Vermiculture

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Vermiculture

• Steven M. Brown
• University of Massachusetts

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Vermiculture is.

• Composting with red worms (Eisenia foetida) for
• Fishing worms
• To get rid of kitchen wastes
• To create the perfect soil for houseplants
• Saves money and the environment

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Vermicompost is one of the final products
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Can you believe this is a working vermiculture
container?
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Worms are a product too.
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To get started you need

• Bedding for the worms
• Shredded paper
• Torn up newspaper
• Old bark mulch
• Peat moss or hay
• Dried leaves
• Sticky parts on envelopes

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And you need

• Water
• Crushed egg shells (for calcium)
• Sand or dirt (for grit)
• Lime (so the soil stays sweet)

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Here it is..
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Essentials.
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You need a container

• Wooden box
• Cardboard box
• Clay pots
• Clean trash barrels

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Cardboard Box
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Clay pot
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Tender loving care.

• Avoid freezing temperatures
• Keep moist
• Feed us

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Feed us
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Also feed us

• Fruit peeling, cores
• Vegetable trimmings
• Rotten potatoes
• Coffee grounds and tea bags
• Corn cobs (yahoo)
• House plant trimmings

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DONT
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Be cautious about

• Fats or cheeses
• Too much citrus rinds
• Horse bedding (may be toxic)
• Meat and bones

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Harvesting

• To keep the bin going
• Remove half of the bedding and replace it with
  fresh materials.
• The worms will follow!

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Harvesting
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Harvesting for Houseplants

• Separate worms from the decomposed bedding
• Place in a large plastic or clay pot with
  drainage holes
• Put the large pot on top of the bin
• After a while, the worms and hatched eggs will
  migrate back into the bin

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Harvesting for Houseplants
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Harvesting for Worms

• When all the fresh food is gone
• Empty out the contents into a conical pile
• Shine a light on the pile
• The worms will migrate down
• Collect the worms

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Harvesting the Worms
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The grande finale

• A big hairy closing goes here!