Now Leasing

My worm farm arrived a few days ago, but with all the chaos surrounding the steps going on, it sort of got lost in the dust. 

Look at the cute little hand rake that came with it!  The worms should arrive tomorrow-- they shipped out of Portland, OR yesterday.  I and several kiddos on my street are eagerly awaiting the mail delivery.  I'll be getting the condo ready for leasing tonight...

Promote Global Worming

I ordered my Worm Farm today -- (thank you Peggy for the Christmas gift card!)

Here is a photo of one very similar to the one I ordered from Happy D Ranch:

I couldn't grab a photo of the actual one, because Happy D has their photos copyrighted.  But you get the idea. 

Here's is what will be included in my shipment:

• The NEW 4 Tray Worm Factory® 360 System in Black, Terra Cotta or Green (I got terra cotta)
• 2 lbs. of Hungry Redworms sent by US PRIORITY MAIL (It's well known that I always arrive hungry to my destinations...)

• "Exploring Profits In Worm Farming" Booklet (Yes, I'll be the neighbor selling black gold.  Guard your children -- you know they will be fascinated with the worms to begin with.)

• "The Worm Composting Cycle" (I can only presume -- hope -- that this means a brochure...)


• "Easy-Start" bedding material

• "Quick Start-up Guidelines"

• "How Worms THRIVE" fact sheet (Soon you can ask me anything you want to know)

• "Why Worms CRAWL" fact sheet (You can even ask me about crawling -- Note:  I don't think this applies to humans)


• The "Common Compost Creatures" guide (Creatures?  er....)


• A "Promote Global Worming" bumper sticker (Which will likely be applied directly on the worm farm, since my car is sticker free)


• FREE Accessory Kit with thermometer, rake and scraper (Included free!  Limited time only!)



To quote more information from Happy D Ranch:

How It Works:


The Worm Factory's® stacking tray design automatically separates food scraps from finished compost. Simply fill the bottom tray with red wiggler worms, bedding and food scraps. As the worms finish digesting the food scraps, they will migrate upward into the tray above, leaving rich castings behind.


As waste is broken down, moisture filters through the system, taking nutrient-rich particles with it. This makes it possible to harvest organic liquid fertilizer right from the spigot.


In full operation, the Worm Factory® houses 10,000 to 12,000 worms. Each Worm Factory® comes with full instructions and everything you need to get started. The Worm Factory® is made in the U.S.A., constructed from high quality recycled plastic, with a limited 5 year warranty on materials and workmanship. It is very simple to assemble and is recommended for outdoor use.

Composting with worms allows you to turn kitchen scraps, paper waste and cardboard into nutrient-rich soil for your plants. The Worm Factory® 360 composting system makes the entire process quick and easy.


With a thermo siphon air flow design, the Worm Factory® 360 increases the composting speed. Now you can produce compost much faster than traditional composting methods. Master Gardeners agree, worm castings are one of the richest forms of fertilizer that you can use.


The Worm Factory® 360 can be used indoors or outdoors allowing year round production. Now composting is no longer limited to backyards. The Worm Factory® 360 is odorless making it great for apartments, kitchens, garages, porches and more.


Will I be the first of your friends to have a worm farm?  (I won't lie, I want to be your greenest friend...)  A very dear friend of mine in Minnesota has one, and she has inspired me to get one.  She is on year 4 with hers, and is utilizing all of her trays now.  (You start with just one, I think.)
 
Here is the Happy D Ranch website -- tons of great information!  http://www.happydranch.com/

I attended my volunteer orientation for the Texas Discovery Gardens in Fair Park on Tuesday evening.  I am SO excited!  (And it's just not because I got a t-shirt and passed a background check.  But yeah, really, I did.)  I will be volunteering in the entrance area, in the butterfly house, and in the butterfly gardens once or twice a month.  During the tour of the outdoor garden, I learned that this particular butterfly garden is a way station for monarch butterflies when they migrate.  How totally cool is that?

I can't wait to soak up knowledge from the master gardeners and the master naturalists that I will meet, learn more about butterflies, and to give back to my community in a small way.  December 4th they are having a master composting class -- I am so going to go to that!  Oh, admit it -- you want to go too.  ::::grin::::  Someday I would like to become one of those masters.  Since I have done zero research on any of them -- e.g. what education is required, and what their specialities are -- I don't know which one I want to become, but one of them is definintely on my list of life goals.  Maybe more than one, who knows?

Here's the link to the gardens: http://texasdiscoverygardens.org/.  If you've never been, you should go.  It's an amazing place.

Yesterday I went back to the gardens with a friend who is visiting me from Minnesota.  I wanted to show her where I would be volunteering; plus I knew she would be just as excited about it as I am.  While we were there we zipped through the gift shop, and I finally got that book I've been wanting that has color photos of the life stages of the butterfly so that I can identify caterpillars in my garden at home, and be able to determine what butterfly they become.  Yeehaw!  Let the games begin.