August 29th, 2006 - 2000 new pets
I have completely forgotten to write about our new pets! Two days before leaving on our vacation, 1000 new pets arrived: my worms!!!!
Unfortunately, I had asked the company to not send them until after our vacation. I didn’t relish starting a worm bin and leaving it empty for a week. I had expected the worms to be mail a day or two after I ordered them (on a Thursday), in mid July. Then I got the confirmation email which said they mail on Mon and Wed. I went back to the website to see if this information was present anywhere. It was–in the midst of a VERY long page of information. You’d only read that page if you weren’t familiar with worms. I had read it earlier in the summer when figuring out what I needed. I hadn’t read it when ordering since I already knew the info (about how they’d be shipped in peat moss, how to treat them afterwards, and how to do a worm bin). In addition, the webpage said they’d only be shipping on Mondays. So promptly dropped them an email pointing out the discrepancy along with a suggestion that the shipping days be noted where people buy the item instead of the info area.
I didn’t hear back from them. Although my credit card was billed the day I made the order. Most places don’t bill until they ship.
A week later, they sent a message to everyone with pending orders saying that shipments for the next week wouldn’t occur due to the heat wave. This meant they’d arrive just before our vacation. So I wrote and asked that mine shipment be held. I didn’t complain about how I’d expected them to arrive that week already! I did get a response this time saying they’d be shipped on the 21st.
Luckily, Eric and I made the worm bin (he drilled all the holes for me) the weekend I was originally waiting for the worms since they arrived before we left. It was the day after I sprained my ankle, so setting up a worm bin in the basement was not a pleasant job to contemplate. But, I had an 11 year old (SIL) and a 12 year old (niece) who were thrilled to assist me on Friday! And then our housesitter said she’d put some food in the bin while we were gone. So it all turned out okay. We now had 1004 pets! (Approx. 1000 worms to a pound. I did not count them.)
I idlely wondered if I’d get another pound of worms shipped on the 21st. But then I forgot about it when Thursday rolled around and nothing arrived. They arrived on Friday instead. I spent time that evening and Sat morning tearing newspaper into strips for the second worm bin. Eric drilled more holes–I’d gotten 3 plastic bins the first time around! I’d intended to eventually start a second bin and try vermicomposting cat litter. I wasn’t sure it would work, so I figured trying it with free worms was the way to go. I did run across a note that cat litter might not do well as the ammonia (from the urine) could kill the worms. But if I could vermicompost instead of throwing them (plus the plastic bag) into the trash 3x/week, I’d be thrilled!
Unfortunately, it’s not working. The two times I’ve checked the bin since putting in the first batch of litter worms have been trying to escape. I put a couple right on the litter and, except for one that burrowed, they writhed around and fled. And worms don’t usually flee quickly. Oh well. At least I tried. We’ve been producing enough scaps for two bins anyway, at least so far. So I’ll remove the litter and switch to regular food. I’m concerned about having enough in the middle of winter, but Maggie and I do eat plenty of veggies and fruit plus there’s always bread crusts (sometimes my bread comes out a bit hard), uneaten pasta, etc. Especially with a young child, there’s always table scraps! (If Eric or I don’t eat something from our plates, we generally stick it in the fridge. But Maggie’s food is a bit less appealing after being played with, having milk dumped on it, etc. So it’s more likely to go in the compost bucket.)
So, we now have 2004 pets!
I’m conflicted about the ethics of accepting the second shipment of worms. Due to the horrible customer service, I feel justified. But I’m still a bit conflicted. I don’t want to pay for a second pound of worms (over $30) that I didn’t ask for. But they’d have died if I sent them back without opening the box.
p.s. But I wonder if the litter would decompose on it’s own? It didn’t smell bad 3 days later and I had it well covered with the newspaper bedding. I’d happily compost it indoors if this remained true. I guess I could try that, although I’ll need another bin to attempt it…..
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