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August 19, 2009
By Cheryl McCord
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Scarlett Randall and Bill Clark will give demonstrations on worm composting at the
Market on Saturday. Scarlett has integrated worms into her elementary school curriculum
and Bill is an avid vermaculturist—a person who feeds and cares for worms. At 10:15
am they will demonstrate the changing of the worms in a composting bin and the basics
of worm care.
Worm composting is the process of red wiggler worms turning kitchen scraps into
a rich, black soil. Red wigglers are smaller than earthworms and do not burrow deep
into the soil. If you were to dig into a pile of leaves left over from last year,
there would probably be some red wigglers at work. They could also be found in mounds
of old straw and manure. Because the worms multiply rapidly and are unstoppable
eaters, they have been “domesticated” and placed in containers for home composting.
Scarlett is a Kuna resident who teaches elementary school in Boise. She will be
at the Market to show how she has built her fourth and fifth grade class curriculm
around the red wigglers and their hearty appetites. The students studied the lifecycle,
anatomy and the ravenous eating habits of the red wiggler worms. The kids collected
and weighed the school cafeteria waste they fed to the worms. They also experimented
with different worm habitats.
Plant cycles were also studied. The kids used worm compost to start plants in the
classroom. Worm tea, a by-product of composting, was used to water and nourish the
plants.
The class also read stories and myths of worms. They studied “Worms Eat My Garbage,”
Mary Applehof’s book about her experiences with composting worms and recycling her
kitchen waste. The kids also researched how schools in California are utilizing
composting worms in education. They documented their research and lessons in individual
booklets.
My husband, Bill Clark, and I have composting worms. The worms in the worm bin have
eaten 50 gallons of kitchen scraps each year. They also produce one tray of worm
castings and many gallons of worm tea. It is time to move the worms into fresh bedding.
Bill and Scarlett will change the worms and demonstrate how to set up a new worm
bin.
Fresh produce at the Market this week includes sweet corn, grapes, peaches, apples,
green beans, blackberries, melons, tomatoes, pickling cucumbers, peppers and tomatillos.
Coming Events at the Market
Aug 29--Bring Your Tractor to the Market;
Sep 12--Tomato Tasting.
Ask how you can enter your tractor in the show or your favorite tomatoes into the
tasting contest.
The Market is held Saturdays from 9 am to 12 noon at Sandstone Plaza in Kuna at
the west end of Main Street. For more information, contact Cheryl McCord at 922-5113
or visit the website at
www.KunaFarmersMarket.com.
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