Worms and Winter Once Again
Well, the worms are fine, but winter is definitely ‘icumin’ in, and once again the garden looks like a total shambles. I am not the world’s best gardener, although I love the whole idea of having a fabulous urban garden and it is now, lord help us, that my many failings are exposed. I am a gambler, I guess. I still have all my hanging baskets and small containers sitting in their summer ‘pozzies’ and every night I dare the weather to produce a killer frost. I think that sub-consciously, I am willing the relatively warm temperatures to stay on, just as they would at home. Then, all that would remain would be to wander out in a few months’ time to admire the spring buds on the trees. Today, though, I know I have almost lost the fight. There is a real icy chill in the air for the first time, the leaves on the ground are looking dead, not golden and red and any remaining flowers are definitely on the turn. I admit that I will now have to gird my loins, get the old man up to speed and stash the worm farm away in the shed. The little pots with cuttings from the pelargoniums and the hydrangeas can be hidden there too. I just know that this is a fatal move, as I will never remember, nor be inclined to water them. (It’s so cold and wet outside and I’ll be tracking mud into the house…..) Will they need much water, though – dormant and all that? Time will tell – it is a new experience for me.
Yes, the worms are going really well. Just eating and breeding. Keeping worms really is the best thing and so little trouble. The great advantage of worms over cats and dogs is that you can take off on holiday and not worry about leaving them for a couple of weeks. They are just so easy to please and you don’t have to fend off antsy neighbours when they poop everywhere. (the worms, that is). Next year, I think I will add a third and maybe even a fourth tray to my stack and fulfil all those promises to family and friends of bags of vermicompost for their birthday presents.
I must find a couple of large cartons, too. Last year I insulated my farm with a heavy-duty carton that I had unglued at each end so that it made a sort of cylinder shape. I just slipped this over the whole bin and voila – a bin-warmer. Easy to lift off when I needed to and no problems with ventilation. If it gets really, really cold, I shall just add another.
Best news for my assistant gardener last month, was the suggestion that the lawn not be cut so often. Leaving it a bit longer gives the grasses a chance to flower and seed, thus providing food and habitat for tiny creatures, insects, butterflies, etc. This is desperately needed now, with the accumulative environmental damage done by pesticides and herbicides becoming so obvious. The lack of bees in my garden this year was very noticeable and plants that last year were very popular with the ‘bees who lunch’, were not visited at all. Anyway, it’s an ill wind, and M can now relax with his new excuse.
Talking about bees, please do watch the Ted Talk video at the end of this post and tell us what you think about it. I love it. The guy is so energetic and almost believable and it is such fun to let your imagination roam free, thinking of possibilities. It’s a knack worth having.