My Christmas Wormery

For Christmas I received a huge present, sneakily smuggled in behind the Christmas tree without me noticing!

It took a while to unwrap, and as I did, I couldn't see what it could be, although the photographer could by the time I'd removed most of the wrapping paper

Finally revealed. My new Wormery.

I ordered the worms which arrived through the post on 10 th January. It looked as though they had been trying to chew their way out.

I followed the instructions carefully. Mindful that worms don't act so fast in low temperatures, I located the Wormery in its insulating jacket in the garage with a remote temperature gauge to check. The temp has regularly dropped below 8C but not below freezing. Nevertheless I was not surprised after a week to see that they hadn't processed the small amount of household waste. They had made a start, and at least they had stopped crawling up the sides of the bin to explore their new home.

I'll leave it another week before giving them a little more food. They are at least moving the soil around and seem happy enough, though how do you tell if a worm is happy? 

It has been pointed out to me that I need to keep my chickens and worms well apart :)

First Steps

I have too many blogs. Some are active, some have lapsed into disuse. That's OK. Obviously nothing to say on those subjects. But my current and growing passion for chicken-keeping and associated activities (I'm seriously considering a wormery) needs an outlet.

Although I'm keen on growing and eating my own produce, energy efficiency and minimising waste, I couldn't do without the conveniences of the modern world - particularly the internet, hence the name of this blog; The Connected Peasant (not pheasant!). There seems to be a growing trend of keeping chickens in your garden, growing your own veggies (think of the recent Gardeners World Dig In campaign) and using energy efficiently. This spread of ideas and attitudes is supported by the internet with stores and support systems providing advice and services to support this trend. For example, Wiggly Wigglers provide a range of useful products for the would-be smallholder, Omlet not only provide stylish, colourful and above all practical hen houses and related products, they also have an active set of Chicken Forums where chicken keepers new and old can share their experiences, ask for and give advice, arrange to meet up and, basically, form a supportive community of interest that is unlimited by geographical distance.

Hence, The Connected Peasant.