Thrivent Volunteers plant worms at Longview Vegetable Garden
Submitted by Fred Cowley
Sustainability, fertility, vermiculture, composting, blood, sweat, and tears (actually no blood)…all part of Faith Lutheran volunteers latest project at Longview School.
Vermiculture is the process of worms producing vermi compost from cafeteria waste (or other organic matter) and enriching the soil at the Longview veggie gardens - that our volunteers built several years ago - with the goal of producing luscious vegetables.
Here’s how we did it:
We purchased 24 five-gallon buckets and visited a worm farm where we bought 2l00 red wriggler worms (not the kind you use as bate for fishing).
On project day, Bennie Olmedo and Art Escoto sawed off the bottom of 20 of the buckets and drilled numerous holes in each bucket.
At the same time, other volunteers were laboriously weeding one of the 12 by 12 foot gardens under the broiling sun.
Then holes were dug to sink the buckets in the soil and the red wigglers were inserted in the buckets.
In coming days, the worms will feast on cafeteria waste, old newspapers and other organic matter; find their way through the holes we drilled and fertilize the garden with vermi compost.
Those little red wrigglers can eat half their weight in food waste daily and can double their population every three months. How about that! (Almost scary).
Alexandra Menendez, our Longivew partner, was so impressed with our performance she e-mailed this Thank You:
“My heart was so very full by the end of the day. I doubt I will ever stop gushing about all the wonderful ways that yesterday showed what I’ve always known to be true about gardens creating and fostering community. I am so grateful for every person who helped in any capacity to make yesterday the magnificent event it was.”
Her kudos are meant for Art Escoto, Benny Olmedo, Barbara Andrew, Dick and Laura Kohring, Brenda Lund, Fred Cowley, Jeff Havir, Jennie Carr, and Paul Bott who participated (and greatly increased their knowledge of worms).
