Harvesting day yesterday. I used the little-piles-of-poop method. Worms dig down to escape sun. Tops of piles become pure poop.

A sad tale of a black snake in my new tomato bed.

So sad. I discovered an adult black snake twisted in the netting I put around a tomato bed, netting to keep the deer out as long as possible. (The deer always win in the end.) One theory is that the snake crawled in through one little hole and then turned around later and tried to exit through another hole and found himself entangled. Or he came in through one hole, then ate something like a toad, and wasn't able to get back out because of the lump in his gullet. In either case, he was alive when I found him but possibly dying. Flies were gathering. My lovely son Greg did as much cutting of netting as he could do, but Mr. Snake had swelled so much that the netting was tight around his body. I should have taken a shovel and ended his life right there. But I just couldn't. And I didn't ask Greg to do it either. So I lifted him up with a long pole and tossed him into the woods next to the house. Vultures will get him. Maybe something else. I feel very sad about this because I know the snake was good for my garden. And he did no harm. He's creepy of course, but so are slugs. I may try to install some kind of snake guard along all of my fences that involve netting. A huge job, so maybe not. The end.

I love my worms but I don't love slugs. But I'm trying to feel neutral about them.

They must have some redeeming qualities. They are sort of pretty, I think. Black and brown is a nice color combo.

I don't harvest often enough.

This is one of my lower bins. Everyone looks healthy I'd say. But I could harvest castings more often than I currently do. So today I will! The worms make me feel especially sluggish and unproductive today: I overslept my yoga class. Seems really decadent. I have only one firm obligation each week and it's yoga. I want to be more like my worms. They don't oversleep. I guess. I wonder if anyone rally knows if worms sleep?

The Good Stuff.

I inherited a new worm bin.

I haven't started using it yet because I don't like the 2-3" layer of plastic packing peanuts between the lining and the bottom of the bin. I know why they're there, I guess. But I really hate those things. This bin was made by a semi-famous local girl, about 11 years old, who sells the bin and a supply of worms for a reasonable price, which I've forgotten. Isn't her hand-made label adorable?

Top, Eisenia foetida (redwiggler). Middle, Eisenia hortensis (European nightcrawler). Bottom, Lumbricus terrestris (Canadian nightcrawler).

I can't see much if any difference. But every worm "expert" says never bring nightcrawlers, the worms found in your garden, into a closed vermicomposting system. I can't remember why. But will find out. Again.