Earth Renewal Project)
When you choose composting with worms you are provided with several benefits. First, worms can do in one season what it takes mold, fungus and bacteria 2 to 3 years to do. In the process of this slow breakdown your leaves, grass clippings and garbage will produce methane gas and co2 gas as they deteriorate. We are aware these are greenhouse gasses and can contribute to global warming.
Second, when worms eat organic waste they produce nature’s best fertilizer for use on plants, yard, gardens, etc... Worm castings are the base fertilizer for organic gardening. They have amazing qualities that are as important to your plants immune system as organic food is to your immune system.
Worms will eat their weight every day in organic matter. They proliferate very quickly.
See www.WichitaWillie.com for more information.
No need to turn your compost pile - let the worms do it for you, naturally!!!
Here are some tips in caring for your worms.
1. Do not feed them citrus as it is too high in acid.
2. Worms are mostly water but they can drown. If the pile is enclosed make sure it can drain well. In my box I drilled 8 --1/4inch holes around the sides at the bottom.
3. If you have a lid on your bin leave it open so rain gets in, just make sure the pile can drain.
4. Keep the pile in the shade during the hot summer months. The worms will reproduce best in a temperature of 65 to 75 degrees.
5. Make sure they have adequate insulation from the cold in the winter time. I used a box 3 feet wide by 12 feet long by 3.5 feet high and put ½ inch Styrofoam insulation in the middle portion of it, then placed a pound worms and filled it up with leaves.
6. When you first start your bin you should give the worms something to eat while the leaves start their decomposing process. A good start is wet shredded paper, and peat moss. This is a good way to assure they have food in the beginning.
7. I’ve done testing and know that they will survive our winters, at least down to 5 degrees. That’s the coldest it’s been since I started the experiments.
8. Feeding garbage is easy, just dig a hole in the leaves about a foot down and dump it in. I have chickens and have fed my worm’s chicken manure also and they did fine with it.
The India Study
When I initially did my research on worms in 2006 I found an article where India had conducted a study. They took human sewage slug, cow dung and rice straw and composted it with worms. They checked it for deadly bacteria. They found it contained all 7 of the deadly bacteria, (ecoli, etc.). They checked every 7 days and found at the end of 35 days, all the deadly bacteria had been destroyed through the process generated by the worms.
Worm cast (vermiculture) is encapsulated in a wet membrane of enzymes. This process results in a time release fertilizer. The difference is that the release is dependent on the plants need for nutrients. It doesn’t get any better than that folks. The PH is around 7 which is perfect for most plants, and the nitrogen will not burn your plants.
Enzymes, vitamins and minerals are the base materials of the human immune system. The same is true of the veggies and fruits we eat. If they have the enzymes, vitamins and minerals from the soil, they have a healthy immune system and can better fight off pest and bacterial attacks.
There is one draw back to castings. They hold moisture longer than soil. At least twice as long. For container planting, mix no more than 20% castings into your soil mix. Check periodically with a hydrometer to see when they need water
