Wormery
A few days ago we got an email from Home Science Tools. In it they included lots of ideas for some Summer Science projects. This one peaked our interest. There were a few others that we want to try, also.
So we went outside to find different kinds of soil to layer in our wormery. We got some topsoil, and some hard compacted clay, and some ordinary dirt, and some play sand. After layering them in the plastic two-liter bottle, we put some plant matter on top.
Then the hard part - for me anyway - finding the worms. We must have dug about 10 holes in the yard looking for the little critters. Any time I’m not looking for them, I find them, but not this time. I finally found some close to the foundation of our house. I’m sad to admit, I actually killed one by mistake when I chopped it in half with the shovel. It’s funny how even killing a worm can make you sad….
Then we dumped them on top of the plant matter in our wormery and you should have seen how fast they burrowed down into the dirt to begin their work. Worms move an amazing amount of soil for their small size. Can you believe an earthworm can eat its own weight in soil every day! Worms are extremely helpful to plants, farmers, and the ecosystem in general. Their active tunneling not only aerates the soil, adding necessary oxygen, but also spreads nutrients throughout the soil, making the ground more fertile. So after a few days we should be able to see evidence of their work. And after a few weeks the layers of soil should be thoroughly mixed up.
Worms are kind of gross, but it really is fascinating to me to see how every living thing on Earth has it’s purpose… even the lowly earthworm. And what a necessary purpose it is.
The homeschool group did a field trip with “the worm lady” awhile back. Participants could buy one of her 3-layer worm bins so I broke down and bought one. I love it. If you enjoy the soda bottle version, here’s a larger homemade version of a layered vermicomposter that looks pretty simple. http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/compost/Easywormbin.htm
Comment by
paradisefound — June 30, 2007 @ 3:09 pm
We have the big worm box in our kitchen, to compost our scraps. Worms are pretty cool. We pulled an old onion out of the box, and were going to cut it in half (we thought we’d just put too large a thing in there) and when we broke it open the inside was completely full of squirming worms! Gross, but cool at the same time.
Comment by
learningumbrella — June 30, 2007 @ 6:29 pm
How fun! I need to get busy doing some science. Well, we actually started a couple of microbe experiments today. And, we plan on starting a few more tomorrow. Enjoy those worms!!! And, I love the new look of your blog!
Comment by Dana — June 30, 2007 @ 9:57 pm
This is SOOOO cool!
Comment by Steph — July 1, 2007 @ 4:53 pm
We started collecting some worms to do this yesterday, but then we found 3 little toads so we dumped the worms.
Comment by Dana — July 6, 2007 @ 8:54 pm