Vermicompost – The Other Black Gold
What is vermicompost?
- Vermicompst is using worms (particularly red worms) to turn rotting vegetation, manure, or any other organic material into a nutrient rich compost through the natural breakdown and processing of this material from worm digestion. The end product, castings or worm poop, is an organic fertilizer and soil conditioner containing an abundance of beneficial water-soluble nutrients and bacteria.
What are the benefits of vermicomposting?
- There are countless benefits to vermicomposting, but some of the most important and obvious benefits include:
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
* Attracts deep-burrowing earthworms already present in the soil
* Improves water holding capacity
Plant growth
* Enhances germination, plant growth, and crop yield
* Improves root growth and structure
* 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
* 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)
Worm Castings | admin October 18, 2009