Sunday, April 20, 2008
link to the Manassas Journal Messenger article
http://www.insidenova.com/isn/news/local/article/seton_video_wins_contest/7162/#
Sunday, April 06, 2008
red wigglers
As Betty said, we are venturing into the farming business: worms, red wigglers, natures composters! And all under the kitchen sink, how about that? 500 worms are on the way, and Betty and I will divide them when they arrive.
Although there are 4000 species of earthworms, only 3 are composting worms. We are getting Eisendia Fedia, the common red wiggler worm. In general red wigglers produce 3-4 cocoons/week, and each cocoon produces 3 worms. From cocoon to adulthood takes about 5 months. So while they do reproduce it will not be at an alarming rate!
Our foray into vermicomposting begins with a worm bin. I am using a plastic container that was originally designed to hold photographs. Since it is long and narrow, it will slide easily under the sink. Today Peter and I will drill several holes in the bottom (the drill battery is currently recharging) The worm bin will sit on a tray which will be covered with aluminum foil for any drainage, and will be raised a bit off the tray as well to allow the container to drain easily. We will put some shredded, dampened newspaper into the bin as a bedding. Once the worms arrive (hopefully this week), we will feed them with household garbage: eggshells, potato peelings, apple cores, even stale bread etc,. It is a good idea to shred or pop the lot into a blender first. Not to toss in: cheese, butter, meat or oily products, and orange peelings. Also, keeping fruit to a minimum will reduce the fruit fly problem, as well as covering everything with damp newspaper. Red wigglers eat 1 to 1 1/2 times their weight every day.
Each time you feed the worms, you top with a layer of additional bedding, and moisten overall.
Soon the worms will begin to reproduce and produce "black gold compost" for the gardens! I am looking forward to seeing "the quiet multitudes" and beginning the farm venture. Although Johnny, Laura, Mimi, and Teresa have expressed their doubts and derision, Jeanne and Peter are excited, too. Kenny is amused :-).
More news from the farm as it develops....
bumblebee facts and possibilities
This morning while reading the lovely book, "A Blessing of Toads" by Sharon Lovejoy I enjoyed the beautiful prospect of our garden filled with bumblebees this summer! Some interesting facts:
1) bumblebees are named from the the Middle English word bumblen (to hum), in German the bees are called "hummels", and latin Bombus.
2) they have a higher metabolic rate than hummingbirds, with wings beating more than 200 times a second--isn't that amazing?
3) they are wonderful pollenators, and are invaluable guests in greenhouses.
4) they will be out and about on the coolest, wettest days and are found far north in the alpine regions.
5)skunks are one of the few animals that find bumblebees tasty, stings and all.
6)bumblebees nest in abandoned mouse nests, and can be encouraged to set up housing in a buried teapot or an overturned clay pot with a hole drilled in the side and a piece of slate on the top. bumblebees like nesting materials of dried grasses and lint.
7) the queen bumblebee sets up housekeeping in the spring when she emerges from hibernation and the colony she produces survives only one season.
8) the honey that a bumblebee colony produces is eaten by the newest members as they develop.
9) the pollen basket (corbicula) on the back legs of the queen and workers is surrounded by inward-curving hairs to hold the pollen in place. A bumblebee can carry a load of pollen 20 percent of its body weight, as Lovejoy says, that's a lot of groceries in one basket!
Last summer Ken's basil garden attracted many bumblebees, I wonder how many had nests nearby? This year I will try to entice some queens with a teapot or two or an overturned clay pot, and look forward to our new neighbors!
1) bumblebees are named from the the Middle English word bumblen (to hum), in German the bees are called "hummels", and latin Bombus.
2) they have a higher metabolic rate than hummingbirds, with wings beating more than 200 times a second--isn't that amazing?
3) they are wonderful pollenators, and are invaluable guests in greenhouses.
4) they will be out and about on the coolest, wettest days and are found far north in the alpine regions.
5)skunks are one of the few animals that find bumblebees tasty, stings and all.
6)bumblebees nest in abandoned mouse nests, and can be encouraged to set up housing in a buried teapot or an overturned clay pot with a hole drilled in the side and a piece of slate on the top. bumblebees like nesting materials of dried grasses and lint.
7) the queen bumblebee sets up housekeeping in the spring when she emerges from hibernation and the colony she produces survives only one season.
8) the honey that a bumblebee colony produces is eaten by the newest members as they develop.
9) the pollen basket (corbicula) on the back legs of the queen and workers is surrounded by inward-curving hairs to hold the pollen in place. A bumblebee can carry a load of pollen 20 percent of its body weight, as Lovejoy says, that's a lot of groceries in one basket!
Last summer Ken's basil garden attracted many bumblebees, I wonder how many had nests nearby? This year I will try to entice some queens with a teapot or two or an overturned clay pot, and look forward to our new neighbors!
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