What kind of people would want to steal the contents of a wormery? Are other gardeners so venal as to steal someone else's hard won product? Do the worms and compost have any real value to a thief? Unbelievable. I feel so sorry for you and the awful problems that keep arising for you.Last week was not my week.
This week my 'luck' has to change.
I was not going to write about it, but changed my mind.
I was expecting a packet, not my order because I have all my packets and parcel delivered elsewhere, but someone decided to send me something, even though I had said nothing to be delivered to my address.
I was out at the beginning of the week to sort out the prescription, and so had to leave the gate unlocked while I was out so it could be left in my 'safe' place.
I came back to the unthinkable for me.
My wormery had been stolen, but just the contents, the black bin had been left. It is a massive black bin and was full of thousands of thousands of thousands of worms and good soil, which was for my new hanging basket vegetable garden for next year. My new hanging vegetable basket garden will not be happening now.
What was very scary was the black wormery bin was wiped totally clean inside, not one wriggly worm remained. The thieves had scooped out all the soil and worms, not tipped the black dustbin up, or taken the whole lot, but meticulously taken out every bit of soil and worm, but left the straw and fine wire mesh stuff at the bottom of the bin.
The thieves had to have driven their van(?) and backed it up to my gate to work unseen.
I never go out on regular days.
How did they even know that wormery was there? It cannot be seen from the road, and neither could any one have seen me put stuff in it.
This wormery is over 10 years of hard work to build it up to this level, and I was about to split it up and start another one. It meant I did not have to buy any rubbish garden soil or fertiliser and I always had a good constant crop of healthy vegetables, free apart from a few seed packets.
All gone now. I cannot be self sufficient with vegetables any more. All wiped out. I cannot start again, it will be a few years to get even remotely some of that level of worms and soil again, and I would have to reinvest with a supply of tiger worms again. And the likelihood is I may not be around long enough.
Hopping mad doesn't even describe me at the moment.
The bit that scared me was the immaculately clean inside of that large wormery bin wiped immaculately clean. My instant reaction, because my brain couldn't compute, was Scotty has beamed up my worms - and this statement is not meant to be humourous. It would have been carefully wiped clean because of all the new impending baby worms on the sides of the wormery bin.
Someone knew what they were doing. How? This is a level/stage up from the scrap men scaling our gates and stealing iron from our gardens, which does happen.
I am still gobsmacked. I haven't felt secure or safe since. My gate is locked the entire time I am in. I am still waiting for this parcel which I did not order myself. And consequently on Saturday the gate was unlocked. I was feedin a stray cat (who didn't look well) in the kitchen. The kitchen door was shut and locked because my gate was unlocked for the parcel. Then the stray cat stopped and froze, but looked at me first. I froze too, because I didn't know what the cat was alerting me to. By the way, my kitchen curtains are frosted, but let the light in, so no scally/conman can see me from the street. The sun was shining and so it threw a shadow against my curtains. It should have only been the postman putting my parcel in my safe box (which I had checked moments earlier when I let the cat in, and there was nothing in it).
But the stature of the shadow was not the postman.
I watched the shadow go to the safe box, heard him (he was a tall solid person you would not want to tackle, the postman is shorter more weedy looking if he casts a shadow on my frosted curtains) lift the lid (I was wearing my hearing processor), and I heard the lid being replaced, and him going out of the gate and the click of the gate. I went out immediately, but no one or strange car was to be seen.
I am leaving the gate open this morning for one last day, because it is meant to be delivered by today. Friend says the seller says it hasn't been marked as delivered yet. But the postman often doesn't bother to do that....
I have had to order some more security stuff. I already have some. But I want some noise stuff which attracts attention if I have an intruder. My trail camera got stolen from outside...
Am ordering some stuff today.
This makes me feel vulnerable and jumpy. And hopping mad. I am not scared, I am done with the scared bit, although my body feels very stressed.
Edit: Daughter in Australia has given me ideas how to hide the new trail cameras for the front which will arrive tomorrow (at a collection point). How did you think of that I asked? I'm an engineer mum, that's my job...
Actually I wouldn't be able to stand the clicking of knitting needles either @ianpspurs . I would have to leave the room.I’m going to use this as a sort of confessional box. MIL is a lovely lady and at 94, nearly 95, she deserves to do things she enjoys. She has cottoned on that I don’t stay in the lounge long once she comes downstairs in the morning or often after 12 noon even though I take her tea in bed and make her toast/.breakfast when she comes down. What she doesn’t know is why I leave. She loves to knit and watch TV programmes which I find challenging. The knitting is problematic because she has a style of knitting, choice of needles, method of counting, choice of wool colour/patterns which drive me mad. She is knitting for her great grandchildren and neither JKP nor myself dare tell her about the colours. I bought the biggest TV I could, purely to watch sport - it takes up virtually one wall so I can’t ignore that and my peripheral vision is drawn to her knitting and the weird clicking. JKP knits but her style and wool are vaguely normal. All summer I could claim to be watching cricket, the Euros and Olympics. That won’t work now but I can’t actually tell her why I can’t be in the lounge until she goes to bed except when Spurs or International rugby are on TV. Sunday evenings are the worst as she watches Countryfie and Antiques roadshow. NFL helps but the dining room is the coldest room in the house. JKP also gets cross if I sit with headphones on as I don't talk to her and it is a bit rude. No amount of praying and asking for my sins to be forgiven works so far. Confession over, don’t think badly of me please.
I have no idea @Krystyna23040I am so sorry @gennepher. That is terrible. How on earth did they know about your wormery.
I love these art splodges @dunelmGood afternoon everyone from onboard a train between Manchester and home. 5.3 at 0530 UK time. Lovely last day with my mum yesterday. It rained all morning so we sorted out paperwork. French cassoulet was targeted for lunch - no mamby pamby keto stuff - propper beans - mum makes it to a traditional French recipe so no unpronounceable ingredients. Sun came out so a wander down the river path for an hour or so. We watched a recording on you choob of a folk concert which include folk that she knew - Norma Waterson and Martin Carthy - she had a grand time singing all the songs while still managing to count stitches knitting a baby cardigan which had teddy bears on it. Newly learned ideas for me were ‘tension’ and ‘reducing counts’. Art bit is the last of ink splodges. Hope you had a reasonable day of it. I may get home before the fish and chip shop closes (oh no! What have I said).
Did I mention AttenboroughActually I wouldn't be able to stand the clicking of knitting needles either @ianpspurs . I would have to leave the room.
I'll go round some and ask @dunelmBig sad state of affairs all round, I wonder if there are people local to you lie allotment folk that could give you a ‘starter’ wormery. Take care
What a terrible thing that that vet did.He was the perfect cat. Highly adaptable, he travelled with us to Uk and lived with us in four different places. Due to his disabilities he didn't chase birds or jump onto kitchen work surfaces. He never bit me. Not even when I was giving him tablets or putting drops in his ears.
He would walk by my side like a well trained dog. Once he gave his trust he gave it completely.
His name came from the first vet. Who declared "Ah, un errant!" At his first visit. Errant means stray or wanderer. Until then he had just been Cat.
Three years on and I still miss him.
Am still so angry with the other vet, who decided to give what she probably knew were useless antibiotics and left him to suffer the slow death of lead poisioning.
My mother knits on a single ‘needle’. - Two stainless steel ends with a bit of plastic string joining them. And some strange way of knitting gloves. Upshot - it’s quite quiet. There are though two sets of Sennheiser headphones connected to the TV, each with their own volume controls for those who want to watch tv undisturbed. Peripheral vision - see products available at equestrian outlets and horse shows.I’m going to use this as a sort of confessional box. MIL is a lovely lady and at 94, nearly 95, she deserves to do things she enjoys. She has cottoned on that I don’t stay in the lounge long once she comes downstairs in the morning or often after 12 noon even though I take her tea in bed and make her toast/.breakfast when she comes down. What she doesn’t know is why I leave. She loves to knit and watch TV programmes which I find challenging. The knitting is problematic because she has a style of knitting, choice of needles, method of counting, choice of wool colour/patterns which drive me mad. She is knitting for her great grandchildren and neither JKP nor myself dare tell her about the colours. I bought the biggest TV I could, purely to watch sport - it takes up virtually one wall (a door either side) so I can’t ignore that and my peripheral vision is drawn to her knitting and the weird clicking. JKP knits but her style and wool are vaguely normal. All summer I could claim to be watching cricket, the Euros and Olympics. That won’t work now but I can’t actually tell her why I can’t be in the lounge until she goes to bed except when Spurs or International rugby are on TV. Sunday evenings are the worst as she watches Countryfie and Antiques roadshow. NFL helps but the dining room is the coldest room in the house. JKP also gets cross if I sit with headphones on as I don't talk to her and it is a bit rude. No amount of praying and asking for my sins to be forgiven works so far. Confession over, don’t think badly of me please.
Thank you @gennepherI love these art splodges @dunelm
Enjoy those fish and chips..
So sorry to hear errants sad tale .Three years on and I still miss him.
My mum was a big knitter.Actually I wouldn't be able to stand the clicking of knitting needles either @ianpspurs . I would have to leave the room.
Possibly not subtle enough, JKP would notice but MIL could possibly be persuaded I'd read it on a website run by a leading medical specialist called Donald. I guess I could claim to be cold and wear a balaclava. Noise cancelling headphones are already frowned upon.Peripheral vision - see products available at equestrian outlets and horse shows.
I have no idea @AnnbWhat kind of people would want to steal the contents of a wormery? Are other gardeners so venal as to steal someone else's hard won product? Do the worms and compost have any real value to a thief? Unbelievable. I feel so sorry for you and the awful problems that keep arising for you.
That is a horrible feeling @gennepher. Quite scary.I have no idea @Krystyna23040
I never spoke to anyone round here about my wormery, no one knew I had one. It was totally hidden from the road. So this means that a scally or scrap merchant stealer had been around and climbed over from my gate or something and checked if there's anything to steal. And they saw the worrmery and looked in it. For some reason they must've known they were tiger worms and worth a heck of a lot to a fisherman or someone else. The whole thing sounds so improbable..... But the scary thing is, I feel they must've been watching me for when I went out because I was not out for very long and it was early in the morning. And I cannot shake the feeling I am still being watched.
I see what you mean about monetary value. What is concerning is how anyone knew and how that has left you feeling.I have no idea @Annb
A part of me could've understood it if they've taken the whole thing, including the bin because how are they going to keep those worms in an enclosed space unless they already had something prepared for them?
Yes, they have a real value to a thief, monetary wise they could sell those worms for an awful lot of money. And it is a heck of a starter if you're starting a financial business with a worming farm...
But the bin was unliftable, unless you had special lifting equipment, and to lift it in your van or wagon, it was far far too heavy with the thousands upon thousands upon thousands of worms that were in it with all that wet rich soil they had made. That soil produces amazing vegetables you cannot get otherwise... and it was way of remaining completely self-sufficient in my vegetable garden, not needing any more than a few seeds.
I have been growing my own vegetables for over 10 years now, maybe about 15 years. Initially it was using gro bags which were absolutely useless and costly, in comparison to the rich soil I get now, or I did get from my worms.
I never buy any vegetables from the shop and I have no idea what I'm going to do now because I am not going buy those vegetables from the shop.... I don't even believe organic are what they say they are. And I cannot afford it either.
I was self-sufficient in vegetables. What am I going to do now?
I have been sleeping most days, because my brain has been overloaded with the just about impossible/improbable fact of the worms being stolen, which is still inconceivable to me, that it all took place. And the fact I've got to work out and do and research and order a better security system. Because this tells me anything is valuable to a thief even though you may not realise it. And that is scary to me because how do you know what to protect?
EDIT: And the wormery took care of all my kitchen scraps, and kitchen towels. They were very voracious eaters of all the rubbish I put in for them. Where do I put that stuff now?
Yes @ianpspurs it is quite big business.I see what you mean about monetary value. What is concerning is how anyone knew and how that has left you feeling.
I know how you feel @ianpspursI’m going to use this as a sort of confessional box. MIL is a lovely lady and at 94, nearly 95, she deserves to do things she enjoys. She has cottoned on that I don’t stay in the lounge long once she comes downstairs in the morning or often after 12 noon even though I take her tea in bed and make her toast/.breakfast when she comes down. What she doesn’t know is why I leave. She loves to knit and watch TV programmes which I find challenging. The knitting is problematic because she has a style of knitting, choice of needles, method of counting, choice of wool colour/patterns which drive me mad. She is knitting for her great grandchildren and neither JKP nor myself dare tell her about the colours. I bought the biggest TV I could, purely to watch sport - it takes up virtually one wall (a door either side) so I can’t ignore that and my peripheral vision is drawn to her knitting and the weird clicking. JKP knits but her style and wool are vaguely normal. All summer I could claim to be watching cricket, the Euros and Olympics. That won’t work now but I can’t actually tell her why I can’t be in the lounge until she goes to bed except when Spurs or International rugby are on TV. Sunday evenings are the worst as she watches Countryfie and Antiques roadshow. NFL helps but the dining room is the coldest room in the house. JKP also gets cross if I sit with headphones on as I don't talk to her and it is a bit rude. No amount of praying and asking for my sins to be forgiven works so far. Confession over, don’t think badly of me please.
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