A few weeks ago my mom and I had the idea of creating a worm farm. First we got our old 37-gallon fishtank out of the garage. I tried to find a place outside with not very much sun but couldn't find one. Well, I could find shade, but nowhere that wasn't too hot. So I found a nice spot by a north-facing window in our patio room. My parents said that my worms could live there.
Later, my mom and I went to OSH and got gravel. We poured that on the bottom of the tank for drainage -- 50 pounds. We also put in three pounds of white volcanic rock because it is good for drainage too and it's not heavy. Over that I put a fiberglass screen so the worms couldn't get into the gravel. (I don't know why. My mom said we should do it.)
Then I put a layer of potting soil over the screen. Then a layer of grass clippings. Then a layer of dry leaves, another layer of potting soil, then more dry leaves. And I planted a sweet potato that I had rooted in a vase on the kitchen window (facing south).
I think it turned out pretty good. Except that there's a hole in the dirt where a large dry leaf makes a little cave against the glass. I like how it looks but I'm worried that worms will get in there and it won't be good for them. I like how you can really see the layers and the sweet potato roots. The worms right now are hiding, so we can't see them, but I still think we'll be able to see the dried plants decompose.
To get the worms, I got a spade and a cup and went to the garden to dig. A couple days before this my sister was weeding and while she was working there was a bunch of worms under her hoe, so I chose that spot. I gently dug there, not too deep, and at first I thought the worms had all left. Then I saw a huge worm, about four inches long. That was so creepy. My mom told me to grab it because he was sliding back under the ground. I said no because I was too scared. I tried to get it with the spade but it kept slipping away and I didn't want to hurt it. So my mom grabbed it and it started to breakdance (as I call it) and she dropped it. It was a light red, almost dark pink, with a red band around its middle. It looked greasy. It was wriggling hard and I tried again to scoop it with the spade, but it was getting away, so my mom plucked it up and dropped it in the cup. She was very proud of herself for handling that wild worm. I found a few more worms that were easier to get hold of.I brought the cup inside and dumped it in the tank. The worms disappeared into the dirt. I went out a second time and got one more that I put into the tank next to the glass. I was able to watch that one for a while as it wriggled down. Then I lost sight of it.
So I'm not sure, but I think there are about 5 to 7 worms in there. If these ones don't do well, we'll order some redworms through the mail.
