Worm Composting
Aug0
Worm composting is the process of administering worms to dead cell matter for composting it. Worm composting works much more quickly than traditional composting, and it is often referred to vermicomposting.
The earthworm species most used in the process (composting worms) are mostly Red Wigglers (Eisenia foetida), but European nightcrawlers (Eisenia hortensis) may also be used, as well as more acid-tolerant worms called dendrobaenas or dendras.
Worm composting is a common activity in locations over the world, although it is particularly large-scale in Canada, Italy, Japan and the US. Worm composting has its uses in farming and landscaping, such as in the manufacture of compost tea.
There are two systems of larger-scale worm composting, the first type using a windrow, which is just a body of bedding materials for the earthworms to live in; and there is always an abundance of organic matter for them to feed on, which is continually added to.
The second system is the raised bed flow-through system, which locates an inch of worm food across the top of the bed while an inch of castings is harvested from below when a breaker bar is pulled across the large mesh screen which constitutes the base of the bed.
Worm composting operatives may wish to note that the most kinds of worm composting worms – Eisenia foetida, Eisenia andrei and Lumbricus rubellus – feed most rapidly at temperatures of 59 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit (15-25 degrees Celsius). They can survive at 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius).
Worm farm composting
Aug0
Worm farm composting is a frequently applied method of increasing soil fertility – what happens is that the structure and drainage of the soil is improved, together with the holding of water and the breaking up of clays. It is widely noted among gardeners as being a secret ingredient to a healthy garden.
And because compost worms eat up to half their own body weight in waste material, they are very efficient in the production of organic compost.
Dendrobaena worms are used again and again in worm farm composting. And they compost a wide range of substances – anything that has lived and died; vegetable peelings; cooked vegetables; vacuum dust; pet hair; lawn clippings; animal waste; inner tubes from toilet / kitchen rolls; cardboard egg boxes.
One administers 1kg of worms for every cubic meter of soil – these measures at approximately 1600 to 2000 worms. The worms themselves are asexual and they can breed every couple of weeks; and without predators they have a life expectancy of up to 15 years.
Normal composting involves the collection of a body of dead cell matter in a single place before letting nature do the composting business by the process of oxidization. By contrast, worm farm composting works much faster. Furthermore, they do not produce any smell.
When creating a worm farm, know the natural habitat of worms. Worms survive and thrive only in warm areas which are moist and continually dark – they should be kept indoors during the cooler months.
