Getting a bit wormy...

It has been less than a week since I returned home from Mexico. A week ago today I was sitting on the sands of Kino Bay in beautiful Sonora, Mexico.

Pic stolen from SLee

The vacation was much needed, and I enjoyed the time spent there. I enjoyed tripping up on my Spanish, yet by the end of the trip talking politics with a couple of hombres from Hermosillo. Gotta love riding that bike... Unfortunately for me while I was there I broke out with the funk, also been called poison ivy.

Caution: This might be disgusting for you, or you might be that person who wants a little taste (by taste I mean look, not actually tasting it you sicko) of the funk.

the funk

So now that I am healing from the first ever attack of poison ivy, there is not alot I can do. I might be a wuss, but who knew the pain would still be here from said attack, so I am taking it easy. I did minimal in the actual garden this morning, planted more corn and okra, and built a new cage for either broccoli or Brussels sprouts. Deep down I am hoping this plant is a Brussels. Mmmmm, I am addicted to Brussels sprouts.

One activity that can be done is messing a bit with the worm bin. This can be done sitting down, indoors, and while I enjoy my soon to be famous sangria and a good foreign flick from India. The compost has built up something fierce. I moved everything in the bin to one side, placed chicken wire in the middle, then new food, straw, and newspaper to the other half. Many and most worms headed to the other, freshly fed area, but some did not. I went through the remaining old stuff and compiled a stack of compost to be used in the garden.



A pot full of compost!!!

Since numerous plants  have been in for about 4 months now, this is a great time to supplement the soil with a bit of natural compost.

As I watched the movie and played in the compost, I couldn't help but think what this compost was made of. Putting it nicely, worm castings, but I work in and around the outdoors, this is plain and simple worm poo. And the food the worms are eating are the vegetable, grain, and fruit ends from the foods eaten on the property that do not make it into the stock pot or go to the chickens. Add a few strips of old newspaper, and a bit of straw left over from planting up top. Amazing!

Since the heat of the desert, and the lack of water before monsoon, a couple of lettuce rows and some herbs from the tray were burning in the rays, we moved the lettuce and herb tray into the shade and planted more to back fill what has been taken. This is the first stop for the newly harvested compost to aid in the new seeds and plantings that are starting to pop from the dirt. The soil needs the nutrients for a long season of lettuce yet.

Have I mentioned how cool it is to play in worm poo? A tad disgusting, but hey, that's nature for ya.

Side note: If the blogging uploader would work I would share a couple of pics from the Mexico trip, but it does not want to cooperate.
Next time....