RANCHO MURIETA, CA (MPG) - From honoring a local legacy to exploring sustainable gardening practices, the River Valley Garden Club covered plenty of ground Feb. 24 before diving into the surprisingly fascinating world of worm composting.

Held before a full room of members and guests, the meeting included club business, a memorial tribute to a longtime Rancho Murieta developer and a lively presentation by Master Gardener Susan Muckey, who cheerfully describes herself as someone who “loves to talk about worms.”

A highlight of the evening was the presentation of a Penny Pines certificate to Karen Hoberg in memory of her father, General Jerome Hoberg.

The Penny Pines program allows garden clubs to donate funds to plant seedlings in national forests. For every $68 collected, the U.S. Forest Service plants 300 seedlings.

Marianna Hashorva introduced the tribute, noting that General Hoberg “really put together that plaza down there” – the Murieta Plaza shopping center – and helped establish businesses that served the community for years.

Karen Hoberg thanked the club for its support. Many residents know her father for developing Murieta Plaza, she said, but fewer realize how personally involved he was in shaping Rancho Murieta’s appearance.

“He also did the architectural rules and the landscaping rules for Rancho Murieta and the CC&Rs,” she said.

General Hoberg didn’t just hire landscapers; he moved the boulders himself. 

“All those big boulders in the shopping center and the waterfalls, he did all of those himself on a little Bobcat, moved them all in, designed it all and put all the plants in,” Hoberg said.

He also planted the redwood trees that still shade the plaza today.

Karen Hoberg also invited members to her son Alexander’s upcoming Eagle Scout Court of Honor. The club had donated $200 to his Eagle project at Cosumnes River Elementary School, where he built raised garden beds protected with special mesh fencing to keep wildlife out.

The evening’s main presentation belonged to Susan Muckey, a Sacramento County Master Gardener who previously taught a hypertufa class for the club and now focuses on worm composting.

“I was a piano teacher. I don’t have a science background,” she told the group. “So you’re going to be getting sort of the Reader’s Digest version.”

That version included an engaging overview of worm anatomy, feeding habits, reproduction and how to build and maintain a home worm bin.

The worms used in composting are red wigglers, not the earthworms typically found in garden soil. 

“The red wigglers do not live in the ground,” she explained. “If you put a red wiggler in your garden bed, they’re going to either die or they’re going to find another place that they would rather be.”

Instead, they thrive in leaf litter and decaying organic material. 

“They’re garbage eaters. They’re not soil dwellers at all,” she said.

Throughout her talk, Muckey mixed practical advice with humor.

Worms, she said, are “like the perfect pet … They really just mind their own business. You’re not going to have them making any noise. They’re not going to create any problems. You can go away on vacation.”

If traveling, gardeners can simply bury a squashed pumpkin in the bin beforehand. 

“You don’t have to pay your neighbor to come over and feed your worms,” she said.

Worms also require a carefully balanced environment. 

“They breathe through their skin,” she explained, so moisture levels cannot be too wet or too dry.

When it comes to food, worms prefer fruits and vegetables, especially sweet or soft scraps. 

“They particularly like cantaloupe. They particularly like melons,” she said. “If you put a piece of watermelon in there, they kiss you because they kind of have a sweet tooth.”

Moldy food works best. 

“The rottener, the better. The moldier, the better. They love it,” she said.

Citrus, onions, garlic, pineapple, meat, dairy, oils and fats are off limits.

Muckey demonstrated how to build a simple worm bin using a dark plastic container with air holes drilled along the sides and bottom. Bedding can be shredded newspaper or pine or fir shavings – “not cedar, not redwood,” she emphasized – moistened to the consistency of a wrung-out sponge.

Over about six months, the original bedding and food scraps transform into rich, dark compost.

To separate worms from finished castings, Muckey suggested dumping the compost into small piles on a tarp outside. Because worms avoid light, they burrow downward, allowing gardeners to scrape away the top layer of castings until only a wriggling cluster remains – a task best done wearing gloves.

Another option, she joked, is to sit in front of the TV and pick the worms out by hand. 

“You can watch a show and do something good at the same time,” she said.

To conclude her presentation, Muckey walked through the audience, holding a paper plate of worm compost and live red wigglers, giving members a close-up view of the writhing mass.

“They like to hang out with each other,” one member observed.

Red wiggler worms used for vermicomposting are available from online worm growers and sometimes from local nurseries or bait shops.

The evening began with reminders about upcoming events, including a March 13 seed-starting workshop and the club’s May 9 plant sale fundraiser.

From honoring a community legacy to exploring the secret lives of worms, the meeting reflected the club’s blend of service, education, and down-to-earth enthusiasm … slime and all.