Family

Aug 18, 2024

2 min read

It is possible that no one has ever put these words together in a sentence...

At PETEnELLA, we aspire to be a multi-generational worm farm.

Wait, does this mean the worms, or the farmers are multi-generational?

Hint. It's both; in the case of worms, we're good to go. Our vermi-succession line is well established.

On the farmer side, it is a work in progress. This weekend we enjoyed a little taste of what that might be like. My parents drove down for a visit from Maryland and happily jumped into worm care and other odd jobs. A couple of our sons joined the fray as well.

Mommy and Me, almost matching muck boots!

We planted a new tea/herb garden a few weeks ago but did not adequately establish the automatic watering system, and the week to follow was beastly hot. Turns out baked seeds do not like to germinate.

Now that we have a much improved set up for that part of our gardens, I replanted 90% of our herbs. However, there was one herb that did not mind the heat and lack of water...chamomile. Learning! I am sure this is not the last set of seeds/plants I will have to replant.

The hearty chamomile plant!

Also working on our big bee garden/pollinator friendly plan for planting this fall. More to come next weekend.

Mom digging in with the worms!

Mom and Dad were wonderful to step into our the world of Gerards while they visited, prepping product packaging (with excellent quality control) and even helping with taking care of the worms on Saturday morning. Mom is a natural worm farmer for sure, and Dad provided some very "helpful" background singing/entertainment! His wormy rendition of "Morning has Broken" was a favorite for our Gerards!

Our first big compost harvest is coming Labor Day weekend...we will be officially going live with our WilderWorm product line! Getting excited!

Peter is close to completion of the tool shed, which means the next building project is the climate-controlled worm shed. We are working with our son, Lars on designing the work space to include a more efficient means of sifting and preparing the vermicompost for packaging. Turns out having guys around with a knack for "Macgyver-ing" solutions to farming-type issues is a good thing!

These weekends of shared fellowship across multiple generations are filled with moments to treasure and memories to tuck away for years to come. What a blessing!

God's lowest of creatures, a little worm commune in Central Virginia, obviously can't enjoy the same kind of family relationships we experience, and we realize we personify them in a way that exceeds reality. However, in the end, this experience of caring for these wiggly, meagerest of creatures, points to what is real and the joy that we share as a family. We are thankful for this time of laughter, joy, and shared faith!