Vermiculture: Composting with Worms
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Issue: Many people want to be part of healing the earth, but don’t know where to begin. Vermiculture, or composting with worms, is a fairly simple thing we can each do at home to help reduce CO2 and to help restore the nutritional value of soil. Here’s where worms come in! Worm castings contains minerals such as concentrated nitrates, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and phosphorus. Worm castings are also a 100% organic fertilizer that can increase a plant's yield, protect both soil and plants from diseases, and help the soil retain moisture. Using kitchen scraps to feed soil enhancers also helps reduce the amount of methane in the environment, since that’s what happens to these scraps if landfilled.
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Why should we care? First, soil that isn’t nourished doesn’t help nourish life. 95% of our food is directly or indirectly sourced from soil. Healthy soil produces healthy, nourishing crops. Soils are a crucial ally to food security and nutrition.
Food availability relies on soils: nutritious and good quality food and animal fodder can only be produced if our soils are healthy living soils. Over the last 50 years, changes in agricultural technology and increased demand due to a growing population have put our soils under increasing pressure. In many countries, intensive crop production has depleted the soil, jeopardizing the soils productive capacity and ability to meet the needs of future generations.
A healthy soil is a living, dynamic ecosystem, teeming with microscopic and larger organisms that perform many vital functions including converting dead and decaying matter as well as minerals to plant nutrients (nutrient cycling); controlling plant disease, insect and weed pests; improving soil structure with positive effects for soil water and nutrient holding capacity, and ultimately improving crop production. A healthy soil also contributes to mitigating climate change by maintaining or increasing (sequestering) its carbon content.
Food availability relies on soils: nutritious and good quality food and animal fodder can only be produced if our soils are healthy living soils. Over the last 50 years, changes in agricultural technology and increased demand due to a growing population have put our soils under increasing pressure. In many countries, intensive crop production has depleted the soil, jeopardizing the soils productive capacity and ability to meet the needs of future generations.
A healthy soil is a living, dynamic ecosystem, teeming with microscopic and larger organisms that perform many vital functions including converting dead and decaying matter as well as minerals to plant nutrients (nutrient cycling); controlling plant disease, insect and weed pests; improving soil structure with positive effects for soil water and nutrient holding capacity, and ultimately improving crop production. A healthy soil also contributes to mitigating climate change by maintaining or increasing (sequestering) its carbon content.
View our Zoom Discussion titled, "Vermiculture: Composting with Worms" from Thursday, June 18 at 2:00 - 3:00 pm ET.
Consider More Deeply?
Look - what is left after your meals for five days. Each of us creates a lot of food waste, and most is truly wasted – turning to methane in a landfill.
Consider -how might vermiculture might you be part of a solution
Act - write down your hesitations. Now consider how you might recognize and transcend them.
Look - what is left after your meals for five days. Each of us creates a lot of food waste, and most is truly wasted – turning to methane in a landfill.
Consider -how might vermiculture might you be part of a solution
Act - write down your hesitations. Now consider how you might recognize and transcend them.
What can we do Now?
Set up a vermiculture bin, by following on-line instructions or by taking a class.
You can get red wiggler worms locally at Wenke’s https://wenkegardencenter.com/worm-composting/
Set up a vermiculture bin, by following on-line instructions or by taking a class.
You can get red wiggler worms locally at Wenke’s https://wenkegardencenter.com/worm-composting/
Learn More - In 10 minutes or less::
Vermicomposting: How worms can reduce our waste with Mathew Ross is a 4min 29 sec animated YouTube video about why vermiculture is a great process.
Creating a Simple Vermicomposting Worm Bin. A 9:22 video “how to” for how to build a simple worm bed.
Vermicomposting: How worms can reduce our waste with Mathew Ross is a 4min 29 sec animated YouTube video about why vermiculture is a great process.
Creating a Simple Vermicomposting Worm Bin. A 9:22 video “how to” for how to build a simple worm bed.
Read About It: (please use the library, order directly from a local bookstore, or use bookshop.org to support local book sellers)
Mary Appelhof, (1936-2005) was a biologist and environmentalist who lived in Portage, MI, wrote the book that started a backyard worm revolution in the 1970s. Entitled Worms Eat My Garbage, this book is full of tips on bin types, species, and all things related to the care and feeding of worms and use of the potting soil they produce.
Local Connections:
Lillie House Permaculture, located on Douglass Ave. in Kalamazoo, can help you get started. They teach Vermiculture and sell starter kits. https://transformativeadventures.org/services-at-lillie-house/
Mary Appelhof, (1936-2005) was a biologist and environmentalist who lived in Portage, MI, wrote the book that started a backyard worm revolution in the 1970s. Entitled Worms Eat My Garbage, this book is full of tips on bin types, species, and all things related to the care and feeding of worms and use of the potting soil they produce.
Local Connections:
Lillie House Permaculture, located on Douglass Ave. in Kalamazoo, can help you get started. They teach Vermiculture and sell starter kits. https://transformativeadventures.org/services-at-lillie-house/