“Our Vital Earth” — Worm Farm in Apopka « Central Florida Green Guide

“Our Vital Earth” — Worm Farm in Apopka

June 17, 2007 by Jan Zeiger

The following review was submitted by guest author, Heather Strauss.

Recently my kids and I went on a homeschool field trip to Our Vital
Earth in Apopka, Florida. It is a worm farm. Specifically, they raise and sell composting worms… worms that eat your garbage! These worms will eat your “green waste,” which includes cardboard, paper, kitchen waste, grass clippings, and more. On our field trip, Grandma Bernie talked to the children about what a worm was, the difference in worms, and what wonderful things worms do for our earth. Each child got to take home six worms in a recycled water bottle with instructions on how to take care of them.

The end-product (or worm poop) is called vermicompost. Vermicompost is
a nutrient-rich, natural fertilizer and soil conditioner. Instead of spraying fertizilizer on your yard, you can use vermicompost as a natural alternative. Vermicompost is richer in many nutrients than traditional composting. Vermicomposting has very little odor, so you can actually keep a bin on your porch without any problem. You can make a worm bin, or you can order bins such as Can-O-Worms.

Grandma Bernie does fieldtrips at the farm and she will also come to you. She has on her website a listing of schools and clubs where she will be doing presentations. My children really loved visiting this farm and every day check on their worms to make sure they are okay. We are looking forward to building a bigger bin for them, especially once baby worms start to hatch. We got a paper shredder so that we can start composting our paper along with our food scraps. We get excited about when we get our vermicompost and can start applying it to our yard.

If you get the chance, go visit Grandma Bernie at Our Vital Earth with your children. They will look at worms in a whole new, wonderful way!

Heather is co-owner of Orlando Organics and also mother to two wayyyy cool kids! She tries to keep her home full of organic yummies and natural products.

Posted in Fun Stuff for Kids, Nontoxic Lawn Care, Organic Gardening | Tagged compost, worms | 9 Comments

9 Responses to ““Our Vital Earth” — Worm Farm in Apopka”

on June 18, 2007 at 2:58 pm greenchick

Thanks for the great Vermicompost information. I have been living down in West Palm Beach for about a year. We moved from MI and I wanted to try composting in FL. My boyfriend and I live in a townhouse and have a very small yard. For the past 4 months I have been composting in my garage. It is working out great! No smell and it is so easy. I was thinking about introducing worms to speed up the process. Where can I find these worms in my area? (WPB/Boynton)
on June 18, 2007 at 3:02 pm greenchick

I will be sure to keep reading your blog, but does anyone know of a good South Florida Green Blog? I hope you include info for us Southerners!
on June 19, 2007 at 7:29 pm Heather

You can actually order the worms from Our Vital Earth. Or, if you are in the area, stop by and pick some up.
on June 26, 2007 at 3:25 pm greenchick

Thanks Heather! I am going to order some worms today. My boyfriend thinks I’m crazy, I get so excited about this stuff.
on June 29, 2007 at 11:11 am Rich

I keep a Can-O-Worms in my laundry room, right off the kitchen. Very easy to maintain that way. I Love it and my tomato plants do too. Fun for kids, too. I’m currently filling up “level 2″
on July 4, 2007 at 7:07 am Heidi

Also we bought our can-o-worms and worms from the National Gardening Association. They have the best deal on the worms and worm bin together. All you need to do is order some Red wigglers. (you can sometimes get these at your local fishing store, they are sold as bait) They are the best composting worms.
on September 13, 2007 at 3:39 pm Shannon

Along with this great field trip, consider reading the book “A Diary of a Worm” by Doreen Cronin. She also wrote “Click Clack Moo”. “A Diary of a Worm” is a cute book for elementary age children about a worm’s job from their perspective. It’s cute and may be a fun way to reinforce the things you learned on this field trip. I read it today with one of my students, and thought about you…
on February 9, 2008 at 9:59 am Hands on Homeschooling » Blog Archive » Learn about Worms and Composting at “Our Vital Earth” in Apopka

[...] Want more info? Our Vital Earth was reviewed recently by another mom on the Central FL Green Guide! [...]
on October 3, 2008 at 1:47 pm LEN OGONOWSKI

ITS HARD TO BELIEVE I COULD NOT FIND ANY COMPOSTING WORMS HERE IN THE GREATER WPB AREA.