Anarchapulco Farm, Garden Update 8: We got WORMS

This is just a little garden update, as not much other than watering has happened for awhile.  Lots of plants have died to be honest, and the garden is in need of revamping.  Between glass orders and the conference, we just didn't find the time to get any work done.  Newly inspired with seeds, we've started looking towards the garden again.  Many who follow our garden adventures are aware of the fact that we just HAVEN'T been able to find worms here, not in the dirt or stores or anywhere.  Today we got 2 kilos, one of each kind of worm we now have available to us. 

This fact isn't necessarily suprising as earthworms aren't native to North America, regardless of how prevalent they may be in the United States.  Here they just don't survive unless pampered, so we knew we had to find a source of such pampered worms.  We found it through a local health foods store, Verde Pistache who has connections to local organic farmers.  He could get us the worms, but they wouldn't be cheap.  They actually ended up being pretty damn expensive, 700 pesos a kilo and most of that kilo was dirt.  There were worms, healthy worms.  Considering the fact that we hadn't seen a worm in more than a year, we are happy regardless.

Rebel dog helped with the preparation of the worm bin this morning, as we intend on starting our own worm farm.  All it takes is fluffy medium and finely shredded cardboard, which is where Rebel came in.  Add a bit of water and it was ready for the worms to come home. 

We got them home and John got to work distributing the worms to predetermined areas.  They instantly seemed happier as they were kept in honestly too heavy of a dirt medium, so I think they'll thrive in their new home.  My biggest concern is the ants, who have a love for squishy bodied bugs like my worms.  I have a feeling that the prevalence of biting ants is the reason that there isn't really much for worms and things of that nature.

We'll feed them both cardboard and kitchen scraps.  They will grow, reproduce and produce fertilizer in the form of excrement.  Anyone that knows anything about organic farming understands that worm castings is one of the BEST soil amendments available because the best soils are made when they're full of worms.  Their bodies process the nutrients and excrete them in a form that is bioavailable to plants. This means they can absorb them directly, which is best for plants.

This is something we lacked this past year here in Mexico, gardening literally is not the same without it.  We were starting to get to the point we were considering having someone smuggle us some, but this source came through.  With any luck, we'll have lots to share on this little worm farm. Stay tuned for more garden articles, thanks for reading!