Dirt Days May 18th

Join us for Dirt Days at the
Clintonville Farmer Market!

This Saturday May 18th 9-12pm

 We will have buckets of worm castings for your kids to sift through
and see what they can find. Everything from itty bitty food scraps

to hungry worms! Come find us in Clintonville Saturday.

 

City Folk's Farm Shop is here

 

Columbus, we are excited!

The new City Folk's Farm Shop opens in Columbus today!

Right in Clintonville, this shop has the perfect combo for every homesteader. Birdhouses, beehives, worm bins, pots, organic soil in bulk and seeds galore.

We took a sneak peak today and I already had my wishlist started ;)

Casting call!

While you are starting all those seeds inside, waiting to see if March is going to play nice, remember to pump them up with extra good stuff and add worm castings to your seedlings!

Castings contain a highly active biological mixture of bacteria, enzymes and plant matter. They are rich in water-soluble plant nutrients and contain more then 50% more humus than what is normally found in top soil.


PLUS, Worm castings are the organic fertilizer you can add straight to your seedlings that wont harm them!

For more info check out our shop!


Do you live in Columbus, Ohio? Now you buy our castings straight from City Folk's Farm Shop right in Clintonville!

Garden Bling!

This has been a WET Winter for Ohio. An odd one indeed.

But still, spring seems just around the corner.

As we sit and count seeds, and wait for spring to come.

Or I should say HE counts seeds, while I dream of ways to add elements of design and fun to our garden.

These are some of the fun things I found on etsy just today!

 

  

~Kellie

30 in 30 Challenge!

This year I (Kellie) have been inspired by my friend Annie at Blue Rock Station to purge so I can truly live more simple. But with work, kids, business and life in general its really hard to set aside time to sort the studio and make it happen! In addition, several years ago I went through some genetic anxiety issues that left me unable to even deal with my studio, let alone create very much. After climbing out of the whole, I am left with piles of fun things I just don't have time for.


 As an artist, I am always finding new cool things to make or add to artwork, but when you live in a small home, its hard to make room for all that cool shiny found stuff. Plus who wants to spend their time sorting things, and putting things in buckets? Not I. My sister said the other day "How come winter cleaning inst as inspirational as Winter cleaning, you should be cleaning out clutter to make room for staying indoors for the season, right?" Good point! And this time of year is usually when we bring more in for the Holidays right?!

I thought THAT'S IT! Time to sort and get things out of here! I saw on another blog, a women who was doing a 47 in 47 challenge, so I can scale it back and do a 30 in 30 challenge! What's that you ask!?

30 bags of stuff can be trash, donated or given away in 30 days!

So I am off to start, if I make it public, then I will more likely get it done! Right?
I have my 3 piles started, plus items on my supply shop, the giveaway pile is growing! 

My current studio

So cheer me on, but also share with me how you plan on clearing out clutter, simplify your life to start the new year! January 4th I am going to give away 1lb of Worm Castings to the lucky winner who shared their plans and motivations for making life simpler with less stuff! 

Updates to come! ~Kellie

When you spend...

...all day sifting worms for a few orders,

it's a great feeling to have a handful or 3 of success!!

One Heart One World 2011

The winner of the OHOW giveaway is Ruby in the Garden!! Congrats and thanks to all who played! This has been fun!

The 2011 One World One Heart Blog giveaway has started!
a little intro, We are a creative family who loves dirt! We started worm composting over 5 years ago, and raising worms over 4 years ago on our small urban farm. Now we spend a lot of time volunteering workshops at local schools and for the Metro parks to spread the word about composting and happy worms = happy soil!

now for the give away!

Last year it went over so well, so this year we will offer it again!

Our prize is worm castings!

1lb. bag of Worm Castings,
yes a bag of worm poop for free!

Worm castings are excellent fertilizer for your soil and seed starters! Plus it is organic and the only kind of fertilizer you can use straight on your seedlings without bringing them! You can read more about them in our past blog posts.

To win, all you have to do is leave a comment below and we will announce the winner on February 17th!!

Side note: to all our overseas visitors, if you win I will pick an alternative gift since worm castings don't travel well by mail!!

Worm Update

Many of you have asked about worm availability. Since we are a small urban farm, quantity is always limited. Soon we should have a few pounds available in mid-late October.

If you are interested, email us.
We are in the process of expanding and trying some new ideas. New to us that is ;)

the goal is to expand in an urban setting by healing the land, not make a bigger footprint, and with that takes time.

So hopefully we will have more worms and a larger inventory of castings to sell in the late spring time. More to come soon!



Hotel Composting!

This beast is a beauty!

Boston’s Seaport Hotel & World Trade Center is the first hotel in the country to install a new industrial composting machine to churn out an incredible 4.5 tons of composting material each month.

Should I have my soil tested?

If you're worried about the condition of your soil before you plant your garden this spring, you may want to have it tested. many people who live closer to the city have found surprising levels of lead and metals in their soil. It is one of many things to consider. And just because you buy new soil from the store, DOES NOT make it safe. You can visit this blog for more of this blogger story of what she found in store bought soil.

I will tell you that worm castings are a easy and proven effect way of "cleaning" your dirt. Mixing the castings in makes a huge difference.

Last winter I showed you the picture of potting soil on the left and worm castings on the right, what a big difference! There are several soil testing labs in Ohio if you are interested.

attention Facebook fans!

Share the worm love!

Suggest to your facebook friends they should become fans of One20farm! share on this post that you did and you will be entered to win a free pound of worm castings as a thank you! Do so before March 9th and we will announce the winner on March 10th! Spread the word!

Our OWOH Winner is...

Jenna Z in Illinois!!

She won one 1 pound of worm castings!

Congrats to all and thanks for playing in OWOH!

One World, One Heart Giveaway!

The 2010 One World One Heart Blog giveaway has started!
I thought it would be fun to switch it up a bit and participate!

This year I am giving away One pound of Worm Castings!
What are Worm Castings good for you ask? You know after looking at all this snow you are dreaming of what to put in your garden! Worm Castings make an incredible natural fertilizer for your seedlings and when planting.
full of rich nutrients, yummy goods for you plants!!
So what do you have to do to win this bag-0-gold?
All you need to leave a comment to this blog post.
then we will announce the winner on Feb 15th! You can find more in our shop at Etsy!
Don't forget to check out our give away at our sister company, BlueGiRliNk!

little critters in your worm bin part 2

Mites?

Mites can be among the most numerous inhabitants in the worm bin, with many different species feeding on decaying organic matter and such. Don't worry, they are not like lice or other mites. they won't harm your worms, they actually help. They are generally found on the surface of the bin, though some predatory species will venture deeper if the material is loose and there is a food source. Mite populations can be controlled by placing melon wedges, fleshy side down on the worm bedding. This is a favorite mite food, and they will soon collect on the melon, which can then be removed from the worm bin. . Leaving the bin lid open and exposing the bedding surface to drying and UV light will also control mite populations. The vast majority of mite species in the bin are beneficial organisms which make up a significant part of the bin ecosystem. Mite species which damage living plants are not found in the worm bin. To take control of mite populations should only be considered if the worms are demonstrating stress behaviors like refusal to come to the surface, huddling in a ball, low reproduction or mass exodus. Remember what worms consider to be infestation levels of mites is often very different from the human view. Many species of mite found in the worm bin pose no threat to garden plants or people.

little critters in your worm bin part 1

Molds and fungi are common organisms in a healthy worm system and play a large role. They feed on decaying organic matter with tiny enzymes which break down and simplify the organic material. They are also an additional food source to other organisms in the system, including earthworms.Molds and fungi can also serve as an indicator, telling us if the feeding rate is adequate. Mold grows best in still, quiet environments. So a sign you are over feeding your worms is a large amounts of mold and fungi. This means your feeding should be decreased. Mold and fungi pose no threat to the garden or the animals living in the worm bin, but can cause irritation to humans with mold allergies.

like gold from the earth...

We just sifted through one of large worm bins that we had to bring inside for the winter.

WOW.
We, um I mean Jeremy, sifted through over 2 days, using his new tumbler he built. In the end he had 5 gallons of worm castings! it's no wonder they call it black gold. This stuff is beautiful!
Ready for sale, for you to anxiously start your gardens this spring!!

Pumpkin seeds in our compost?

I looked in one of our large worm compost bins last week and found some rather large sprouts. Looking closer found out they are pumpkin seeds. Jeremy reminded me that worms wont touch a sprout, plant or food until it starts to break down. God's design are so cool! So they benefit a garden not destroy it. Brilliant!

Another successful worm farm in Cape Cod talks about the benefits of worm composting.

Last Chance for December Sale!!

Don't forget we have a December sale going on!

Extended!

SALE!! SALE!!
We are offering 15% off all Cloth Worm Composting Bin from now until December 20th!
Blog, tweet, facebook or share some other way about our sale, send us the links and we will make it 20% off!

Pick from any of these colors! Cloth Worm bins only.
Local delivery is free!

Diary of a Worm

Great easy read for young
kids about the life of a worm!

Famous Worms #1

My first hero in the
world of worms!!

How did he ever tie his shoe?