Wormie Update

So I know you are all on the edge of your seats concerning the fate of my beloved worms.  If you need catching up, I discovered a few days ago that my once thriving, 3-tiered worm bin had become a mass, stinking grave.  Maggots had taken over and my heart was broken.

In usual form, I procrastinated a few days in taking action.  This morning was the trash pick-up, so yesterday was the day of reckoning.  I donned a bandanna around my mouth, easing the stench blow with a dryer softener sheet folded in.  I put on disposable gloves and brought a trash can lined with a bag and a large shovel.  Time to discover the true depths of the tragedy.  Were there any survivors under that mess?

I removed the lid and despite the flowery scent of the dryer sheet, felt my stomach react to the smell of rotting food and death.  I reminded myself to tackle this task with the attitude of compassion for what I was dealing with.  These worms had dedicated their lives to cutting down the amount of waste I sent to the dump.  Their sacrifice deserved respect.  (In case you feel I am being overly dramatic about all of this, you might be right, but I was very happy to have the worms eat my garbage and I am the kind of person who would rather trap a bug and let it go outside than squish it.  Just the way I am, so deal with it!)

I pulled all three bins apart and set them aside.  I squatted down and used a trowel to see what lie beyond the obvious.  There was a wriggling worm!  Another!  All was not lost!!!!

I emptied the nitrogen-rich liquid bin from the bottom on my favorite, and thirsty, flowering tree.  (The one that is uprooting my garage.  If I get a choice, I say save the tree and bulldoze the garage.  No, I'm not easy to live with.)

I shoveled out the top layer of death and destruction into the trash bag and sealed it up.  I had to sacrifice a few worms in the process, but it was in the best interest of the survivors and as much as I love them, I hate maggots more.  (As I am typing this, the trash trucks rumble outside.  Hasta la vista, wormie babies.  Do your good work at the city dump.)

I decided to replace the lid on the bins and let it ride for a month.  I will not collect any food waste for the worms until things have subsided.  I think the main problem was that I overfilled the top layer before leaving on vacation last week.  The excessive heat proved too much for them.  I also think that my laziness in not adding shredded newspaper to the bins like I used to was part of the cause.  We no longer receive the weekend paper and I have not been keeping the small, weekly town paper for them.  I swear, wormies, that I shall be a better mommy! 

Stay tuned for an update.  If I have to dump them all and start over, I'm sure I'll need to vent about it.  Thanks for listening.