2. Background
Vermicomposting is as old as life on Earth
Michigan biology teacher ,Mary Appelhof arrived at the
idea of home Vermicomposting
In the winter of 1972, she created a Vermicomposting Pit in
her basement . The end of the season saw 65 lbs. of garbage
consumed and resultant worm compost aiding impressive
vegetable growth in her garden
3. The process of using worms and micro-organisms to
turn kitchen waste into a black, earthy-smelling,
nutrient-rich humus- Vermicompost
Containing water-soluble nutrients, Vermicompost is
an excellent, nutrient-rich organic fertilizer and soil
conditioner
What is it?
4. Materials Required
Worm Bin
Bedding
Water
Worms
Food Scraps
Temperature- 12`c to 25`c, ideally
6. Procedure
Select a location for your worm bin
Prepare bedding. It should be very damp, spread
evenly and filling three-quarters of the bin
Sprinkle a couple of handfuls of soil (from outdoors or
potting soil) into it to introduce beneficial
microorganisms and to aid the worms' digestive
process
Gently place worms on top of the bedding. Leave the
bin lid off so worms will burrow into the bedding.
Add food scraps, once they settle
7. Dig a hole in the bedding, place food scraps and cover with
at least an inch of bedding. Wait a week before adding
more food
Leave untouched to get worms used to new surroundings
Bury food scraps in a different area of the bin each time
(any time of the day)
Other creatures may be observed
8. Harvesting Worms & Compost
After about six weeks, worm castings seen
In three or four months, harvest the castings. Partially
decomposed bedding, food scraps and worms will be
seen with castings
This mixture is Vermicompost
9. Harvesting Vermicompost
Two Methods:
-Place food scraps on only one side of worm bin for
several weeks, most of the worms will migrate to that
side. Remove the Vermicompost from the other side of
the bin and add fresh bedding.
Repeat process on the other side of the bin
10. -Empty contents of worm bin onto a plastic sheet
where there is strong sunlight/artificial light. Wait
20-30 minutes and scrape off top layer of compost
Pick up worms that get scattered in groups and gently
return them to the bin in fresh bedding
Worm eggs contain two to ten baby worms. Place the
eggs back inside bin
11. Mechanism
Earthworm gut is an effective tubular bioreactor with feed
entering from one end and castings leaving through other end
73% gram -ve, facultative anerobic, Vibrio sp
A novel temperature regulatory mechanism accelerates
bioprocess and prevents enzyme inactivation due to high
temperature
Mucous produced by glands in anterior region of gut
provides favorable substrate
12. Using Vermicompost
Either use immediately or after storing
For outdoor plants, mulch/mix material into soil. Can
also be used as a top dressing on outdoor plants or
sprinkled on your lawn as conditioner
For indoor plants mix with potting soil. For top
dressing, remove decaying bedding and food scraps
from the castings. No worms or eggs in the castings, as
they will not survive
"compost tea" to feed plants
13. Advantages
Enriching soil (5-10% richer in K, P, N)
Increasing harvest yields
Suppressing plant disease
Media is freely generated!
Popular indoor spots are the kitchen, pantry, bathroom, mud room, laundry room, or basement. If you want to keep your worm bin outside, put it in the shade during the hot summer and shelter it from the cold in winter by placing it in a garage or carport, or putting hay bales around the bin to allow air to circulate around the bin, and keep it protected from flooding, because the worms can drown.
Earthworm’s gut is an effective tubular bioreactor with raw materials (feed) entering from one end and the product (castings) coming out through the other end. The temperature is maintained by a novel temperature regulatory mechanism, accelerating the rates of bioprocess and preventing enzyme inactivation caused by high temperature. Gizzard is colloidal mill in which the feed is ground into particles smaller than 2m, giving thereby, an increased surface area for microbial processing. Earthworm gut has nearly 73 percent of gram-ve, facultative anerobic, Vibrio sp (an autochthonous micro flora) that are responsible for the degradation of ingested food. Mucous produced by the glands in the anterior region of the earthworm gut provides a favorable substrate for symbiotic microorganisms that decompose complex organic compounds.