Wizzard Worms

Rather than a monotonous worm diet I thought a few odds and ends might be more acceptable.
Our local church has instituded an monthly family service. It has been a success and the service is conducted by some or all of the familly on duty.
Recently the theme choosen was "Contentment" and we were told we should be content with our lot and not envy others who in our view were better off.
To illustrate the point we were told of the monk that joined an order that insisted on sile...nce.
After 5 years he was told by the Abbot he could say two words. After some thought he said "Light bad" On his return to his cell he found the windows had been cleaned and the lighting generally improved.
Again after a further 5 years he was again invited to say just two words. This time he said "Food poor". Immediately the quality of the food was improved.
And yet again after another 5 years the Abbot invited him to say another two words. This time he exclaimed "Want out"
To which the Abbot replied "No problem. You really have done nothing but complain since you arrived"

Subject: Are fishing worms also compost worm farm worms?

Hello Don,
I'm Tamlyn and my Aunt and I were googling worm farms discussing what we
already know about worms... When we hit a glitch... Can you tell us whether...
tiger worms, fishing bait worms and earth worms are perhaps all the same
worm and which if not all are used in worm farm composting? We are looking
at ways to manage garden and house organic waste, on the farm.
Thanks in advance
Have a lekker weekend
Tamlyn

Where do earthworms go in the drought?? To quote
Nearly all worms hvae the ability to go into a resting stage, in response to drought or low temperatures, retreating deeply into the soil where they become moitionless and do not feed.

On a different topic, I was fortunate to survive cancer and now am the owner of that hardly spoken of "bag"
This was a great shock to my system and took time to accept mentally, especially as I never spoke to anyone who had themselves a bag. ...
I am sure things would have been far easier to accept if I had!
Therefore if you know anyone who is about to have a similar operation and would like to chat to me please give them my numbers 033 413 1837 or 076 875 0266.
Could always start a bag club!!!~
Cheers
Don Blacklaw

Tammy my daughter tells me I should do far more on this page, but really to write frequently about worms is asking a bit much.

So I thought I would post odd things I find of interest or amusing and come back to worms when the situation called.

Many people celebrated St Patricks' day and of course had to wear something green. Why? There is even a song entitled "They are hanging men and women for the wearing of the green"

It really has been exciting watching our tomato and chilli plants growing and producing heavy crops just about ready for the table.
The tomatoes seeds we planted were from an old English variety Alsia Craig and we are hoping the flavour will be outstanding.

We have plans to market the concept at a more affordable price as to grow your own vegetables when prices are high is a good idea. This would apply to everyone including flat dwellers.

We are very excited by the results we have seen with our Wonder Garden as we have enjoyed an ongoing supply of lettuce and spring onions.. You can see the current photographs.

On reflection we think you will find it useful for:--

1. Youngsters interested in gardening....
2. The elderly who no longer have a garden.
3. Flat dwellers
4. Anyone requiring easy gardening

Wizzard Worms Wonder Garden

We are pleased to advise that we can deliver to your home or office in most towns in South Africa Our Wonder Garden.
It comes ready to use, an outside container with drilled holes, growing medium and a worm farm with worms. All you have to provide is the seedlings and follow the instructions.

WIZZARD WORMS WONDER GARDEN

Our new project is developing well and we are truly staggered by the rate of growth over just 26 days'

Developed at a time with drought conditions that could bring very expensive vegetables.

New Product.
WIZZARD WORMS WONDER GARDEN
We are developing a new product that:--
1. Is ideal for flat dwellers or those looking for easy gardening.
An excellent/exciting present for those who once loved gardening and no longer have a garden or the energy....
2. You can save money by growing salad crops, herbs or plants for a curry. Alternatively a selection of flowers can be grown or a combination of all three.
3. Kept productive and healthy by our worms.
4. Easy to operate, pick freshly as you go and requires very little water.
4. Watch this space for more information or email us on thewiz@wizzardworms.co.za

Highly Recommended.
We have been associated with the Food Security Forum organized by MIDI Mzunduzi Innovative and Development Institute for some time and would like to congratulate them on their model garden they have developed.
Rather than tell people to grow vegetables they demonstrate with their garden what can be achieved in a small area.
Leopold their gardener enthusiastically tends his soil and plants once a week and is rightfully proud of his achievements.
If you are ...contemplating starting a garden at home or on a community basis I can’t recommend to highly you make a point of visiting MIDI at 33 Alan Paton Avenue Scottsville Pietermaritzburg to see their garden.
You should contact Sam Govender on 033 342 8266 who will be delighted to show you their achievements.

Here is a brief extract from work done at Kwa Zulu Natal Pietermaritzburg which I thought some of you would find of interest. It gives us some idea why Worm Wee works so well in our gardens.

Vermicompost leachate improves seedling emergence and vigour of
aged seeds of commercially grown Eucalyptus species
LS Kandari, MG Kulkarni and J van Staden*...
Research Centre for Plant Growth and Development, School of Biological and Conservation Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal
Pietermaritzburg, Private Bag X01, Scottsville 3209, South Africa
* Corresponding author, e-mail: rcpgd@ukzn.ac.za
Vermicompost leachate (VCL) is a liquid generated by earthworms and microorganisms during the conversion of organic
matter into vermicompost. Vermicompost leachate is rich in nutrients and believed to contain both known and unknown
plant growth substances, which are beneficial to plants. Four-year-old seeds (artificially aged) of Eucalyptus dunnii,
E. nitens and E. smithii were subjected to VCL at different concentrations. In comparison to the control, the percentage of
emerged seedlings of all three species improved significantly (p < 0.05) by more than two to three times when treated with
VCL. Treated seedlings showed better growth performance than untreated ones at both first and second harvest, 75 and
150 d after sowing, respectively. Eucalyptus dunnii achieved the highest seedling vigour index (SVI) at the lowest VCL
concentrations of 1:5. In contrast, the SVI of E. nitens was maximum at the highest concentrations of VCL (1:20). The best
SVI of E. smithii was obtained at VCL concentrations of 1:10. These results suggest that the influence of VCL on SVI of the
eucalypt species tested was concentration-dependent. The absolute seedling vigour rate per day was also improved with
all the tested concentrations of VCL, with some exceptions for E. dunnii seedlings. The order of response to VCL by the
species can be summarised as E. smithii > E. nitens > E. dunnii. The results of this study suggest that VCL can be used to
supplement chemical fertilisers. The liquid nature of VCL should be convenient for application both under nursery and field
conditions.

Questions I have noted in some of the literature I have been reading about worm farms they speak of the juice acting as a fertilizer and also supressing plant insect pests and parasitic nematodes. Have you any supporting information for these attributes?
Comments / Requests : I am a Peace Corps Volunteer serving at Amangwe Village--and am enamoured with your worm farms! I have told other Peace Corps Volunteers about them and they are interested to know more about th...em. I realized we don't have supporting literature for the fertilizer aspects nor the plant protection aspects in our Organic Gardening Training Manual. You trained our organic gardener, Bongani, on the use of the worm farms when you installed them at Amangwe Village a few years back. Our director, Erna Stynberg, suggested I ask you about the information above as we are updating our Organic Gardening Training Manual and would like to include this information with the description of worm farms. Thank you for any assistance you may be able to provide. Again, I want you to know I find your worm farms exciting--and our vegetable garden is remarkable!
Referrer: Word of Mouth
Hi Betty,
Thank you for your enquiry and I am glad to hear due to the worm farms your vegetable garden is doing so well.
The following are a few of the places that have done and in many cases are still doing work on vermicompost and vermileachate:-- University of K.Z Natal Pietermaritzburg: Ohio State Soil Ecology laboratories: Inststute de Ecologia A.C Veracruz Mexico.
In general they have found vermileachate inhibits some plant diseases and insects, at the same time improving plant growth and that vermicompost is a very effective compost.