Worm Farming

Hello everybody! As promised, this week I will talk about worms! More specifically, I will start by talking about worm manure, why it is so great, then go into how you can start your own worm farm!

Vermicompost, worm casings, and black gold are just a few names to describe the glorious excrement that comes from composting worms. Arguably the most premium nutrient supplement you can add to your soil, red wigglers are used commercially to create worm manure. 

The advantages of using any kind of organic soil supplement, but especially vermicompost, over a conventional fertilizer are countless and there are only 2 disadvantages I can think of. 

Pro: Worm manure contains all the minerals a plant needs to stay healthy. Conventional fertilizers only supply macronutrients; specifically, Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium (NPK). As a result, continual use of conventional fertilizer will rob the soil of its micronutrients, like Iron, Calcium, Zinc, Boron, Magnesium...I think there are nine in total. Basically, plants take up all the available micronutrients they can while making use of the abundant NPK, until the micronutrients become limiting factors to the plants growth. Over time, no amount of inorganic fertilizer will help them thrive when minerals like Iron, used to create chlorophyll, or Zinc which regulates plant growth, are missing from the soil.

Con: Worm manure is more expensive to buy from the store than conventional fertilizers.

Pro: Worm manure is easy to make yourself. Conventional fertilizer... forget about it.

Pro: Worm manure also contains beneficial microbes which help create and maintain a resilient and bio-diverse soil community. This community supports the plant and makes nutrients more accessible to the plants fine root hairs. Conventional fertilizers often create extreme soil conditions that singe off those fine root hairs and kill the microbes in association with the plant. Consequently, the plant needs to be watered more because it lacks a healthy root system. Even worse, the plant is more susceptible to new plant diseases who now have all the resources they could want in a soil community sterilized from all of its competitors. 

Con: The nutrients in worm manure are released more slowly into the soil community. Thus is takes longer than conventional fertilizer to get the plant what it needs.

Pro: The nutrients of worm manure stay in the soil where they are needed. Conventional fertilizers often leech into the groundwater and pollute the environment and surrounding habitats.

So, at this point you are probably thinking one of two things. 1) "Jeff, I get it, worm manure is better.. please move on," or 2) "OMG I feel so empowered to learn more! Quick, tell me how I can make my own and not feel like I'm being ripped off from the store!"

Well, either way, here's how I did it. The picture to the right shows the bin which I constructed of redwood. The dimensions are 2.5' tall x 3' wide x 6' long. Making sure the worms don't overheat or get too cold is important. Making a bin that is low to the ground and using plenty of bedding and  cover will prevent extreme temperature fluctuations. In addition, you never want the bin to be waterlogged so make sure there is drainage. The worms need access to air as well.

NOTE: Access to air does not necessarily mean an open container. You want the worms to have a home where they don't have to compete with flies, roaches, or rats for their food. This bin did have a lid which closed down on top. However, the lid did not close very snugly and I had a fly problem with this bin. 

So, I re-purposed the bin into a raised bed, where you can see zucchini and tomatoes growing, and made version 2.0 out of a broken refrigerator that my fraternity was going to throw away. This is the perfect worm farm. It is insulated, retains moisture, and is sealed air-tight to keep out flies and other pests. Because it is air-tight, I had to drill some holes on the sides so the worms could breathe and just taped some mesh over the holes to keep out flies.

So, with this old fridge, I adopted a small starter colony of worms from the Ecological Garden at the UC Davis Student Farm. I simply tucked the little wigglers into a bed of damp, yet fluffed out, newspapers and gave them just a little food to snack on. Once I was sure that the population was growing I started feeding them more, and more, until now, I just can't feed them enough!

So to conclude, I thought I would leave you all with a big ol' picture that showcases the raw awesomeness of version 2.0. BEHOLD!




Next week: Fall companion planting!

P.s. When reading the paint on the side of the Bad Fridge you may have noticed that "NON ORGANIC PRODUCE" is on the side marked with an unhappy face. You CAN feed worms conventional, non-organic, produce. I just didn't want any residual pesticides or herbicides to end up in my compost. Okay, The End.