A pound of my super composting Red Wigglers is now in MaMa Bear Oden’s hands! Mrs. Oden is the proud, happy owner of MaMa Bear Oden’s Preschool in Bend. Vermiculture is just one of the school’s highlights. The preschool inspires the children to make healthy, earth loving choices with MaMa Bear’s guidance. These learning centers are valuable, and I applaud MaMa Bear!
Some of the school’s features include:
•non-toxic cleaners
•reducing, reusing and recycling
•no waste Arts and Crafts center
•daily walks to the community playground
•organic garden
Role modeling earth loving choices will create healthy kids and a healthy planet!
Happy Valentine’s Day! A heart shape is the universal symbol of LOVE. It in no way depicts the image of a human heart. That’s a relief! I wouldn’t want to open a human heart shaped box of chocolates. Although, I am sure there are some people who would find that appealing.
In the worm world, these wonderful earth loving creatures have five blood pumping organs in their tiny, hard working bodies. I wouldn’t exactly call them organs, though. They are more like bands which contract and release and preform similar functions as a human heart. But the worms’ hearts do not fill up with blood the way humans do, they just squeeze the two blood vessels which help to circulate the blood through out the body.
Check out the illustration! You can see the 5 hearts and the two blood vessels, ventral and dorsal. I grabbed this picture off of a cool site, Kingston Worm Farm. They too are spreading the word of the worm.
Also, it would be nice to show your Red wigglers some love. Feed them something sweet. Maybe you have some strawberry tops left over after you feed your loved one some strawberries dipped in chocolate or smothered in whip cream!
Centipedes are part of the decomposition cycle and will be found in a worm bin. I really get the shivers when I see these guys skittering along the bedding. Most likely it’s because of their pincers and fast moving tiny legs. These creatures won’t harm humans, but if there is an explosion in your worm bin they may harm or kill the Red Wigglers!
Cause: Centipedes like decomposing food and moist, dark environments like a worm bin. They do help speed up the composting process because they eat the food scraps! I think they have similar habits to those of the mites. If their is more food than the Red Wigglers can handle, they will show up to consume the food.
Treatment: Usually they won’t cause a problem unless there are a bunch skittering around the bin. If you notice a decrease in your Red Wiggler population and an increase in the centipede population, then there is a problem. When I see a centipede, I remove it from the bin and bury the food scraps underneath the bedding. Some sites recommend using a pesticide to kill the centipedes, but I wouldn’t. That would kill the Red Wigglers!
Legislators in Oregon will have a hearing on Tuesday to decide the fate of the plastic bag! I am in favor of banning the bag and being charged 5 cents for using a recycled bag. I have been using my own store bought bags for 2 years and have significantly reduced the amount of times I’ve had to use a plastic or paper bag. Occasionally, I do forget to bring in my bags when I go shopping and kick myself for forgetting them! With this 5 cent fee, I think I will force myself to bring in the bags! 5 cents add up!
Many of the naysayers believe banning the bags will result in the loss of jobs. What are your thoughts?
I love the fact that Red Wigglers munch on toilet paper rolls! They can eat many non food items like coffe filters, coffee grounds, egg shells, shredded moist newspaper, shredded moist computer paper, tea bags, paper towel rolls and toilet paper rolls. The paper products provide the carbon which the Red Wigglers need in order to survive in the worm bin. “Out in the wild” the decaying leaves and plants will provide the carbon. Since I am controlling the Red Wigglers environment, it is important for me to balance the amount of browns and greens that the worms are eating. When these non food items are in the worm bin, I will usually find the Red Wigglers in and around the toilet paper rolls. I do get a kick out of finding them nestled in between the rolls. It must be cozy and secluded…a place to nuzzle with each other. Maybe they need to find that special place “to get the job done”. hmmm? Yes? No? Maybe So?
I just put a roll in this morning and will take some pictures to show you how cute they look all snuggled together! First, I am going to let them get settled in and comfy.
A pound of my super composting Red Wigglers is now in MaMa Bear Oden’s hands! Mrs. Oden is the proud, happy owner of MaMa Bear Oden’s Preschool in Bend. Vermiculture is just one of the school’s highlights. The preschool inspires the children to make healthy, earth loving choices with MaMa Bear’s guidance. These learning centers are valuable, and I applaud MaMa Bear!
