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We were at a nursery a month ago and I stopped and looked at a large bag of worm castings. I thought to my self, what would my dad think of BUYING a bag of worm droppings? Or droppings of any kind, actually.

My dad was not a farmer, but was allowed an acre of land to grow cotton to earn spending money. Later in life he grew a cotton plant in a bed next to his patio.

It 55deg here, cloudy/hazy, a wet mist in the the air. Just a nasty day, and not raining.

We are at 60 degrees, but it feels more like 50! The sun was out but is now behind a thick haze. Well, I actually got to sleep right through from 2 am till 9:30. So I felt pretty rested, and the sun was shining.

So after my coffee, I decided to heck with the house work, I am gonna do what I want today, and that is to plant stuff. First on the list supermarket potatoes that I cut in half.

So I went to look at the garden patch. That bed was one of the ones that Hubby did his mixing thing in. It was kinda hard and clay looking. So I got the big garden fork, and stuck it in about a foot, and then just lifted it a bit and set it back down to loosen it up all over the bed.

Then I visited the wood pile and got some approximately 6 inch diameter logs about 18” long. Put them at the outside edges-retaining wall is on the backside. Took about 1/2 a bag of 40 lb. bag of Humus/manure. Could barely lift it, but I managed to get it on top of the retaining wall, and let it pour into the bed.

Then I topped it off with a couple of bags of potting mix I had left from last year. Now that is 6 inches of some serious organic matter on top of that crappy soil. So that's where I planted the potatoes. We'll see how the experiment works.

Then I came in for breakfast and another cup of coffee. Then pulled out the lettuce seed. So I have these rectangular containers about 7 x 15 inches and 7” tall. I dumped some used soil from last years container plants in to 3” height.

Then, I dumped in mushroom compost for another 3 inches. Gave it a little mix with my hands (gloved) and planted the spinach bloomsdale in one pot.

I tripled the amount, since this was leftover seed, and I'll thin them and eat them as they grow. Then I did the same thing for the lettuce.

Planted each half of those pots with a different type. Little Gem, Black Seeded Simpson, Baby Star, and Salad Bowl. Taking a break now. Had to take an aspirin for headache. Then it's supper time, and relax till headache goes away.

Next up, I am starting some peas. Now I don't much like peas, but I do like to throw a handful into the soup pot, or in a Shepard's pie. And there's always space this time of year, so I usually plant some outside. So far something tragic has happened every year to the peas that I plant outdoors during the 3/25 to 4/10 recommended time frame.

So time to try something different. I am starting the little dears indoors in paper cups. Will wait till they are well on their way, and then I'll plant some in a container, and some next to the fence. I have Wando Drought tolerant, Cascadia, and little Marvel, if I can just find them all.

I am a happy camper today, because I got some stuff planted (satisfied that itch), and it's too late to go to Lowe's and blow the budget.LOL

I would raise rabbits or chickens for their droppings, but I am too allergic to cold weather to feed them, and while I could kill them for food, that would involve skinning or plucking - not something I want to do either.

I do buy the mixture of organic humus and manure cause it's pretty cheap, and helps to amend the crappy red clay soil.

Worm power sells for around $7/lb. It is 1.5-.07-1.5. That translates into $497/lb for the Nitrogen. Cottonseed meal is only $6/lb of nitrogen, and alfalfa meal is only $9 dollars per lb of nitrogen.

So if I am going to use worm droppings, I'll be raising those worms myself, and collecting the droppings. I am thinking that worm droppings might make some handy pocket change, if the laws in your neighbor hood allow it.