Worm Chow

I finally got around to feeding the worms some of the earthworm food I bought from Gardens Alive. Here's a photo of it sprinkled over the middle tray of my Can-O-Worms. If you look closely, you'll notice a lot of sow bugs in the bin right now. These are perfectly harmless, and in fact, they help to break down the food I put in the bin, so they actually help the worms. I just sprinkled a thin layer on top to see what the worms would do. I have a feeling it will be gone in no time at all. While there is absolutely no need to buy special food for your worms, I can't resist trying new earthworm products and I do know one benefit of using a food like this from time to time: most of these earthworm foods are formulated to help reduce the acidity of the soil or the bin where the worms live, and the worms appreciate that.

You can also use this stuff in the garden to attract worms and encourage them to be fruitful and multiply. It's a fairly good organic fertilizer too, so there's no reason to skimp on the worm food in the vegetable beds. I'll give that a try one of these days, too.

I still have not received the encapsulated earthworm cocoons I ordered from them. I may have to give them a call and see what's taking so long. This new product has received quite a lot of attention in the media, so maybe they're overwhelmed with orders.

Just had a nice radio interview with Jane Nugent on her Garden Party show. We were live on WPTT 1360 in Pittsburgh. While I was waiting for my segment to begin, I sat on the line and listened to all the callers phoning in to ask her gardening questions. It sounds like a very popular show--I'm always surprised to hear how many people line up to call in and talk about their gardens on shows like these. We gardeners are a chatty group. Well, who can blame us? It's almost spring, and we're practically bursting at the seams right now.

Which reminds me...Bookish Gardener posted a very funny entry from the latest Powell's newsletter. Seems overzealous Portland gardeners have are fainting after holding their breaths too long for spring.