Joe Dongell has worms... graphic video

So Saturday, Jessie and I went to see Joe Dongell, the pastor/professor who married us. He does worm composting. We went to see his worms. The worms were awesome, but Joe also has all kinds of cool stuff going on-- he built a barn out of pallets. Has a 5 ton truck used for hauling manure. Had a steel broadfork fabricated for tearing up sod before tilling. But then we go downstairs into the worm pit. He has a few plastic boxes where he keeps the worms. Basically, the bottom is sand so that there's drainage and also for the worms' gizzards to grind up food. Then there's some dirt. And then you throw in kitchen garbage, all the stuff that you'd put in a compost heap. Then the worms chow down and their "castings" is the best soil you can imagine. I mean it looks like black coffee grounds. Amazing stuff. Best soil you have ever seen. He reached in and pulled out a handful of worms. He said he started some 5 or 6 years ago with a pile of worms in a bix about the size of a chinese take-out box. And the worms just keep reproducing. It was pretty awesome. Every so often he can take out the worm soil and add it to the garden. Man I am so jealous, because this stuff really is the best soil additive I have seen. Joe uses it around plants, just adds it to the soil around a growing plant. As we talked about the theory of it, Joe started talking about some cutting edge research that indicates you should put worm castings and compost on the top don't worry so much about mixing it in, because the thought is that topsoil grows from the top down. Additionally, there is some sense that plants are not so much absorbing nutrients from the soil as they are absorbing the decaying remains of all the microorganisms that have died. In fact, it appears that much of the nitrogen in the soil is from the bodies of dead worms. So there you have it. A professor who really helped me through some tough times and taught me New testament and Old testament... it all comes down to making good soil.