Vermi compost

Introduction 

Vermi compost is the use of earthworms for composting organic residues.

Earthworms can consume practically all kinds of organic matter.

Earthworms have the capacity to eat as much matter as their own weight and produce the same amount of manure per day in the form of castings.

It has become imperative to adopt earthworm farming for sustainable agricultural production and for the economic prosperity of the farmers.

Suitable Species 

1.Red Wiggler - Eisenia fetida

2.Red earthworm - Lumbricus rubellus (is another breed of worm that can be used, but it does not adapt as well to the shallow compost bin as does Eisenia fetida.)

3.European nightcrawlers - Eisenia hortensis

4.African Nightcrawlers - Eudrilus eugeniae

5.Common earthworm - Lumbricus terrestris (not recommended, as they burrow deeper than most compost bins can accommodate)

6.Blue worms - Perionyx excavatus (may be used in the tropics)

Earth worms,

Can convert 1000 tones of moist organic matter into 400 tons of high value compost.

Castings or excreta of earthworms are rich in nutrients and bacterial and actinomacetes population.

 

Wormy composting

Materials used

Old plastic containers, wood, Styrofoam, or metal containers can be use in small scale.

   

Processing

Place selection :

Shade house for shading (8’ of width & 12’of length)

Container size – 4’ of width , 12’of length & 2’ of height

 

Requirements :

Dry cow dung - 25Kg

Row cow dung – 25Kg

Agricultural residues

Inoculums

 

 

Turning :

After 16 – 18 days  and watering

After 18 days of 1st turning.

After 21 days of 2nd turning

 

 

Benefits of wormy compost

Soil

1.Improves soil aeration

2.Enriches soil with micro-organisms (adding enzymes such as phosphatase and cellulose)

3.Microbial activity in worm castings is 10 to 20 times higher than in the soil and organic matter that the worm ingests

4.Attracts deep-burrowing earthworms already present in the soil

5.Improves water holding capacity

 

Plant growth

1.Enhances germination, plant growth, and crop yield

2.Improves root growth and structure

3.Enriches soil with micro-organisms (adding plant hormones such as auxins and gibberellic acid)

 

Economic

1.Bio wastes conversion reduces waste flow to landfills

2.Elimination of bio wastes from the waste stream reduces contamination of other recyclables collected in a single bin (a common problem in communities practicing single-stream recycling)

3.Creates low-skill jobs at local level

4.Low capital investment and relatively simple technologies make vermicomposting practical for less-developed agricultural regions.

 

Environmental

1.Helps to close the "metabolic gap" through recycling waste on-site

2.Large systems often use temperature control and mechanized harvesting, however other equipment is relatively simple and does not wear out

3.Production reduces greenhouse gas emissions such as methane and nitric oxide (produced in landfills or incinerators when not composted or through methane harvest)