what I like to call a “Pandemic Pause”. I am finally learning how to cook and garden with the real focus on vegetarian and vegan farm to table recipes. With Goat Yoga on hold in the world, we need to put our creative energy into positive things that will help our mind, body and soul get through this. I’m afraid it’s going to be a long road and I’m not sure if Goat Yoga will be back this year, but I do think that on the other end, we’ll have a lot of people that need to smile and laugh and disconnect from stress. Until then…
Those of us who have goats should know that the goat poo is like black gold to gardeners. Every time you clean out that barn, you should be saving the compost. I have been collecting mine since I first got the goats and it is now a mound of black compost chock full of worms. I give this to my friends and family to use in their gardens and they brag every year about how much better their gardens produce using it.
This year, I am learning how to do vermicomposting. “Waste Not, Want Not” is a smart attitude during pandemic times. Is money tight? Have you lost your job? Growing your own food gives you inexpensive nutrition. Throwing away kitchen scraps is wasteful. You could use composting worms to turn trash into organic fertilizer. This fertilizer will help plants grow big and strong, without added chemicals. Free fertilizer for your garden and container plants is a good thing in these trying times. Worms are the superhero’s! You do not even need a big space. You could even do this on your patio if you live in a small space. This is how I started:
The worms will multiply if they are healthy and happy! They double their population every 90 days. It’s very expensive to purchase this from a garden center so if you have the supplies, it doesn’t really take a lot of time. You just set it up and they do their thing! We reap the benefits when are gardens start producing an overabundance of organic produce! (That’s me being optimistic since I am a newbie at gardening!)
FUN FACTS:
Do worms have eyes? NO! They are very sensitive to bright light and therefore they try to hide when exposed.
Where is their mouth? The worms’ mouth is in the first anterior segment.
Do they have teeth? Red Worms have no teeth for chewing food. They grind food in their gizzard by muscle action.
If a worm is cut in two, will it grow back? It depends on where the cut took place. If a worm is cut at the posterior end, sometimes a new tail will grow back on. Sometimes a second tail will appear next to a damaged tail. However, the posterior half of the worm cannot grow a new anterior (head.)
I have been fascinated with worms since I was a kid. I would play outside and after the summer rain, there would be earthworms everywhere! I used to find them and immediately pull them in half. I know this sounds terrible, but I thought I was making MORE worms! Sadly, I was not. I still feel guilty about that, but I really did think I was doing a good thing.
Maybe you are learning how to do something new that you never made time for. Tell me about! Have questions? Email me at lainey@goatyoga.net
Tags: composting for gardens, first time gardening, gardening, gardening 101, gardening for beginners, goat poop fertilizer, how do I do vermicomposting, learn vermicomposting, learning how to garden, organic fertilizer, organic gardening, pandemic gardening, vermicast, vermicompost, vermicomposting, worm farm