Second Harvest Update

Vermicast-enriched pakalana.


An update on how the second harvest is being used:

E., my friend and Hogwarts Garden overseer, used her vermicast to fertilize a bed of winter squash; said squash will be used in soup a few weeks from now. Can't wait to see the happy results. And L. will be using hers to feed her roses. M. and I have spread our bounty throughout our backyard garden: the pakalana plants, in particular, seem to be thriving, and our banana trees are issuing fruit. A few tomato plants have also unexpectedly sprung from the vermicast; suspect they're the scions of some overripe grape tomatoes one of my freshmen had fed to the worms over a year ago. Amazing to think that the seeds still remain viable after so long and after worm processing. But in our case, the renegade tomatoes are a welcome addition, making for a merrier garden, so we've let them be, in the hope of reaping future rewards.

Vermicast: Second Harvest

The finished product, ready for use.


Harvested the second batch of vermicast this afternoon: moist, dark, and rich. This time, for whatever reason, there thankfully were not as many worms present in the tray as the last time--a good thing--though I left the lid uncovered and exposed to sunlight for a few hours, allowing any worms still lingering in the tray to wend their way downwards to what will be the working trays.

The harvest will be split amongst some gardener friends in the English Department, as well as donated to the Academy Garden growing behind Griffiths, a sustainability project spearheaded by my friend, E. I'm quite excited at the prospect of helping fertilize the lush basil, sunflowers, and taro that are currently growing there.