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Fruits, vegetables, herbs and redworms grown at Mountain Meadow Farm

Flagstaff Native Plant and Seed now sells our farm products at their retail location on Butler Ave at the Lone Tree intersection in Flagstaff. Currently you can find Jerusalem Artichokes/Sunchokes, sold by the pound, for planting in your garden, or in 2 gallon or larger pots. They will soon produce lovely sunflowers and then edible tubers in the fall. As available, I am supplying them with herbs, veggie and other starts and potted plants for your garden, sunny window cell or greenhouse.

They also carry our Redworms for composting in worm bins or compost piles. You will find 4 oz or 8 oz containers with hundreds of red worms inside.

Our advice for successful Redworm Composting

My Redworms descended from a handful that I got from a friend 13 years ago.  I have managed to keep them alive and working for me in various compost piles, garden beds and worm bins. Find more info in books or the web: http://www.wormdigest.org/ or http://www.bluebellyfarm.com/.  Here are a few important tips on what I have done to help my redworms transform my kitchen scraps and garden waste into wonderful rich organic fertilizer for my plants:

• Use a bin, or other composting enclosure placed in your home; or outside in partial shade to protect the worms from skunks, the hot sun etc.  For composting in the winter, protect your worms with a thick layer of pine needles etc.
• Feed and water them often. The compost should remain damp but not too wet. Too much food will start to stink.
• Do not try and heat up the pile as in normal composting  –  some heating is ok but too much heat will kill the worms -- just let the worms do most of the work, not bacteria.
• Redworms feed near the surface so protect them with lots of mulch.  Use 6 -12 inches of pine straw, other straws, shredded newspaper etc. When adding new kitchen scraps, weeds etc. just pull back the layer of mulch, dump in your stuff and replace the mulch.  Replenish the mulch layer as need - about monthly. Keep the pile loose, airy and moist so that your worms can breathe and flourish.
• Outside, I alternate from one side of the pile to the other, about every 3 months.  I move the top layer of compost and worms to the other side covering each side with mulch.  Then, as the remaining worms finish processing what’s left they will move to the new side where the fresh scraps are now being dumped.  In a month or so, after most of the worms have migrated to the better feeding ground, you can harvest the worm compost and castings.

I have given a very brief summary. Get a book or check the web for more important information on this composting system.

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