Worm Farm

For some reason my oldest boy has been obsessed with having a worm pet lately.  So...

 The way to create a worm farm: start with a big glass container - this used to be a candle holder, but it's been upcycled into a worm habitat now.  The bottom of your container should be filled with rocks - my boy had fun even collecting there - what boy doesn't love rocks?  After that, collect worms.  We had a couple of garden beds that I had started to prepare last fall.  They were filled with worms that were decomposing the newspaper and straw that I had used on the bottom of the bed.  We must have found about 25 worms.  We used some of the dirt from that same garden for the worms and filled the glass container to about 2" below the rim.  Worms like to be in dirt that is moist, but not mud, so we added some water.  Worms love coffee grounds and dead leaves to eat, so we finally found a use for the Folgers that my husband calls coffee.  :)  Add worms, a breathable top - we used cheesecloth and then tin foil on the top with holes in it (worms like it dark too).  We used a rubber band to ensure that there were no escape artists.

 Worms have actually proven to be excellent pets for us.  They require very little maintenance: we add water occasionally to maintain a moist environment for them and every few days find some more leaves or add some coffee grounds.  The worms seem happy.  I was afraid that they would just hang out in the middle, but every time we look at the farm, there are always worms that can be seen on the outside and usually one or two that are on the top.  The other nice thing about this type of pet: once our interest wanes, they will be an excellent addition to our gardens.