Feelin' Wormy!

You have never seen a happier, more excited bunch of kids than when our school secretary showed up at our classroom door today holding a box of 500 red worms.  Who'd have ever thought?  The secretary was not as excited as the children were, but she did come in to watch us open the box...and then scurried away...Thanks Miss Patti!    We've decided to name all of them "Wormy." 

The second portion of our composting adventure began today in the form of classroom vermiculture, or worm composting.  The worm bin was another part of the generous donation through DonorsChoose dot org.  It consists of a large, recyclable, heavy duty plastic box, with a tight fitting lid, though it's also perforated so the worms stay ventilated.  We mixed "magic worm bedding," which looked a lot like peat moss, and some other organic matter, with several quarts of water, and then took turns dumping in the containers of little critters.  Earthworms, nightcrawlers and other worms create castings, or "worm poop," as the students like to call it.  Apparently, some of the best little poopers are our little wigglers: Eisenia fetida. 

After lunch in the cafeteria, we looked over the leftovers and made decisions about what items would go where:  lettuce, raw veggies, and an apple core landed in the hotbox composter outside, while two trays of spaghetti, a lump of mashed potatoes, some pasta with collards, and some bread crusts were buried in the worm bin, no doubt much to the delight of the red worms.

We'll host our worms throughout the year, and in return, they'll provide us with rich soil for our vegetable and herb garden.