From a few posts back some might remember me talking about my worm farm.
That worm farm has progressed into two - the worms have multiplied plentifully over the months, it's been quite a population explosion. And I've been enjoying putting our food scraps out into the farm, rather than chucking them in the bin. Makes you feel all virtuous ;o).
It's been a few months & I realised it was definitely time to start harvesting some of that lovely worm compost. Vermicast they call it. All the sites on the net talking about worm farms talk about this aspect with real pride - it's clearly something to look forward to. The chance to reap what you've sown, the fruits of your labours...the prize.
Nowhere on the net does it tell you that worm poo or vermicast as devotees lovingly call it, smells just as bad as poo from any other creature. Pongs. Reeks. Stinks. I thought my cat's poo was pretty stinky some days. Nothing prepared me for the smell of poo from my worm farm.
I'd been so clever - lured almost all of the worms down one end of the bin so I could get to the "compost" at the other end. A few remained, which meant I had to hand pick through the smelly, smelly worm poo to recover them & pop them back in with their cousins (well they must be fairly well inbred by now. I bet not even those first 1000 worms all came from different families).
A half hour later I had about six litres of "vermicast" & was pretty much over the smell. I had to get out. I had to get out immediately.
It's not a lot of compost - not when you have rhubarb & fruit trees. On the other hand I don't know if I could handle any more worm poo. I'm not really looking forward to next time. But there will be a next time. That insane feeling of virtuousness I get from not putting food scraps in the bin & recycling them into something for my garden demands I keep this worm farm thing going. Bokashi is just not quite the same somehow (though so much less smelly!).
It's not all sunshine & worm poo. I haven't been doing so flash lately & realised one of the side effects of my pain medication is feelings of intense sadness. Well then, that could explain it I guess. You can't have everything. Hopefully it will settle down with the rest of the side effects.
Since this post I've worked out my "vermicast" aka worm poo doesn't NEED to smell that bad, nor probably should it :o). It was easily remedied with extra calcium. Obviously the egg shells weren't providing enough. I promise the trays smell almost as sweet as roses now... :o)
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