1) What is Worm farming and Why is it everybody now days talking about Worm farming. It is a well known fact that our World is in trouble due to Global Warming. Worm Farming (Vermi Culture is promoted by many TV programs worldwide and other publications almost every day... Why?. Organic waste is one of the major factors causing global warming. Cape Town alone produces 1.5 Million Tons of Organic Waste per Year.
We need to our reduce our Organic waste... How !!!
Every Household can reduce it's carbon footprint by reducing it's household waste with a cost effective way to manage our food scraps .Worm farming is an easy and fun. By starting your own Worm Farm you can help to save our environment but will also save yourself a lot of money spent on fertilizers and Insecticides. Earthworms are Natures way of converting dead waste matter into living matter (Vermiculture), thereby enriching the soil with vital humus and bacteria. You can convert all your organic waste into food for your plants AND reduce your weekly refuse.
Create your own organic liquid plant food (Worm Tea) while reducing your household waste. The liquid from the wormery is a natural tonic for soil and plants and also acts as an insecticide..
2) Info on Wormeries The purpose of a wormery is to contain a vast number of earthworms that breed rapidly whilst consuming quantities of organic material, greatly improving its value for garden and agriculture purposes.
Worms can eat 1 and a half times their own weight per Day. 1kg of worms can produce 1.5kg vermicompost everyday.
The solids excreted and liquid exuded are easily harvested and applied to the garden or farm through direct application or irrigation.
Wormeries can be constructed of various materials, require protection from the elements are relatively easy to manage, smell free and can be very cost effective The size will be determined by the volume and type of organic material to be processed.
How does it Work?
Worms will eat the way up; they will digest the food at the bottom and move up in the container to the new food scraps added on the top.
Should you wish to increase the capacity of your worm farm you can add an optional second top box. Once the first top box is full the second top box needs to be placed and sits inside the first top box. It has to actually sit on the old food and bedding, the new food can be introduced into the new top box and the worms will migrate through the holes in the bottom of this box. Once they have had time to settle into this new box the original top box can be removed to harvest the worm castings which can be used as a
fertilizer. Worm castings are much sort after, to mix with other fertilizer, to make potting compost. As an alternative you can simply feed first one side of the box and again once the worms have migrated to that side of the box, the castings on the other side can be removed and the process repeated the opposite way round.
3) Info on Earthworms. Red worms ( commonly known as little Red Wigglers) Latin name is Eisenia Fetida are mid-size composting earthworms.
They grow from 1 to 3 inches long and weigh 0.5 to 1.0 grams each. As there names imply, red worms are red in color and are very active. t Red worms can be used as live pet food and to compost organic wastes! Below are some facts about red worms Eisenia Fetida.
a) A Red Wiggler Worm eats one and half times its body weight every day. The worm then excretes a soil-nutrient material called worm castings. This is why wise farmers have historically wanted to have healthy worm populations living in their fields. Worms are at the bottom level of the food chain but are critical to healthy soil. b) They have a life span of 2 to 5 years.
c) One adult worm will produce around 4 cocoons a week with good conditions.
d) 2 to 3 worms will hatch from each cocoon.
e) It takes 45 days for red worms to hatch.
f) It takes 6 weeks from the time the red worm hatches until it becomes an adult breeder.
g) If 1,000 red worms are properly cared for, 1,000 red worms can turn into 1 million in 1 year!
So as you can see, it does not take long for red worms to multiply! Red worms Contain: Moisture - 84% Ash - 2% Protein - 11% Fat - 2% Other - 1
4) What is Vermicompost and Worm Casstings? Red worms are excellent composers! They will eat down large amounts of organic material such as: grass clippings, leaves, breakfast cereals, organic foods, tea bags and egg shells and many other material.
As they eat, red worms excrete tiny pellets of manure which are called earthworm castings. The castings along with the worms and bedding is called vermicompost. Vermicompost and earthworm castings are wonderful soil amendments that are highly valued among organic gardeners and is known as the best compost for plants.. Earthworm castings are natural fertilizer. Earthworms have the ability to enhance the value of matter that passes through their digestive tract producing a pure, small, immediately available supply of macro and micro nutrients and at the same time a multitude of different natural microbes.
The microbes play many roles including:--
Releasing some nutrients that are locked into the soil.
Inhibit some plant diseases.
Replace beneficial microbes that have been killed due to various sprays.
Create various stimulants to aid plant root growth, flowering and general health.
Promote the composting or breakdown of organic material.
Vermiculture is the science of applying this principle on a more controlled and intensive basis.
5) Why are earthworm castings so good for my plants? Like other fertilizers, earthworm castings help your plants to grow healthier, but unlike chemical fertilizers the castings can't burn tender roots or leaves and are safe to use at any concentration. They also have no chemical or manure odor.
Plants love worm castings. Along with many trace elements and micro nutrients, castings have five to eleven times more nitrogen, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, potash, and magnesium than topsoil.
The minerals are water-soluble and are time-released, so they are easily available to the plant when the plant needs them, both immediately and long-term. Where can I use earthworm castings?
*rose bushes *potted plants *orchids *flower gardens *herb gardens *vegetable gardens *trees and lawn
*anywhere you want healthier plants and soil
6) Where and How do I keep a Wormery? 1) Pick the correct Site for Your worm Farm : Worms don’t like the heat so make sure to pick a nice cool and shady spot for your worm farm a garage, garden shed or greenhouse are good sites. They can be left outside but would need to have some sort of cover to protect them from frost. Small Units can even be kept in a kitchen.
2) Moisture Remember that worms breathe through their skins so they need a lot of moisture. they can live in 80 % moisture but will drown in liquid..
3) Bedding for Your Worm Farm After you have your box and base set up, the third step to worm farming is preparing the bedding for your worms. Torn, or shredded paper or cardboard boxes, dry leaves mixed with a little compost make for good bedding. Make sure that the bedding material is torn or shredded and then soaked in water before it is added to the box. .For bedding and food You can also add horse and cow Manure or any other animal waste Pig and sheep
Thorn or shredded palm tree branches also make a good Bedding Material.The bedding material mentioned above are also known as browns
4) Feeding:
Both greens and browns must be added to your wormery as food and bedding , both will be turn into compost by the worms. When it comes to feeding your worms be sure to pick food scraps like vegetable and fruit peelings. They also like bread, juicer pulp, crushed eggshells, and even tea bags.this food are called greens. The finer the food are chopped up the quicker it will be turned into compost.
What I personally found that work very well in my own Wormery is the left over food/seed from my birds with the Bird droppings and feathers. When the seed starts to grow inside the wormery and are a few centimeters high pull them out it make excellent bedding and as a food source.
5) What not to feed Your worms! Never feed your worms: Pineapple (will kill the worms) Dairy products, meat, fish, fat and bones. This type of food will also make your worm farm stink. Worm farming experts also advise you not to feed your worms oily foods.
Citrus ( they don't like Citrus fruit too much acid)
Any of the Union family including garlic.. Will it smell? If the worm farm is operating correctly there should be no smell. Worms don't actually eat the kitchen waste itself, they eat the dead bacteria which breaks down the kitchen waste and it is the dead bacteria that smells. As the worms eat this there should be no bad smell. You can also put things like the dust from your vacuum cleaner, coffee grinds and soaked egg cartons into the worm farm. Overfeeding can cause smells because the worms wont' be able to break down the Bacteria quick enough
7) What is Worm wee or Worm Tea?
Worm tea is a 100% natural by-product from Earthworm farming
Worm "Tea" will provide all the nutrients that your plants will need to thrive. Worm tea is a highly aerated water nutrient solution, that also contains all the goodness from the worm castings or vermi cast used in the making of the worm tea. This includes all the beneficial bacteria, fungi, protozoa and nematodes as well as the plant available nutrients and minerals. This is a totally natural organic plant food but also containing nutrient and living biology all in one easy to apply liquid. Worm teas have no negative impact on the environment.
Global Worming Worm Tea is created through a brewing process which runs distilled water through Red Wiggler worm castings, the nutritious elements and microorganisms of the castings are captured in a concentrated liquid form.
By using Global Worming Worm Tea on your plants and gardens, you put healthy microorganisms back into the soil where they thrive and multiply, creating a much healthier growing environment for your plants.
While Global Worming Worm Tea is in a concentrated form, it is an all-natural soil amendment, so you cannot over use or “burn ” your plants. Mix the bottled concentrate with water Mix 25:1 or even up to 100:1) till it is a tea color and apply directly at the root base of your plants to enhance the health of your soil or spray the whole plant. Some plants feed from the leafs.
Can also be added to a compost pile to accelerate the composting process. Larger quantities of Global Worming Worm Tea can also be used to enhance the soil quality of your lawn.
Global Worming Worm Tea can be used as an alternative to insecticides and fungicides. The bacteria and additional live microbes will eat fungus such as: Black mold on fruit trees, black spot on roses, scale on crape myrtles etc. as well as kill the larvae of By using Global Worming Worm Tea as an alternative to fertilizers, not only will you have healthier plants and soil but you will be contributing to a healthier environment for all. whiteflies, aphids, mites etc. Spray 100% directly to affected areas of your plants.
By using Global Worming Worm Tea as an alternative to fertilizers, not only will you have healthier plants and soil but you will be contributing to a healthier environment for all.
8) Can I Build my Own D.I.Y. Wormery ?
You can make your own wormery , there are many Items that can be used for wormeries , items that you may already have or can cheaply and easily buy.I have build a 160 LT wormery for myself with recyclable Meat Crates.
I have started now with a slightly smaller Unit . Both units are black because the worms prefer darkness and don't like Light.
If you want one but don't want to build one yourself and are in Gauteng and you can collect then I can build one for you . I can deliver in Johannesburg for an additional R100 . contact Me at piet@be-amazed.co.za.
I am also supplying Eisenia Fetida (Red Wigglers)
at R200 per 1000+ in their bedding
including Eggs and small worms supplied in a bag
Below is the pictures of my D.I.Y. Wormeries , The largest is a 160 Lt and don't take up much space The bottom container
is where the Worm tea can be harvested ,Each container is also fitted with a Lid
Experiment with Worm Tea (Click Here for the photo's of the results) Choice Decisions 85 (Pepper Farm) suppliers to Woolworths and Spar did an experiment with worm tea and was very happy with the results.
The misting system is all computerized .
There is a big difference in the Quality of the plants
