Happy Worms

I probably know more about worms now than I really want to. I found out they have 5 hearts and they can live up to ten years. A group of worms is called a squirm. A squirm of worms, or may-be a worm squirm. Almost everything I read stressed the importance of the worms being "happy". It just seems like an odd terminology to use with worms, I mean it's not like you can pick up a worm, look at one end or the other and see if it's smiling.

As it turns out, I did almost everything wrong. A worm bin should be wide, not narrow and it should have holes drilled in it for drainage and aeration. I'm glad worms can't read or else they would realize that they are in the most unsuitable situation and should all up and die on me. While I'm a big believer in "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", I figured I was getting by on beginners luck and it wasn't going to last forever. So yesterday I got a plastic bin and punched tiny, tiny holes in it. I'm using the lid as a tray to catch any liquid, apparently the liquid is great fertilizer as well. I cover the top with a burlap bag and the worms stay put. I haven't caught any stray or escaping worms yet.

I got the worms when I turned our vegetable compost over, I picked well over two hundred worms and I'm sure that wasn't even half of what I saw. I stopped counting somewhere shortly after two hundred. It just seemed a little dweeby to be counting worms. Worms are a social lot, you find one, you'll find twenty, then you won't find any for a couple of pitchfork fulls and then you'll find another batch, or should I say squirm. The worms I have are red, with a yellow tail, they're bin-able, I think. For all I know, they could be red wigglers that were introduced into the area at one time or another. So I'll see how it goes. If they move and the bin doesn't smell, I'll assume they're happy.