December 2021

The holiday season is upon us! Tis the season for pine trees, Christmas lights, and gathering together (as safely as possible). In the month of December we composted 163.5 lbs, a slow down from last month. Thankfully, the worms were not left hungry. They are still chowing down on Halloween pumpkins.

This month flew by. I had so much I wanted to accomplish. I got a lot started, but much still needs finished.

I purchased a 40 ft conveyor belt from La Porte, Indiana. I was able to rope my family into helping me haul it to the basement. Shout out to my dad, uncle, and brother. I'm hoping to use it to make a second worm bed. Side walls will be attached to the conveyor belt and the worms will be placed inside. The food will be placed further and further up the bed, encouraging the worms to migrate up the bed and leave their finished castings behind. These castings can be dumped directly into the harvester by the conveyor belt. At least this is what I am envisioning; the conveyor belt still needs to be set up. I have not come across anything similar online, so I'm excited to see how it goes. 

The harvester is also still in process. Unfortunately, this has been holding up my ability to expand the worm casting side of the business. Up to now I've been hand sifting, individual orders. My dad, the engineer, has been a big help. Building it has been a great chance to spend time together. 

The worm beds also received a visit from Alan Wight this month. He is an Assistant Professor at The Christ College of Nursing and Health Sciences and the School and Community Garden Liaison for the University of Cincinnati. He is currently working on a book documenting the history, present, and future surrounding food and farming in Cincinnati. He asked me if I would work on a "compost map" of Cincinnati. I never anticipated pulling out my watercolors in the name of compost–but when duty calls, I'll answer ;)

I hope everyone had a happy holidays. My family was able to gather safely for the first time since the pandemic. It was the first time in a long time. I wish everyone a Happy Holidays and Wormderful New Year!

​Fun Fact: Worms cannot smell. This helps when you live in a pile of rotting food or manure!