According to the ancient Greeks, society flourishes when we plant trees under which we will never sit.  Here at the ranch, we see that phenomenon on a yearly basis, as each successive work crew profits from the labors of the seasons before.  One project that we have been drawing considerable dividends from this season is our new vermicomposting/vermiculture pit.  While there have been composting worms on the ranch for a number of years, they are now thriving in a new, more spacious concrete-lined abode, courtesy of Michael Mtuy, our greenhouse guru.  The new worm house keeps out intruding roots and has allowed us to increase the scale of our conversion of food scraps and manure to high quality soil for the greenhouses.  The worms require little care or attention, but are constant in their consumption of organic waste materials and output of castings (aka worm poop), which we sift using a screen to separate out usable soil from worms and the undigested materials, which are returned to the pit.  This season we have already been enjoying arugula, radishes, parsley and cilantro, and are looking forward to more crops in the months to come.