Fitting Fixtures and Services

Fittings, Fixtures And Services 3(1+2)

Lesson 16 : Vermicompost

Introduction

• Vermi-composting is a modified and specialised method of composting the process using earthworms to eat and digest farm wastes and turn out high quality compost in two months or less.
• Vermi-compost is not a bio-fertiliser but is merely improved compost.
• Earthworms eat cow dung or farm yard manure along with other farm wastes and pass it through their body and in the process convert it into vermi compost.
• Earthworms not only convert garbage into valuable manure but keep the environment healthy.
• Vermi compost is the excreta of earthworm, which is rich in humus.
• The municipal wastes; non-toxic solid and liquid waste of the industries and household garbage’s can also be converted into vermi compost in the same manner.
• An important point to note in case of vermi composting is to carry out proper sieving of the compost before applying it in the fields.
• The earthworm species (or composting worms) most often used are Red Wigglers.
• As they are shallow-dwelling and feed on decomposing plant matter in the soil, they adapt easily to living on food or plant waste in the confines of a worm bin.
• Small-scale vermicomposting is well-suited to turn kitchen waste into high-quality soil amendments, where space is limited.