Vermiculture

It defines the thrilling potential for waste reduction, fertilizer production, as well as an assortment of possible uses for the future. Vermiculture enhances the growth of plants that provide food along with producing prosperous and financially rewarding fertilizer. The earthworm is one of nature’s pinnacle “soil scientists.” Earthworms are liberated, cost effective farm relief. The worms are accountable for a variety of elements including turning common soil into superior quality. Worms facilitate the amount of air and water that travels into soil. They break down organic matter and when they eat, they leave behind castings that are an exceptionally valuable type of fertilizer.


The art of composting has been part of our global culture since ancient times. The basic principles are quite simple, and adhering to them will result in an efficient and successful outcome. Studies have shown that home composting can divert an average of 700 lbs. of material per household per year from the waste stream. Municipal composting carries a greater environmental cost, but not nearly as high as if leaf and yard waste are disposed of by conventional means. When mixed with compost, clay soils are lightened, and sandy soils retain water better. Mixing compost with soil also contributes to erosion control, soil fertility, proper pH balance, and healthy root development in plants.


The standard means of disposal for most yard and food waste include landfilling and incineration. These practices are not as environmentally or economically sound as composting. Yard waste which is landfilled breaks down very slowly due to the lack of oxygen. As it decomposes, it produces methane gas and acidic leachate, which are both environmental problems. Vermicomposting is the easiest way to recycle food wastes and is ideal for people who do not have an outdoor compost pile. Composting with worms avoids the needless disposal of vegetative food wastes and enjoy the benefits of a high quality compost. It is done with “redworms” (Eisenia fetida) who are happiest at temperatures between 50o and 70o F and can be kept indoors at home, school, or the office. Worms process food quickly and transform food wastes into nutrient-rich “castings.”


Vermiculture is easy to practice, and uses only indigenous worms. The farmer rears them in pits 3m long, 1m wide and 1m deep, which can be easily dug with family labor. At the bottom of the pits, broken bits of earthen pots and broken bricks are laid to provide adequate drainage. Over that a 2.5cm layer of soil is spread and spats of fresh cowdung sprinkled. About 500 earthworms (all collected locally) may then be introduced in the pit, and covered with a thin layer of rice straw. Water should be splashed evenly over the last layer, and the pit covered with coconut fronds to protect the worms from sun and predatory birds. The worms will gradually reproduce or die according to the amount of food they receive. A sudden addition of a large amount of food waste may attract fruit flies, so increases should be made gradually.After an incubation period of 30 days, when the worms should have multiplied several fold, the farmers can start charging the pits with all kinds of organic residues.

Each time a layer of 5 cm can be added and, after spreading them evenly, a thin layer of soil should be used to cover the organic residues. The pits can be charged once in three days till the level reaches to just a few centimeters from the top. Regular watering should be done to keep the right amount of moisture in the pits. In another 90 days, the worms would have done their job well, as indicated by the earthworm castings on the topmost layer of the bed.

Farmers can collect the vermi-compost by digging out all the material from the pit. They should keep the material in a heap in the sun so that all the worms move down to the cool base of the heap. The farmers can then remove the top portions safely, powder the compost and sieve before applying to the fields. The worms collected at the base can be used for inoculating new vermi-composting pits. The quality of vermi-compost is far superior to other composts in terms of nutrients and other plant growth promoting substances.

Properties

Vermicompost has been shown to be richer in many nutrients than compost produced by other composting methods. It also has outperformed a commercial plant medium with nutrients added, but needed adjustment for magnesium and pH.

However, other studies have shown that the effects of home made, backyard, vermicompost compared to municipal compost were lower in terms of soil microbial biomass, soil microbial activity, and yields of a species of ryegrass.

Further, one study concluded that the differences between methods of composting were in large part due to the feedstock, and therefore no generalizations can be made between composts made from varying materials.

It is rich in microbial life which converts nutrients already present in the soil into plant-available forms.

Unlike other compost, worm castings also contain worm mucus which helps prevent nutrients from washing away with the first watering and holds moisture better than plain soil.


Harvesting

Worms in a bin being harvestedVermicompost is ready for harvest when it contains few-to-no scraps of uneaten food or bedding. There are several methods of harvesting from small-scale systems: "dump and hand sort", "let the worms do the sorting", "alternate containers" and "divide and dump." These differ on the amount of time and labor involved and whether the vermicomposter wants to save as many worms as possible from being trapped in the harvested compost.

While harvesting, it's also a good idea to try to pick out as many eggs/cocoons as possible and return them to the bin. Eggs are small, lemon-shaped yellowish things that can usually be picked out pretty easily with the naked eye.


troubleshooting

Smells

When closed, a well-maintained bin is odorless; when opened, it should have little smell - if any, the smell is earthy. Worms require gaseous oxygen. Oxygen can be provided by airholes in the bin, occasional stirring of bin contents, and removal of some bin contents if they become too deep or too wet. If decomposition becomes anaerobic from excess feedstock added to the bin in wet conditions; or layers of food waste have become too deep, the bin will begin to smell like ammonia.

Moisture


If decomposition has become anaerobic, to restore healthy conditions and prevent the worms from dying, the smelly, excess waste water must be removed and the bin returned to a normal moisture level. To do this, first reduce addition of food scraps with a high moisture content and second, add fresh, dry bedding such as shredded newspaper to your bin, mixing it in well.

Pest species


Pests such as rodents and flies are attracted by certain materials and odors, usually from large amounts of kitchen waste, particularly meat. By eliminating the use of meat or dairy product in your worm bin you decrease the possibility of pests. In warm weather, fruit and vinegar flies breed in the bins if fruit and vegetable waste is not thoroughly covered with bedding. This problem can be avoided by thoroughly covering the waste by at least 2 inches of bedding. Maintaining the correct pH (close to netural) and water content of the bin (just enough water where squeezed bedding drips a couple of drops) can help avoid these pests as well.

Worms escaping


Having worms escape is one of the most feared outcomes for many new vermicomposters. Worms generally stay in the bin, but may try to leave the bin when first introduced, or often after a rainstorm when outside humidity is high. Maintaining adequate conditions in the worm bin and putting a light over the bin when first introducing worms should eliminate this problem.

Vermicomposting

Vermicompost is the product or process of composting utilizing various species of worms, specifically red wigglers, white worms, and earthworms creating the heterogeneous mixture of decomposing vegetable or food waste, bedding materials, and pure vermicast produced during the course of normal vermiculture operations. Vermicast, similarly known as worm castings, worm humus or worm manure, is the end-product of the breakdown of organic matter by the species of earthworm.

Containing water-soluble nutrients and bacteria, vermicompost is an excellent, nutrient-rich organic fertilizer and soil conditioner. The process of producing vermicompost is called vermicomposting.

Related species

The earthworm species (or composting worms) most often used are Red Wigglers (Eisenia foetida or Eisenia andrei), but European nightcrawlers (Eisenia hortensis) may also be used. European nightcrawlers are called by a variety of other names, including dendrobaenas, dendras, and Belgian nightcrawlers.

These species are commonly found in organic-rich soils throughout Europe and North America and live in rotting vegetation, compost, and manure piles. They may be invasive species in some areas. As they are shallow-dwelling and feed on decomposing plant matter in the soil, they adapt easily to living on food or plant waste in the confines of a worm bin. Composting worms are available to order online, from nursery mail-order suppliers or angling (fishing) shops where they are sold as bait. They can also be collected from compost and manure piles. These species are not the same worms that are found in ordinary soil or on pavement when the soil is flooded by water.

Vermi benefits

Soil

Improves its physical structure,Enriches soil with micro-organisms (adding enzymes such as phosphatase and cellulase). Microbial activity in worm castings is 10 to 20 times higher than in the soil and organic matter that the worm ingests and attracts deep-burrowing earthworms already present in the soil and also improves water holding capacity.


Plant growth

Enhances germination, plant growth, and crop yield. Improves root growth and structure and
enriches soil with micro-organisms (adding plant hormones such as auxins and gibberellic acid)


Economic

Biowastes conversion reduces waste flow to landfills, elimination of biowastes from the waste stream reduces contamination of other recyclables collected in a single bin (a common problem in communities practicing single-stream recycling). Creates low-skill jobs at local level and low capital investment and relatively simple technologies make vermicomposting practical for less-developed agricultural regions


Environmental

Helps to close the "metabolic gap" through recycling waste on-site. Large systems often use temperature control and mechanized harvesting, however other equipment is relatively simple and does not wear out quickly. Production reduces greenhouse gas emissions such as methane and nitric oxide (produced in landfills or incinerators when not composted or through methane harvest)



As fertilizer


Vermicompost can be mixed directly into the soil, or leached in water and made into a worm tea by mixing some vermicompost in water, bubbling in oxygen with a small air pump, and steeping for a number of hours or days.

The microbial activity of the compost is greater if it is aerated during this period. The resulting liquid is used as a fertilizer or sprayed on the plants.

The dark brown waste liquid, or leachate, that drains into the bottom of some vermicomposting systems as water-rich foods break down, is best applied back to the bin when added moisture is needed due to the possibility of phytotoxin content and organic acids that may be toxic to plants.