Wiggle World
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November 19, 2008 at 11:25 am
For those of us with compromised mobility worms offer a unique perspective on ways we can still be productive members of society. By example, our friends show us how to contribute to the world in eco-friendly ways. They show that, even without functioning arms and legs anyone of us can add to the greening of the planet by creating our own compost from food and kitchen scraps. On top of that they are vegetarian, no meat or oils.
This thread will provide updates on their progress and a place for exchanging information and ideas, serious and not so serious. To start let me introduce you to our first red worm family.
[IMG]http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3069/3043688537_f16a9fb13b_o.jpg[/IMG]
This is how it all started:
[QUOTE] Pets
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Carol came back with the top of a card board box and put it on the kitchen counter. “What’s that?” I asked.
“We’ve been talking about pets. I am allergic to cats and you don’t want a dog, so I got these.”
“I don’t get it. All I see is a layer of newspaper and some brown stuff sticking out on the side.”
“Lift the newspaper and move the stuff under it around a bit”
“This just is a bunch of shredded leaves. Smells musty. Where are the pets?”
“Look closer”
“Oh no – these are red worms. What are we going to do with them?”
“We’ll feed them our kitchen scraps and they are going to change them into compost. It’s called vermiculture”
“I can’t believe it. You and your crazy ideas.”[/QUOTE]
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November 19, 2008 at 11:59 am
Great name! I can’t wait to see and hear more!
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November 19, 2008 at 1:30 pm
[QUOTE=JanB]No truly this is intriguing me. Where do you keep them? I always thought it had to be done outside till I read up on it a bit. How often do you have to clean the box out? I’m with Cheryl I think spring would be a better time for me to start them. You might be able to start a business of worm growing!
Its funny as I’m cooking I think….hmmm wonder if Norb’s worms would eat this? (not what I am cooking but the prep garbage! I really need to find another outlet!
[/QUOTE]
We keep them behind the door in the laundry room in a rubber maid tub. Carol cut holes in the lid and sides and covered them with a screen to keep flies in/out. She added wet shredded newspaper to provide moisture. They must not be allowed to dry out or they’ll die – but not too much or they’ll drown. You also need to stir it up and move it around to provide air and avoid overheating. It’s not a matter of cleaning the box out. They take care of that. But periodically you have to remove the fresh compost that accumulates at the bottom under the raised screen. We are going to report on that when the time comes.
We would be happy to send you some come spring.:D
BTW, I wasn’t trying to get back at you because of all the mouse jokes. Just having fun. Besides, you are the one who brought up the idea of naming them, remember?
[QUOTE=JanB]Norb have you picked out names yet? How many do you need? Maybe we could help!
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[IMG]http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3049/3044124808_998350e8ff_o.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3165/3043288419_132f6d0d3a_o.jpg[/IMG] -
November 19, 2008 at 2:31 pm
A very good idea, Norb! I have lots of these “red worms” in my garden at the island. They get a lot to munch at there. But there are some that munch on them too. When I was weeding and digging up bulbs this fall, two small (they are, you know) robins were very interested in what I was doing, and came down very close to me to keep an eye on what treats I might dig up. The funniest thing was when they saw the end of a worm, flew down to eat it, but it turned out that the part of the worm hidden in the soil was much longer than they had bargained for, so when they tried to pull the worm out of the soil it looked exactly like a living cartoon. My only regret is that I never had my camera around to make a video!
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November 19, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Norb,
Just think, come fishing season, you will be all set. Just don’t give them names. Oops too late for that. 🙂 -
November 19, 2008 at 6:07 pm
Norb you wouldn’t drown all our namesakes would you? I just figured you’d feed them till they popped! Or is it pooped! 😮 By the way that can’t be all of them is it? About how many is in your community? or is it a gaggle, colony, or something else. I looked but could not find a term for a group of worms.
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November 19, 2008 at 7:17 pm
[QUOTE=JanB] By the way that can’t be all of them is it? About how many is in your community? .[/QUOTE]
Too many to count. “Community’ sounds good. No, I would never drown Jan, Linda or any of the others nor would I use them as bait, Jim. What a terrible thought, my babies 😮 Now when I first get up in the morning, instead of going online I can peek in on them:”Good morning Jan, Linda, Dawn, Shirley and all the others. How did you sleep? What do want for breakfast? How about potato peel with fresh moist newspaper strips sunny side up?” You know they eat anything that was once alive including your old t-shirt. Onions give them indigestion and they don’t like orange peel when they are trying to start their own families. BTW, they don’t have to look for a partner. They are hermaphrodites. How cool is that?[B]Allaug[/B], are you sure your worms are red? These here (Eisenia fetida) are usually not found in our kind of soil according to what I found online. They won’t survive freezing temperatures below 0 celsius (32F).
[IMG]http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3064/3044821712_5eb028058b_o.jpg[/IMG]
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November 20, 2008 at 7:01 am
Hey, Norb – I’m living in Norway, not at Svalbard! The soil is not frozen more than a few inches down in winter. Then the worms migrate down to the “warm” soil below. And besides, in a compost heap there will allways be heat because of the “decomposition” (like Beethoven did when he died, you know! LOL!)
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November 20, 2008 at 9:12 am
Personally I’ll keep my partner! I’m partial to him! Today’s question: How do you tell if a worm has indigestion? :confused:
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November 20, 2008 at 9:30 am
Norb,
I’m honored to have a namesake. 😀
Enjoy your babies.
Shirley -
November 20, 2008 at 11:13 am
[QUOTE=JanB] Today’s question: How do you tell if a worm has indigestion? :confused:[/QUOTE] You don’t. They are pretty smart. They won’t eat it.
[QUOTE=Allaug]Svalbard[/QUOTE]Had to google this one. I did hear of Spitsbergen, one of the islands, in connection with WWII. Svalbard is considered part of Norway, though. It makes sense that worms would migrate down to stay warm. Otherwise we wouldn’t have any earthworms in colder climates.:D -
November 21, 2008 at 11:43 am
I still have many questions for you! I’m worse than a little kid when I want to learn more! I have been doing research on line and find discrepancies so I figure you can clear them up….How often do your critters make new ones? Do you have to make them special arrangements to encourage it or do they just flaunt their reproduction everywhere? Can you feed them sweets too? Of course those never make it to the garbage do they? I’ve read about all this special worm food….do you have to feed them that too? OK I’ll stop with the questions for today. Say Hi to our friends and give them a banana peel for me!:p
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November 21, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Hey, I am new to this, too. So why don’t you share what you are finding out. Carol just read that they are indigenous in all parts of the world and not tropical like I said earlier. They reach sexual maturity in 30-60 days. I have not read anything about requirements except adding some previously boiled eggshells. If from raw eggs put the shells in the microwave briefly – probably to kill bacteria.
[QUOTE=JanB] Do you have to make them special arrangements to encourage it or do they just flaunt their reproduction everywhere?[/QUOTE]
Some candles and soft music might put them in the right mood. 😀Don ‘t know about sweets. Might ruin their teeth, though.
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November 21, 2008 at 5:49 pm
😀 😀 I just read your posting here and am laughing my brains out! LOL! This is neat idea! But the family tree chart is hilarious! ROFL! Well all we have to do now is give you the names of our children and grandchildren. ROFL! And we will have one awesome family tree! 😀 😀 And then we can place the picture in Ancestry.com
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November 22, 2008 at 11:10 pm
I like the idea of Candles and soft music, although I thought they didn’t like light! You might scare them with that! Of course they could all be fitted with sun glasses and it would make them look cool too! I brought the idea of doing this at my house and my daughter wants to move out if we get them…..hmmm might be a good way to get rid of unwanted house guests! 😀 Now I hear you cooking for them too—microwaving their shells…..This is getting to be high maintence!!! You will have to find a worm sitter in order to go away. 😉
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November 23, 2008 at 12:29 am
hey norb your great..thanks for naming one after me and Mr. wiggles. I’m sure he would feel honored. I didn’t know you could raise worms but come to find out there is a huge worm farm just right out the road from me. I was surprised to hear this. There is a local mennonite family that is raising them. I figure i would be in trouble if I tried to raise worms because my birds would want to eat them. I have 8 little finches so I’m sure they would consider the worms desert. Oh well. I’ll just have to learn about them thru you.
Take care and keep us up to date.
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November 23, 2008 at 3:41 am
Everytime it rains here where I live we see all these worms everywhere in my yard. They make nice fishing worms too. But I think this is such a neat idea making your own compost.
Hey Norb? What kind of kitchen scraps do you give them? Was curious about that. Does it leave a nasty smell giving them the kitchen scraps? This is so cool! I was thinking about starting an outdoor compost!
Linda H -
November 23, 2008 at 12:52 pm
[IMG]http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3143/3053478540_993a57a074_o.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3147/3053478630_e681a20608_o.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3237/3053478588_dde3229740_o.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3011/3052644459_78938e7aa4_o.jpg[/IMG]
This morning Carol decided to remove the raised wire mesh at the bottom and put in fresh bedding. She was afraid they might get hurt on sharp edges or get stuck below the grid without food. She spread paper on the kitchen table and dumped everything. I was surprised that there was no bad smell at all, just a bit musty when I got really close. The critters have grown a little bit, not very much. Since they are still so small we have to be careful not to add too many kitchen scraps. She tore some newspaper into strips, wet it a little bit, and spread it on the bottom. Then she added the pile with the worms and the kitchen debris and covered the top with larger moist paper strips.
[B]Jan[/B], I guess I have to forget about the candles but the time for new babies is still at least 2 months away. They are really low maintenance and cooked egg shells are a special treat when the “special time” comes. We are going to spend Christmas in OK for 3 weeks and are not worried about our babies at all. No worm sitters. How old is your daughter and what’s her name. Maybe I should name on after her. [B]Stormy[/B], you raise the worms indoors, no danger to get eaten by your birds.[B]Linda[/B], mostly fruit and veggie scraps, nothing sour and with strong smell like onions.
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November 23, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Hey Norb, can I be one of the offspring-from Jan’s delivery? How many babies will your babies have?
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November 24, 2008 at 12:19 am
[B]Emma[/B], sure, no problem but it’ll be a while. They are still babies. No idea how productive they’ll be. Is this like an adoption in Asia before the new babies are born. Maybe I have to do some background checks and take a good look at your and the others credentials.[IMG]http://www.ourbluemarble.us/forum/lol.gif[/IMG]
Anyhow. I’ll keep you all posted, -
November 24, 2008 at 7:51 am
Norb, glad to see you take your job seriously! I think its a good idea to check credentials for future community members! 😉 From the pictures you posted they look like they are growing. We were just having a discussion at my house and decided that we are over indulgers here. Every pet we have ever had has been over weight! Hmmm wonder if worms can get to rotund as well!
My daughter’s name is Emily, she would be soooo embarrassed to know she has a worm as a namesake! I would definitely get the roll the eyes response to that one!
Thanks for the updates! I like the pictures. -
November 24, 2008 at 7:44 pm
Okay Norb! You can name one after my husband. Andy! LOL! Tim knows how me and my husband are. After being married for so long. We have a tendency to go behind each others backs calling each other names. Next time my husband makes me mad about something, I will call him a Worm! ROFL! 😀
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November 24, 2008 at 10:57 pm
Hey Norb,
My birds are in the house also so I guess I can keep them in their cage just incase the worms want to come visiting. Keep the pictures coming so I can see how we are all doing. I’m sure my namesake is the one wearing lipstick..:Dtake care and have fun
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November 25, 2008 at 10:34 am
Norb, I hope you have a treat planned for them for Thanksgiving! They should get something special to celebrate too!
Stormy, I wondered why that one had bright red lips! 😉 Mine is busy knitting for the new additions that are sure to come. Can’t wait for the last minute. I guess it will have to be hats since they really don’t have hands/feet for mittens and socks! -
November 25, 2008 at 11:06 am
Knit hats for my baby wigglers and no lipstick on the babes for couple of weeks.
Norb, How long does it take for babies to be born and how many can one worm have? I know nothing about worms except they crawl and we use them as bait.
Norb, Ignore my questions, I looked it up. One worm can have 1-5 babies and it takes 2-3 weeks for birth. Very Interesting reading about worms. I’m going to suggest to my nieces that worms would make a good science report for school.
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November 26, 2008 at 6:59 am
ROFL! I’ll make the babys some cute booties to keep them warm! Off course one Bootie is all the need and it won’t take that long to make them. Since they are so small! LOL!;)
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November 26, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Carol usually gets up before I do. She read your posts and thought booties would be a great idea. So she made one and put it on Linda. But she complained and said: “No, no, you just covered my mouth. And don’t put one on the other end either. That’ll give me constipation.” So Carol came up with a better idea.
[IMG]http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3053/3061056407_53f751a852_m.jpg[/IMG]
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November 26, 2008 at 5:21 pm
Norb, Carol,
That is so cute, keep us all warm.
What imaginations can come up with. -
November 26, 2008 at 9:59 pm
hey guys,
of course lipstick is an options but just make sure it’s always available..you never know when they will need to look their best. -
November 26, 2008 at 10:19 pm
I want to be a worm and crawl in the ground in my own space and not be bothered.
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November 27, 2008 at 2:57 am
Hmm, lipstick. Does that mean they are “hockey moms” ??? 😀
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November 27, 2008 at 11:44 am
You All have made my Day!!!:D 😀 Thanks!!!:) I can just see a worm with Ruby Red on its mouth!!!
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November 30, 2008 at 8:06 pm
Loved the worm warmers! I noticed leg warmers are back in the stores too….so why not worm warmers! Did our friends enjoy the holiday? Did they get lots of goodies? Hope they didn’t overeat!
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December 6, 2008 at 5:25 pm
Norb, I’m still reading about the worms and saw that they like a bit of dirt for their Gizzards….helps with their digestion. Maybe that’s why yours have issues with indigestion! I found a video on U-tube the other day that showed how big they are when they are born….you could have a lot of babies and not even know it if you need reading glasses! They were pretty small. I think after the holidays I will start my own family. That way by the time I plant my garden I should have some great fertilizer. I know there won’t be enough for the whole garden, but we all gotta start some where right? Is your box working out well? I saw some designs for 2 layers. One has holes in it to let any moisture drain through so you get worm tea….not to drink of course but for your plants.
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December 6, 2008 at 8:07 pm
Great, [B]Jan[/B]. It takes patience but is a lot of fun. I didn’t know they liked a bit of dirt but the people who sold them to us added some. They survived Thanksgiving well without upset stomachs.
I had mailed Linda a package a few days ago with a few things I picked up at the Cancer Center where I got my infusions. When she first got it she was afraid I had put worms in it. She just wrote this real funny story in a PM to me. [B]Linda[/B], I hope you don’t mind me sharing this:
[QUOTE=LindaH][B]Thought you would get a laugh on this one! LOL [/B]Hi Norb! Thought you would get a laugh on this one. Yesterday I went outside and gathered me some logs on our wood dollie for Andy to bring in the house. I stack and he brings the dollie in because I can’t lift the dollie up the stairs. But we have a box on the back porch with junk wood that is easy to light. Brought a few pieces in and then started doing some housework.
Two pieces of the wood were wet from the rain we had the other day. But I brought them anyway. Well! While running my vacumn in my den where I sleep alot on the sofa. When I got over to my sofa area there was this big fat juicy red slimy worm! ROFL!
I still have your gift sitting on my dining room table but it’s out of the box. Was going to show is to my daughters when they come over. But the box is still too on the table.
I ran quickly to that box and looked very carefully to see if there was any worms! LOL!
I say to myself ” Oh dear” I wonder where this worm came from and I have been sleeping alot on that sofa! Then it dawned on me the worm was on that wet wood I brought in! He was huge!
Just want to let you know, I have a nice good pedigree male stud worm for your lady worms when you plan to breed them. He sure looked like he had alot of sperm in him too! ROFL! Male worm looked like he was ready to explode! So he likes wet sticks of wood! When ever you want him, just let me know! He’s a healthy bruiser! Your female worms will have a fight over this handsome dude![/QUOTE] -
December 7, 2008 at 11:09 am
Liked your last post! Thanks for sharing….my family is already talking about not accepting gifts from me! I told them to watch out for cool whip containers as I thought that would make a nice transport home for them! So Linda confirmed my suspicions that you will be suspect for everything! So keep us posted of any new goings on in the worm community. Love to hear their stories. I will let you know when I get going. I’m sure to have more questions. Here is a funny story link about composting: [url]www.youtube.com/watch?v=kt926VColow[/url]
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December 19, 2008 at 10:35 am
Well I took the plunge! My family has expanded to include a few hundred critters! I ordered them off the internet and they showed up at my door yesterday. Didn’t know you could mail worms but you can! Glad they came yesterday as today they would have gotten bogged down in a snowbank! Got them settled in to their new home in about 15 minutes. (I had the bin ready.) Good thing I was preparing for them as I had a whole scrap crock ready for them. They weren’t real active but I’m hoping its just cuz they were hungry, cold and dehydrated. Today I will check on them a bit more. Wish me luck. I wouldn’t want to be responsible for critter demise at this time of the year. I am supposed to be helping the environment not hurting it!
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December 19, 2008 at 11:04 am
Congratulations to the addition to your family, 100+ babies 😀 Just think, they won’t keep you up at night crying to be fed and as teenagers they won’t talk back.
We are spending the holidays in Oklahoma hoping ours will survive the 2 or 3 weeks we will be gone.
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December 19, 2008 at 11:32 am
I’m liking your last thought….with 2 teenagers in the house I don’t need anymore!
If you were closer I’d offer to worm sit for you! How do you feed them for 3 weeks? Just pile on the goodies and walk away? They really don’t take up much room you could take them with you!
Have a great visit to Oklahoma!
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June 8, 2009 at 11:24 am
Norb just wondering if your worm bin will be making the transition. How did yours turn out?
I abandoned mine! I admitted defeat and placed the contents of the bin in my garden. Just seemed like they weren’t really reproducing…… I guess not enough candlelight dinners and soft music was going on. I was still throwing away as much garbage as I was feeding them so it didn’t seem quite right.
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June 8, 2009 at 3:00 pm
[FONT=”Comic Sans MS”][SIZE=”3″]OMG!
Just discovered this thread and am laughing my head off!
More please:) [/SIZE][/FONT] -
June 8, 2009 at 8:18 pm
[QUOTE=JanB]Norb just wondering if your worm bin will be making the transition. How did yours turn out?
I abandoned mine! I admitted defeat and placed the contents of the bin in my garden. Just seemed like they weren’t really reproducing…… I guess not enough candlelight dinners and soft music was going on. I was still throwing away as much garbage as I was feeding them so it didn’t seem quite right.[/QUOTE]
Since we will be going on a 3 months road trip, we were afraid the babies would get sea sick in our tin can car. We also had no idea how much scrap food we could have collected from the different guests at restaurants along the way. So we decided to release them into the wild of our back yard. We hope they make it in the cruel outdoor world. 🙂[QUOTE]oldbat[/QUOTE] Cool you had fun here. For us it’s curtains down. 😀
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June 9, 2009 at 1:29 am
NORB!!! Shame shame! Shame on you for abandoning your pets! Now now! You know you could get arrested and fined for animal creulty! 😀 😀 😀 Gosh Norb! You tossed Linda H Stormy and all that you named us by out in hot yard for no telling what will get them! LOL!
Well I know the worm you name Linda H will surive! LOL! Storny? You think we can make it out on the streets? I hope where you tossed us was in a good neighborhood with not too many kids around!
You know how kids can be? They can walk by a worm on the street and squish with their sneakers causing the worm to explode! But then again I hope their are no science teachers around either where she collects the worms and makes the students disect them with a sharp knife!
And I sure hope I don’t become someone’s fishing bait! LOL! Hugs
Linda H -
June 12, 2009 at 4:07 pm
The other day a couple young boys were fishing with their Dad next to me. They were using worms and fake bait to fish. After a while it was just 1 boy fishing with his Dad, the other was sitting on the ground playing with a worm. This ended up being the last bait to fish with when the boy asked his Dad if he could keep this worm for a pet. I was laughing to myself because it brought to mind Norb and his pets!:) Thanks for the fond memories you are making for me Norb!!:D You Brighten my days!!:)
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June 12, 2009 at 10:07 pm
Yeah, it was lots of fun and ended up a long thread.
Remember this:
[IMG]http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3069/3043688537_f16a9fb13b_o.jpg[/IMG]
You guys have nothing to worry about. We found a new happy home for all of you in our compost pile behind the house. There is enough to eat and warmth in winter. Good luck and may you have many children and populate the earth eh.. compost pile.
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June 12, 2009 at 10:07 pm
Yeah, it was lots of fun and ended up a long thread.
Remember this:
[IMG]http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3069/3043688537_f16a9fb13b_o.jpg[/IMG]
You guys have nothing to worry about. We found a new happy home for all of you in our compost pile behind the house. There is enough to eat and warmth in winter. Good luck and may you have many children and populate the earth eh.. compost pile.
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June 13, 2009 at 10:03 pm
aww..I havn’t seen my name sake for awhile..hope she is doing well along with Mr. wiggles and the rest of the gang..lol.
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