Slurp!

Holy Moly! I chowed this delicious acorn squash in, uh...., under a minute. More like 20 seconds, seriously. I had this amazingly tasty veggie all to myself. The kids were at school, and my hubby is on a mini vacay! Glad they weren't here to witness my slurping and totally awful manners!

This super veggie is loaded with bazillion amounts of Vitamin A which is super awesome for your skin. Today, I cooked it in the oven at 400 with about a cup of water in the dish. After 30 min, it was soft and ready to be inhaled. Before the feast, I doused it with 2 teaspoons of brown sugar. In the past, I have added butter and some maple syrup. Today, I skipped out on that stuff. It would have taken too much time to get all that out, and I was starving.

So now these scraps will be on their way to the wiggler bins. Just giving them a tidbit, a little teaser because in the next few weeks, they will be enjoying huge amounts of pumpkins and gords!

Artichoke RePost

Last night, Carlos and the kids made artichokes stuffed with Italian bread, garlic, parm cheese, parsley, oregano and some vegetable oil. We devoured the delicious goodness! Can't you tell by the picture!

As I was pigging out, I couldn't wait to share my scraps with the Red Wigglers. My buddy Kristi makes these often because her sweet daughter LOVES them. I find them often in the Neighborhood Community Bin for the Red Wigglers.

The Red Wigglers love them, and I wrote about them in April of 2009 after my first time feeding them. The post was short and sweet, but this is what it said...

Hey, guess what??? Worms love artichokes! Rotten ones and eaten artichoke skins (I think that's what they are).
They were all over them this afternoon! Yipee! cause I love them toooooo!

I fed a few of the wigglers last night and will make my way out to the larger bins this afternoon. I'll sprinkle a layer on top and give them a yummy treat. So next time you have some artichokes, feed the scraps to the wigglers. I didn't rinse mine to remove any of the stuffing, not there was a lot left after I got through with them.

What I'm trying to say is...Don't worry if there are remnants of stuffing. Go ahead and feed them to the Red Wigglers. A little bit won't hurt them. Everything in moderation!

Cleaned out the Fridge!

I try to clean out the veggie drawer weekly (lately it's more monthly) and remove the yucky fruits and veggies that are beginning to look like a science project! This week wasn't so bad. I suppose we have been eating a lot of fruits and veggies or maybe I didn't buy enough!

Rotting iceberg and red leaf lettuce and mushy grapes are now being eaten by my red wigglers. No matter how bad they look to us, the worms don't mind one bit. The nastier the better as long as there isn't a rotting smell because it will continue to smell in the bin.

Dinner for the family and of course, the red wigglers!!!

Tonight, as a request from the family, I made a favorite dish.

Sausage, peppers, onions and garlic on a loaf of fresh bread with melted cheddar cheese is a very filling, non diet type meal, but oh man is it tasty!

While I was washing the peppers, I thought about writing this blog to show the scraps that would be fed to the worms.

As I am typing this, I have to avoid looking at the picture because I am so full and the sight of the sausage is making my stomach turn. I am not much of a sausage eater and decided a few recipes ago to change from pork to turkey. In this dish, you really can't taste the difference. I think the veggies mask the flavor.

So after all of the slicing and dicing, this is what is left for the red wigglers. There is the onion's top and bottom and a bit of its outer layer. Although many vermicomposters say to avoid onions, I have found that maybe one onion a week is not so bad.

There is also the center and top stem of the peppers. When it's time for me to dump them into the worm bin, I will make sure to get rid of the seeds. Not that the seeds will harm the worms, they won't eat them and will be left behind in the compost.

I thought it would be cool to share the final, yummy dish. The picture looks odd to me!! Not too appealing, maybe because I ate so much of it and I am full!!

On a side note, not worm related, I grew up eating this awesome sandwich at Italian Feasts on Long Island many, many years ago. So many memories come rushing back each time I start cooking!

Till next time, Happy Wormin'

Back to where it all began!

Just a quick photo blog today! The mystery plant returning to the bin. Please refer to yesterdays blog if you're confused.

I yanked up the plant. Check out the length of the roots!
Broke the roots off so it wouldn't continue growing in the bin!
There was a veggie growing. I'm thinking it was a pumpkin.
I decided to break the vines into pieces to help the worms out a bit.
Back to where the seed started! Happy feasting wigglers! It's your turn now!!!

Party Plate Update

About 3 weeks ago, I was given a bin full of compostable cups and plates from a friend who hosted a pretty big party! I posted a blog and wanted to update the worms' progress with some photos!

Progress is pretty slow, and I think it's because I put the plates on the top of the bedding. I decided to replace the "newspaper" blanket with the wet party plates.

I do notice some worm casting on top of the plates so they are making their way to the top. The plates are still moist and rather flimsy so they are breaking down.

When I pulled the plates away, I was happy to see the worms feasting on the scraps. This is a good sign.

The plates are not deterring them from doing their good deeds!!

I will continue to update their progress!! So if you have compostable cups and plates, feed them to your red wigglers! Maybe tear some up and mix them in the bedding.

Happy worming!!!

Biodegradable Plates and Corn Cups into compost bin

I am trying something new in a worm bin today, adding biodegradable plates and corn based plastic cups. Some blogs and sites claim that it will take about 180 days to decompose. Some also say the corn based plastic cups will not be eaten by the worms and will just break down without them. I am not completely sure if the worms will speed up the process. Knowing that they speed up composting, I think they will do the same with this stuff.

The plates will probably be o.k. for the worms, and I will make sure they are moist before I put them in the bin. The cups, on the other hand, make me nervous. I don't trust the plastic. Even if they are corn based, they are still plastic.

I need to record the events! I tend to be a slacker!

Watermelons, Bowling and Worms

Play Outdoors is a cute kids store in Bend! They were having an outdoor party for kids a few weeks ago. Carlos saw an ad in our local paper and suggested I collect their damaged watermelons after "Watermelon Bowling"! After calling the store and getting the O.K. to pick up the watermelons, I thought..."Cool! My Red Wigglers are gonna be sooo stoked! They love watermelons!






Ana is ready to strike!
Gavin and Max are cheering her on!

Gavin, my nephew, is visiting over the summer. He could NOT wait to get his hands on a watermelon.

I love his expression!










This is actually Gavin's carnage! He asked if there were any rules and got the response he wanted!

"No Rules!!!! Except to have FUN!!!!

He was the first kid to smash a watermelon!











Gavin set the stage for complete wreckage!

After a week of feasting, all of these are gone!!!!!

Way, way cool! Yo! (just got back from NYC)

Lavabelles Worm Service

I have been tweeting and facebooking about my newest worm adventure. Lavabelles has joined the "Wormability" movement!
Lavabelles is a really neat business. They have renovated 8 homes built in the 1940's, I believe. I need to get the exact information from Cara, the head honcho. Each home is fully furnished with modern and turn of the century pieces. They can be rented for a night or as long as a month!

I was very excited when Cara wanted to expand her recycling efforts to include vermicomposting! Since this was my first gig with providing a worm service, I wanted to take my time researching to make sure this would be successful. With my camera in hand, I took photos of the property to find the best place for the worm bin and outside food scrap container. By the way, Carlos, my really talented, creative, designer husband, came along! He has an eye for this type of thing! Anyway, we found the spots, and then I was off to the stores to find the best containers. After a few hours, I found one for the kitchen and one for the outside.

This is what I found! This super cool stuff is on the kitchen counter in the "Flo" house. The container is for the preconsumed kitchen waste. Carlos created the "How to do the Red Wiggler" info poster which explains what the worms love and and hate to eat. There is also a condensed version on the counter, too.

Kudos to Carlos! Once again, he bangs things out and they look SWEEEEEET! Check out the stickers on the container.

After filling up the indoor container with food for the worms, it will be brought outside.

This is the outdoor food collection bin. I will be there every Monday to empty and sort the food for the worms. The renter does not have to worry about feeding the worms.

The last step of the composting process and my favorite, The Worm Bin. Not sure if you can see the combo lock there to the left of my logo. I assembled that nifty piece all by myself! It took me a few days and trips back to the house to ask Carlos how to work the drill, change the battery pack, and attach and detach all of the bits. Eventually, I was able to drill that sucker on!

I will be here once a week checking on my babies and making sure this operation runs smoothly! I am so excited to be doing what I love!!! There truly is nothing like it!

More to come.

Happy Worming.
The sun is finally making an appearance! I missed you!

Visit to Northwest Redworms

I went to Camas, Washington over Memorial Day weekend with my family to check out Doug's business Northwest Redworms. Doug is a really neat guy loaded with red wiggler information. His place is about 10 acres, and he has lots of chickens, too many to count, a cow named Mud, and some cats that wander around the place.

My visit's goal was to ask questions and to learn from his success. When we arrived, he was loading up a guy's pickup truck with worm castings. The castings were rich in color and actually looked like a batch that I recently harvested. Seeing the similarity, really got me excited. By the way, this guy drove from California just to get Doug's castings!!!

We then began the tour of his business. He had bins all over the place. Some were made from concrete molds and were about 5 feet long with holes on the bottom. Others were made from wood rescued from the landfill. He had bins under trees and bins under frost sheets. The coolest compost piles were the free standing ones filled with animal droppings. Figures I'd like that! He was testing Alpaca Poop, too. After getting the gloves, we got busy digging into the pile. It was loaded with red wigglers, and there was steam coming off the top. I was amazed! The worms were there. After all of the research with hot composting, I thought the worms would not survive. The pile also had veggie waste and yard debris mixed in with all of the poop! I have a client who wants to start composting her Alpaca poop and will definitely be able to steer her in the right direction. I am excited to share my new found knowledge with the worm loving community of Bend!

I need to stop here cause

1) I feel like I am a terrible writer
2) and I have a feeling no one is even reading this blog!

kinda negative on my part! but have to say what's in my brain!!!

more later..... I think LOL

Shredded Newspaper

Composting with Red Wigglers requires bedding material. There needs to be a mixture of green and brown waste. The green waste would be considered the veggie and fruits scraps and the brown waste would be the shredded newspaper/peat moss combination. In the past, I have been using a 50/50 combination for the bedding. This season I've changed the ratio to 75% newspaper and 25% peat moss. I want to mix it up a bit.

Making sure I do not have a lot of colored paper or the slick advertisements, I start the shredding process. Some vermicomposters like to use a paper shredder. I prefer to use my hands. Shredding the paper is very relaxing. I find myself day dreaming and traveling off to some tropical island. Any way! I wanted to share my new bedding material with you. I will keep you updated on the process and report if I made any changes.

Happy wormin'

First Wonder Worman Bin Delivery of the season

Actually I delivered two bins today minus the Super Composting Red Wigglers. The weather this week has been rather silly! On Sunday, it was near 70, and today it was close to 40! Yucky for sure. The weather was not ideal, and I did not feel comfortable setting my red wigglers into their new homes. The worms will be delivered in about 2 weeks. By then, I hope the weather has improved and the nightime lows are above freezing.

My clients were very excited to get the bins even without the worms, knowing they can still compost. Food waste will be tossed into the bin and will begin to break down. So when the worms do arrive, the bedding will have food scraps for them to eat.

I am excited for this season of vermicomposting. I am scheduled to be at the Earth Day Fair this Saturday 4/24 in downtown Bend at the Environmental Center. There will be many local Earth loving people there!! Come down and say "Hi".

More later! happy wormin'

Layering with newspaper

After browsing through my worm photos, I found this shot of me with my Super Composting Red Wigglers!

Boy, I have missed them during these cold winter days. I am feeding them, but not moving the bedding around too much as to not blast them with cold air. I am also not selling them until the weather warms up, probably March? I will keep the worm community posted!

Any way, back to the "Layering". Sorry, I got off topic. A common thing lately! Geez... So, when I feed the worms the various, yummy kitchen scraps from the day/week, I throw the waste on the top of the bedding then sprinkle a little bedding on top. Then I finally cover the bedding/waste mixture with wet newspaper.

The newspaper blanket, I believe, blocks out the light so the worms with come to the top to feed. Knowing that red wigglers are surface dwellers, I think this helps them feel more comfortable. When they are relaxed and less stressed, I think they will eat more and will have less indigestion.

I love these red wigglers and what they do for the planet! So I want to give them the best eating experience. LOL!!!

Last Worm Bin Delivery for the season!

This is it! The final delivery of the season! It was a cool one for sure, and one that I will remember for a while (well at least when I have the pictures as prompts...I need all the help I can get. The mind ain't what it used to be) On Monday, I took a pound of worms, a bin, peat moss, shredded newspaper, and my hubby to a Llama and Alpaca Farm. Marty, the human leader of the animals, greeted us with a huge smile and a hand shake. She lead us to the future home of the red wigglers, a renovated chicken coop that was invaded by racoons...Yikes. The chicken coop was already set up with a heat lamp and hay...perfect for a red wiggler set up in November. Totally cool! These guys love their llamas and alpacas and will soon love their red wigglers. Just look at that set up!
Here's a picture of hay which is above sheets of newspaper. This will keep the worms warm especially during the chilly Bend nights.
Doesn't this look yummmmmmy!!! Marty was all set with food scraps for the red wigglers. I put the rotting lettuce, celery, cucumbers and squash on top of the bedding and covered the scraps with the sheets of newspaper (another good use for USA today). I use the newspaper to keep the red wigglers contained to the food area so they won't travel up through the hay. In the summer this helps reduce fruit flies.

Marty's goal is to reduce her food waste and to also compost her llama and alpaca waste. I don't have experience with animal waste so she is my test case. We will be chatting a bunch to see how the red wigglers are doing. I am excited to see what happens!!

Potato lovin' Worm

I was visiting my other bins today because not much has changed in bin #1, at least no change that was photo worthy! I love this picture for so many reasons.

- check out the stripes on the the Red Wiggler. They are also called tiger worms and their scientific name is eisenia foetida, love that name.

- look at the way it wrapped itself around the potato! so cool. This potato may be here a while.

- it's just one, lonely worm hanging out!

Day 7: Is This Appealing to YOU?

What an unusual day! Bend got about 4 inches of snow! I did not want to disturb the Red Wigglers but had a bunch of kitchen waste that needed to go some where! Usually if we have a lot of snow, I don't bother the worms and leave the snow on top of the bins for natural insulation. I felt comfortable about going in the bins because this weeks forecast will be in the mid 60s.

The worm bin bedding is at 50 degrees. It has dropped 12 degrees. When the bedding is at 40 degrees, I will insulate the bin with hay.

I didn't think the worms would be this active. I pulled away the watermelon which was very, very mushy and saw this!! The worms were underneath feasting on the watermelon. Not much has changed with the other food waste.

I look forward to seeing the change when the temperature rises this week.

Happy Wormin'

Day 6: Is This Appealing to YOU?

Yesterday was too cold for me to go outside and check the bins! Seriously the morning temp was 30, and I didn't want to disturb the worms! So today, Wednesday, I headed out there excited to see their progress. They were busy eating away at all the waste. You can see 2 worms above.



The temperature did drop to 58 in the bin. The water melon is breaking down. Notice the change of color on the rind. It is turning brown.


I spy two worms? Can you? I also spy an egg cocoon! Can you?
I will show you more tomorrow!

Happy wormin'

Day 4: Is This Appealing to YOU?

Blah, is all I can say about this one! Well, ick and gross come to mind too! I pulled back the watermelon to see what was going on underneath. The worms do scatter!

Things are moving along rather slowly this week. It may be due to the cooler weather we have been having! Wow today at 6p.m. it was 45! Yikes, fall is here. The worms are slowing down for sure. I still think this mush will be gone in a week!

see ya tomorrow!

Friends of Wonder Worman

Local shops in town like, Big Island Kona Mix Plate, thump coffee, and Riley’s Market provide tasty scraps for pick up. These scraps are put to good use and let the Super Composting Red Wigglers get a taste variety.

I support Big Island Kona Mix Plate, a local family owned restaurant, in their efforts to make their restaurant “greener”. Also, Big Island Kona Mix Plate no longer uses styrofoam plate-ware, which further reduces their contribution to the landfill.

Thump coffee, is a really cool coffee shop downtown (family owed as well), has an ample supply of used coffee grounds that can be used in your garden or compost pile. When my Super Composting Red Wigglers need a little pick-me-up I stop by the shop just before closing and pick up the goods.

Riley’s Market, another family owned business, located in NorthWest Crossing, offers among other things, fresh organic locally grown produce, a variety of delicious sandwiches and tasty baked goods. When time takes its toll on the produce and bakery items at Riley’s Market, I am called in to take the goods to my trusty sidekicks! My Super Composting Red Wigglers are more than happy to do their part! What a great treat!

What’s on the Menu for Red Wigglers?

What’s on the menu today for Wonder Worman’s Super Composting Red Wigglers? There’s Red Leaf lettuce, banana peels, strawberries, oats, pasta, rice and spinach, among other things – Food scraps from the last couple of days. If you have kids and are looking for ways to get them even more excited about having Red Wigglers, make a project out of feeding your worms by creating a “soup” out of food that would normally go to waste – but still a good source of food for your Red Wigglers (Moldy bread? Bring it on! Rusty Lettuce? Yum!). Before putting this mix into the bin, add a bit of water to prevent any moisture from being absorbed by the mix from the existing bedding. Bon Appetit!