Archive for August, 2010
Via the Fort Collins worm exchange list, I came across this offer from John Anderson, the Colorado Worm Man (whose website is currently down).
My offer still stands for those who would like to exchange 3hrs work at my worm farm for a starter batch of worms and what ever knowledge you can absorb from my experience.
Now, on the one hand, 3 hours of your time, especially if you need to drive to Fort Collins from elsewhere, can be more expensive than just buying the worms yourself. But, on the other hand, you get the chance to ask John questions, see how a large scale operation works, and head home with a batch of worms for your self. When I toured his worm farm a year ago, it was quite eye opening.
If you’re thinking about keeping worms and have some time, and if Fort Collins isn’t too far away, you should contact John (cowormman at Juno dot com) and see about setting up a three hour learning experience.
August 30th, 2010
I just saw John Anderson, the Colorado Worm Guy, at the Colorado Permaculture Convergence today, and he let me know that he has a new site. It’s cowormman.org. Make sure you visit and check out all the information he has.
August 22nd, 2010
I recently had a question from a reader, Laura:
I have enjoyed your newsletter for about three months. It has been very helpful, and now i am ready to get some of my own. I don’t know if this is the correct area for questions, but I would like to purchase my worms locally. Meaning, I don’t want them shipped. Do you have any ideas that I have overlooked? I am in Denver, Colorado. I can travel to Boulder, no problem. please let me know what my next step would be. I have a proper home ready, just want them local.
I responded:
I’m so glad that you’re ready to strike out on your own and try some worm composting. The first thing I would suggest is to go to your library and check out a copy of ‘Worms Eat My Garbage’ by Mary Appelhof. It was very helpful to me as I started my worm keeping. (Or you could buy it, if you wanted to.) Then, I’d go here [to a list of Colorado redworm vendors].
And call around to see which vendor has the best price and the easiest pick up for you. If you find one that you like, or one you don’t like, or one that is not on the list, please let me know so I can update the list!
The reader ended up deciding to go with John Anderson, the Colorado Worm Man, as she had met him a number of times. She was looking for a worm club in Denver, but I’ve not heard of any “worm support groups” down there.
Feel free to contact me with any questions you might have and I’ll do my best to answer them!
August 20th, 2010
I had a call from someone who read my blog a while ago; I’m sorry, I forgot to note her name.
Her child was using redworms for a school science experiment, and had finished the experiment up. They were looking for a good home for their redworms now. In particular, she was concerned about polluting the environment with her worms.
Though this is an issue in some environments, Colorado is not one of them. I counseled her to dump her worms in the compost bin. There, they’ll either thrive, if they get enough food and the conditions are damp enough, or die, and add their nitrogen to the compost.
August 10th, 2010
