“Mama can we please keep him?” Lollo looks up at me and implored. He’s scooped up a worm off the pavement after a big rain. That was the beginning of our composting adventure which began last spring. We often talk about food on IttyBittyFoodies but not what to do with food scraps.
Red wrigglers from Texas Worm Ranch
We got a big plastic lidded box, drilled holes on the sides and on the bottom, shredded newspaper and ordered our red wrigglers from Heather Rinaldi from Texas Worm Ranch.
Composting cut our down our trash by more than half. We threw in apple cores, banana skins, coffee grounds and anything that was not dairy, meat or eggs (egg shells are ok). Our worms thrived and Lollo looked forward to visiting his pet worms everyday. And then the big drought and heat wave came. Remember 30 plus 100 degree days in a row?
Our worms started escaping and soon other insects and maggoty bugs got into the bin. It stank and we felt bad for the worms left in the steamy hot box. After a while, we abandoned our mission and put the worms back into our garden.
Last week, Lollo asked for worms again and this time, we’re going to the experts at Dallas Eco-Op and taking a Vermicomposting USE (Urban Sustainable Ecosystems) Workshop. The USE Vermicomposting is run by Heather Rinaldi, Chief Worm Rancher of Texas Worm Ranch. The class is held on April 25th and is just what our family needs to get started. Workshops are $50 and also includes a working worm bin.
And if you’re looking for a more intimate Earth Day event, check out our Junius Heights friends at The Lab at Lakewood, Little Bean and Garden Cafe who have set up a Chicken Coop! The coop intended as an example of sustainability for all families who patronize the Munger Square Center businesses was designed by Stew Cockrell of Iron and Paint and was just erected yesterday.
Melissa Wright of The Lab at Lakewood says, “I feel like we continue to execute Dale Wootton’s vision of being a family destination. As our three businesses share such similar values, this collaboration on sustainability is a no-brainer. It conveys our common vision to our customers, neighbors, and friends. It also works well into my own hands-on science programming.”
Bianca Colgin of the Little Bean shop adds, “I have always wanted to take an active role in the food sustainability movement by owning chickens, but I didn’t want to see eggs be wasted. So this is the perfect scenario, as the Garden Cafe will be able to utilize the eggs for their delicious brunches.”
Visit The Lab at Lakewood this Earth Day Sunday April 22 from noon to 4pm and say Hi to Francesca, Sunshine and Violet who will be happily clucking away in the back yard. (ps there’s also discounts for The Lab summer camps on that day)
Till our next Happy Meal!
