vermiculture document.pdf · vermicompost has lots of benef its, of which onl y som e ar e m ent...
TRANSCRIPT
Vermiculture
Charl Pienaar(MScAgric MBA earthwormaholic)
charlpagnrgcoza
and
Dora du PlessisDora du Plessis
(Centre for Agricultural Management)duplesdmsciufsacza
2007
copy 2007 UFS Centre for Agricultural Management
All rights reserved
Centre for Agricultural Management
Department of Agricultural Economics
Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences
University of the Free State
PO Box 339
Bloemfontein
Suid-Afrika
9300
Tel 051 401-2557 3759
Fax 051 401-2557 3743
Email duplesdmsciufsacza (Secretary)
nellwtsciufsacza (Dr Nell Director)
Web wwwufsaczaagriman
CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION 1
2 DEFINITIONS 1
3 BENEFITS 2
4 WORM FARMING 3
41 The worms 4
42 Establishing the worm farm 5
421 Windrows 5
422 Worm bins 6
423 Tyre stacks 7
43 Maintaining your worm farm 7
431 A hospitable living environment (ldquobeddingrdquo) 8
432 A food source 8
433 Adequate moisture 10
434 Adequate aeration 10
435 Protection from temperature extremes 10
436 When the worm bin smells 11
44 Harvesting super vermicompost 11
441 Using a sieve 11
442 The ldquodivide and sortrdquo method 11
443 The ldquolighted pilerdquo method 11
5 USES FOR SUPER VERMICOMPOST 12
51 As growth medium 13
52 In the home garden 13
53 In the vegetable garden 13
54 For conventional farming purposes 14
55 Making super vermicompost worm tea 14
56 Building up your soil to invite beneficial insects 16
6 VERMICOMPOSTING IN TYRE STACKS 18
61 Housing earthworms in tyre stacks 18
62 Feeding the earthworms in the tyre stack 20
63 Harvesting the tyre stack 21
7 WORMING TOWARDS LEISA AND ORGANIC FARMING TECHNIQUES 22
8 SOME VERMICOMPOSTING STORIES FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD 24
SOURCES 26
Vermiculture
Page 1 of 27
1 Introduction
The plough is one of the most ancient and most valuable of Mans inventions but
long before he existed the land was hellip regularly ploughed and still continues to be
ploughed by earthworms It may be (doubtful) whether there are many other
animals which have played so important a part in the history of the world as these
lowly organized creatures
ndash Charles Darwin (1881)
Except w here m entioned and quoted th is docum ent w as adapted from tw o articles on
vermiculture by Mr Charl Pienaar from Supertill cc in the Paarl which appeared in Go Farming
(Volumes 1(3)22-23 and 1(4)20-21) as well as from a short course presented by Mr Pienaar at the
M U CPP com m unity food garden project of the University of the Free State in Mangaung
Bloemfontein
This document will provide you the African-farmergardener-who-cares-for-the-environment with
knowledge tools and skills on how to employ earthworms and their buddies as your little workers
and thereby to farm more profitably and skilfully
2 Definitions
Earthworms are divided into two groups (International Ag-Sieve)
bull The first group the humus formers dwell on the surface and feed on nearly 90 fresh
organic matter and 10 soil They are generally red in colour It is these worms that are
used for vermicompost
bull The second group the humus feeders are deep burrowing worms that are useful in
making the soil porous and mixing and distributing humus through the soil (Dont use
these worms from your garden soil ndash they will not live in a worm composting bin)
Vermiculture is the process of using worms to decompose organic food waste turning the
waste into a nutrient-rich material capable of supplying necessary nutrients to help sustain
plant growth (wwwwormpoopcom) The goal is to continually increase the number of worms
so that you can have a sustainable harvest The worms can either be used to expand a
vermicomposting operation or sold to customers (Glen Munroe sa1)
Vermiculture
Page 2 of 27
ldquoVermicompost (also called worm compost vermicast worm castings worm humus or worm
manure) is the end-product of the breakdown of organic matter by some species of earthworm
Verm icom post is a nutrient-rich natural fertilizer and soil conditioner The process of
p r o d u c in g v e rm ico m p o st is ca l le d v e rm ico m p o st in g rdquo ( h t t p e n w ik ip e d ia o r g
wikiVermicompost)
A worm farm is a container in which people keep earthworms Organic matter especially fruit
and vegetable scraps are added weekly to the container for the earthworms to eat They then
excrete a substance called castings which is a rich fertiliser containing five times more nitrogen
than topsoil as w ell as high amounts of potassium and pho sphate W orm farm s use
earthworms that thrive in the dark warm food-rich moist environment of the worm farm The
best earthworm to use is called the red wriggler The population in a well maintained worm
farm doubles every two to three monthsrdquo (Seed 200637)
3 Benefits
Vermicompost has lots of benefits of which only some are mentioned here (wwwwormfarmcom
wwwwormpoopcom Weisenhorn wwwsustlandumnedu wwwhappydranchcom)
bull Vermicompost is the highest grade of organic fertiliser available
bull Research has shown that vermicompost contains five times the available nitrogen seven times
the available phosphorous three times the exchangeable magnesium e leven times the
available potash and 15 times the calcium found in topsoil
bull Vermicompost is a nutritious and
environmentally friendly alternative
to chemical fertilisers
bull V e r m i c o m p o s t a d d s b e n e f i c i a l
organisms nutrients and minerals to
the soil that sustain healthy plant life
and vital plant growth
bull Micro-organisms in the vermicompost help break down organic matter and convert nutrients
into a more available food form for plants
bull Plants grow stronger and have deeper root systems for better drought tolerance and disease
resistance
bull Vermicompost mixed with soil provides a natural organic fertiliser and a very good source of
nutrients for plants that dramatically improves the structure and fertility of soil
bull Vermicompost added to compost tea is proving to be worth its weight in gold
ldquoUsing the rich 100 organic vermicompost which
you recycle on site on your organic farms or organic
gardens gives your crops the best fertilizer on the
planetrdquo
wwwhappydranchcom
Vermiculture
Page 3 of 27
bull Worm castings can be sold to other farmers and gardeners or can be used as a component of
potting soil mixtures
4 Worm Farming
Earthworms are arguably the most important animals on planet Earth ndash they are responsible for
making soils suitable for plants to grow in ndash and we all know how important plants are for all
forms of life on earth
Even in ancient Egypt the importance of earthworms was recognised ndash Queen Cleopatra (69-30 BC)
recognised the earthworms contribution to the Egyptian agriculture by declaring this animal
sacred
Unfortunately in modern times through the excessive application of chemical fertilisers the
majority of agricultural lands have become sterilised
(dead) because most of the good bugs (earthworms and
beneficial micro-organisms) have been killed by all the
chemicals However this seriously bad situation in
modern agriculture can be reversed by natures own
little workers hum ble earthw orm s and their even
smaller helpers the beneficial micro-organisms
Traditional farming methods in Africa are intrinsically
organic recycling of animal and plant wastes through natural composting methods thereby
putting clean organic matter back into the soils and by not killing natures little workers through
the modern temptation of easy (but expensive) application of chemical fertilisers
Research done by the University of Georgia show ed that ldquo
tomato plants grown in the earthworm castings grew on average
126 from their original height Plants grown in red soil grew
on average 32 and plants grow n in potting m ix grew on
average 45 from their original heightsrdquo
wwwwormfarmingsecretscom
ldquo E a r t h w o r m s s h o u l d b e c o m e t h e
farmers little workers They will even
bring along their ow n m uch sm aller
little helpersrdquo
ndash Charl Pienaar
Vermiculture
Page 4 of 27
41 The worms
There are reportedly more than 4 000 different species of
earthworms worldwide but the species that is most suitable
for our purpose is called the Red Wriggler (Eisenia fetida)
They are also called ldquocompost wormrdquo ldquomanure wormrdquo
ldquoredwormrdquo and ldquored wrigglerrdquo
These small red earthworms are very hard working (they can
eat through their own body weight in 24 hours) they breed
and multiply very actively and they are well adapted to a
range of temperatures and food sources
ldquoIn fact it seems they dont actually eat it ndash they consume it sure enough but what they derive their
nourishment from is all the micro-organisms that are really eating it [organic matter] And yet ndash mystery
ndash their casts contain eight times as many micro-organisms as their feed And these are the micro-organisms
that best favour healthy plant growth And the casts dont contain any disease pathogens ndash pathogenic
bacteria are reliably killed in the worms gut This is one of the great benefits of vermicompostingrdquo
(wwwjourneytoforeverorg)
According to Seed (200637) one need at least 2 000 worms
as a starter stock These worms will breed and multiply to
about 8 000 worms in six months
The Red Wrigglers do not occur naturally in Africa and
your starter stock of this hard-working type of earthworm
should be ordered from a reliable supplier There are
va rio u s su p p lie rs around Som e se ll th ese p re cio u s
earthworms for fish bait
You should only be required to purchase the first batch
thereafter they will multiply very actively unless you dont look after them properly or some
disaster strikes Adult worms produce about three cocoons a week and each cocoon will contain
at least three baby worms and sometimes ten or more (wwwwormpoopcom)
The red wrigglers hate light After 20 minutes exposed to sunlight they will become confused In
30 minutes they will stop breathing and by 35 minutes exposure they die Worms should therefore
be covered at all times (wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg)
Earthworms breath through their skin w hich needs to remain moist to facilitate respiration
Earthworms can live for months completely submerged in water but they will die of they dry out
(Sherman 2003)
httpenwikipediaorgwikiEisenia_foe
tida
Starter stock (two hand-fulls)
Vermiculture
Page 5 of 27
The worms should be harvested every three months or separated from the castings
42 Establishing the worm farm
Your little workers should have proper housing for them to work at their best Expensive containers
are available in the market but w e will only discuss the follow ing groups of worm farming
methods
421 Windrow systems
Windrow systems on concrete or on the ground require the
least capita l inves tm en t but the y are s low an d labo ur
in ten s ive T h is is norm ally used for large-sca le verm i-
composting Bedding is put in long rows with organic matter
on top of it New food are put aside the previous ones because
worms will move towards the fresh foodstuff Castings can
then be removed on one side of the bed while new food are always put on a new row
httpwwwwaterkeeperorg
httpenwikipediaorgwikiVermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 6 of 27
422 Worm bins
For indoor composting you can use plastic storage bins or make one
yourself from wood Plastic bins are light and easy to move They will
hold moisture You will however need to drill holes into them to allow
air for the worms and to drain into a collection tray Plastic bins require
more drainage than wooden ones because they are non-absorbent
The size of the bin depends on how much food waste your household
produces A general rule of thumb is that you will need a square of about
30 cm surface area for each 500 g of waste your household produces
(httpredworms-greenearthcom)
Worm bins can be grouped into three categories (wwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost)
Oslash Non-continuous (an undivided container) A layer of bedding material is placed in the bin
to line the bottom Worms are added on the bedding and a layer of organic matter above the
bedding Another layer is added on top of the organic matter This type of bin is often used and
small and easy to build but harvesting is more difficult
Ugrave Continuous vertical flow ( a series of trays stacked vertically) This type of tray is available
commercially The bottom tray is filled first but is not harvested when it is full Instead a thick
layer of bedding is added on top and the tray above is used for adding organic matter When
worms finish eating the bottom tray they will move to the one above The bottom tray can be
emptied when most of the worms have migrated to the top tray These bins are easier to
harvest
Uacute Continuous horizontal flow (a series of trays lined horizontally) This method also relies on
earthworms to migrate towards a food source This bin is longer than the non-continuous bins
but divided in half usually by a large gauge screen One half is used until it becomes full then
the other half is filled with bedding and organic matter The worms will migrate to the side
with the food and the castings can then be collected This is therefore easier to harvest
Examples of worm bins
Drainage holes in plastic
bin
wwwtimetorecyclecomwwwwormwomancom wwwallthingsorganiccom
Vermiculture
Page 7 of 27
423 Tyre stacks
From experiments by Mr Charl Pienaar over the past five years the best most practical and least
expensive type of housing for your little workers is a tyre stack built from used bakkie or tractor
tyres Your local tyre dealer in town will be too happy to give these to you for free ndash this also helps
to solve a big problem in terms of the disposal of these items (This will be discussed in more detail
in Section 6)
43 Maintaining your worm farm
Your compost worms will need five basic things to survive and be happy a hospitable living
environm ent a food source adequ ate m oisture adequ ate aeration and protection from
temperature extremes (Munroe sa5-11) If you manage your composting system well keeping
these five things in mind you will be successful in the end
Hester with a worm tyre stack
ldquoGrowing worms is part science part green thumb You
need the knowledge but you also need to do it to learn how
to do it wellrdquo
Munroe (sa13)
Vermiculture
Page 8 of 27
431 A hospitable living environment (ldquobeddingrdquo)
ldquoBedding is the living medium for the worms but also a food source It is material high in carbon
a n d m a d e t o m i m i c d r i e d l e a v e s o n t h e f o r e s t f l o o r t h e w o r m s n a t u r a l h a b i t a t rdquo
(wwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost) The selection of bedding material is a key to successful
vermicomposting Bedding should be moist like that of a wrung out sponge When you squeeze
it hard a drop or two of water should drop out
Good bedding mixtures are therefore an essential element in meeting the needs of the worms
Shredded newspaper or cardboard makes an excellent bedding This can be combined with straw
or hay composted sheep cattle horse or abattoir manure (ldquopensmisrdquo) Poultry manure is not
recommended as it is too high in nitrogen and minerals
In hot climates the bins should be placed in the shade or away from direct midday sun Worms are
likely to die if conventional hot composting takes place Only thin layers of uncomposted material
should be added and temperature need to be monitored continuously If the bedding dries out mist
it with water from a spray bottle (wwwredworms-greenearthcom)
432 A food source
Compost worms are big eaters They are able to consume in excess of their body weight each day
although the general rule-of-thumb is that they will eat half of their body weight per day (Munroe
sa7) Their food consists primarily of decomposing organic matter where carbon sources (such
as dried leaves shredded paper cardboard etc) are mixed with nitrogen sources (such as food
scraps grass clippings manure etc) (wwwvermicocom)
Wait at least a day or two after placing the worms on the bedding before
adding the first food A good practice is to first test the suitability of food
for earthworms especially when manure or compost will be used Place
the m ateria l in a sm all conta iner add enough w ater to m oisten it
thoroughly and place a few worms on top Observe their behaviour over
the next few hours If the worms crawl out or die then you will know
that the material is not suitable and should not be fed to the w orm s
(Pienaar 2007)
Add more food when you see the worms beginning to work and when
they have eaten the first layer of food you can add another layer about 25 cm thick If you add too
much food you risk creating anaerobic conditions After you have added a layer of food always
add another layer of bedding material at about 25 cm thick (wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg)
There are two methods of adding food to the bin (wwwanswerscom topicvermicompost)
Testing suitability of food
Vermiculture
Page 9 of 27
Oslash Top feeding Organic matter is placed directly on top of the existing layer of bedding in a bin
and then covered with another layer of bedding This is repeated every time the bin is fed
Ugrave Pocket feeding A top layer of bedding is maintained and food is buried beneath The location
of the food is changed each time and often the bed is fed in more than one location As bedding
runs low more is added Add fruit and vegetable scraps each week Chop up food before
adding and try to feed the worms a mixture of materials Add less food in the first week and
gradually increase the amount over six months It is best to feed your worms weekly If
uneaten food remains then you know you have overfed the worms After feeding the worms
each week cover the food scraps with some compost or soil to avoid attracting fruit flies (Seed
200638)
If you regularly check the areas where you added the food you can soon see what foods your
worms like or dislike
Worms will eat almost any type of vegetable and fruit scraps partly decomposed compost
shredded newspaper small amounts of grass clippings leaves and even damp cardboard pieces
Add crushed eggshells as the worms need the calcium in the shells
The worms further love potato peelings carrots and carrot tops lettuce cabbage celery apple
peelings banana peels orange rinds grapefruit and
watermelon rinds They also like cornmeal oatmeal
coffee grounds with the filter and tea bags
Keep a plastic tub in your refrigerator to hold food
scraps so they will still be nice and fresh when you
feed the w orms Do not let them rot and become
smelly
Do not add onions or garlic or too much acidic food
like citrus pineapples and tomato strong spices and
acid (sour) food such as large amounts of vinegar and
sa lt A v o id m a te r ia ls co n ta m in a ted w ith to x ic
chemicals for example sawdust from treated wood
Do not feed them meat scraps bones oily food and dairy products such as cheese and butter as
these will attract ldquobadrdquo bugs and cause odours Never feed them cat or dog poop
The compost worms are low-maintenance and you can skip two or three weeks without feeding
t h e m b u t a n y l o n g e r t h a n t h a t a n d y o u w i l l h a v e a b i g b o x o f d e a d w o r m s
(wwwseasonsindiacom)
Vegetable and fruit scraps
Vermiculture
Page 10 of 27
433 Adequate moisture
Earthworms breathe through their skins (they do not have lungs) and for that they require
m ois tu re (w ater) A dd w ater every few days or w hen
necessary to prevent the worm farm from drying out You
may need to add more water during hot windy weather It
is important to keep the worm farm moist as the worms may
die if it dries out However the worm farm should not be
soggy either Remember there is also moisture in the food
scraps (Seed 200638)
You should also cover the top of the tyre stack with a suitable material to prevent evaporation of
moisture and to keep unwanted visitors out
434 Adequate aeration
Worms are oxygen-breathers and operate best when ventilation is good and the bedding is relative
porous and well aerated They cannot survive anaerobic conditions which occur when there is an
absence of oxygen Your worm farm will then start having a bad odour If that is the case then you
have added too much food and the worms are finding it difficult to aerate the compost by their
regular movement through it
To rectify the problem you will need to stir the bedding to aerate it add dry shredded newspaper
cover the container and add no more food until the smell has gone To prevent acid conditions you
can sprinkle crushed egg shells into the worm food when building the tyre stack
435 Protection from temperature extremes
Large quantities of fresh uncomposted organic matter will naturally start composting excessive
heat will build up which may kill your little workers
Earthworms like to work in the dark (is that why they multiply so quickly) and very hot or cold
temperatures should be avoided
Remember
The bedding material should feel
like a wrung-out sponge
ldquo M oistu re con ten t o f less th an 5 0 is d an g erou s W ith th e
exception of extreme heat or cold nothing will kill worms faster
than a lack of adequate moisturerdquo
Munroe (sa10)
Vermiculture
Page 11 of 27
436 When the worm bin smells
A healthy worm bin should smell like garden soil A foul odour indicates that something is wrong
The following checklist should help you to prevent or solve odour problems (httpredworms-
greenearthcom)
bull Put plenty of air hols in the bin to ensure that the worms have adequate air to breathe
bull Feed only a vegetarian diet
bull Bury food wastes completely under the bedding
bull Insure adequate drainage for the bin
bull Do not overfeed
44 Harvesting vermicompost
Depending on the original quantity and quality of w orm food the living conditions and the
number of earthworms you started off with the little workers should be finished with their job
three to six months after you started them off in a tyre stack Your little workers would have turned
the organic matter into rich and dark super vermicompost (the so-called ldquoBlack Goldrdquo) ndash filled with
beneficial micro-organisms and concentrated plant foods
Now we need to become a little more technical since it is not so easy to separate the earthworms
from the rich ldquoblack goldrdquo vermicompost that they produced We do not want to hurt or damage
the little ones since who will do the work then Also check for cocoons of young worms They look
like yellowish jelly beans
Hester busy harvesting vermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 12 of 27
441 Using a sieve
Some farmers use a circular sieve to do the trick They load the harvested vermicompost on a
trailer and use gravity to make the compost (and worms) roll down into a circular sieve which is
then being turned by hand The fine compost will fall through the sieve to be collected while the
larger worms and rough clumps of compost would roll through to be collected at the bottom For
this procedure the moisture content of the compost should be just right not too wet and not too
dry
This technique however is a bit too complicated although for large volumes of compost it may
be the best way
442 The ldquodivide and sortrdquo method
This method is used when worms are kept in plastic bins Move all the old bedding to one side of
the bin Add fresh bedding like newspaper to the
other side and bury the new food scraps only to
the new bedding
Within a week or two most of the worms will have
moved (migrated) from the old bedding into the
new bedding Now you can harvest the worm
castings
443 The ldquolighted pilerdquo method
Lay a large strong plastic sheet on the floor Dump the contents of the worm farm onto the plastic
sheet and divide it in piles Shine a light on the top of each pile Since worms are sensitive to light
they will go down into the pile to avoid the light You will need to remove a little bit of the castings
at a time until all you have left is just a pile of worms
5 Uses for Vermicompost
Vermicompost is the highest grade of organic fertiliser available It can be used as growth medium
in the home garden vegetable garden as compost tea and to improve the quality of the soil
A great trick for doing this is to p lace
w a te rm e lon r in d in th e b in w ith th e
new bedding Worms love watermelon
rind they cant get enough of it and will
greedily rush towards it
wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Vermiculture
Page 13 of 27
51 As growth medium
A good idea is to mix super vermicompost half-half with river sand This mixture can then be used
as growth medium for seedlings This mixture gives very good results because it drains very well
yet provides the plants with excellent nutrition from the super vermicompost (Pienaar 2007)
52 In the home garden
The super vermicompost can also be applied as top dressing directly to pot plants and to the
garden on plants such as lavender roses hedges etc Use it sparingly but it will not burn plants
if you use too much (Pienaar 2007)
Mixing it with good topsoil compost vermiculite or perlite in equal amounts creates a good potting
soil (wwwwormdigestorg)
A s p o t t in g m ix o n e th ird v e r m ic o m p o s t c a n b e m ix e d w ith tw o -th ird s p o t t in g s o i l
(httpredworms-greenearthcom) As top dressing apply at a rate of two tablespoons every 30 days
after establishing new pot plants In already established pot plants use four tablespoons for the
first application of vermicompost and then follow up with two tablespoons every 30 days
thereafter (wwwwormwisecom)
53 In the vegetable garden
When transplanting seedlings such as cabbage green pepper tomatoes etc up to one cup of
vermicompost can be put in the hole where the seedling will be planted which is then covered with
a layer of ordinary soil and then planting the seedling on top (Pienaar 2007)
When sowing seeds in furrows make the furrow a little deeper and wider than normal sprinkle
some vermicompost onto the rows cover with about 3-5 cm of soil and then sow the seeds at its
normal depth (Pienaar 2007)
The initial application w ould probably not provide enough nutrition to see the vegetable
crop through and in that case apply vermicompost as a top dressing at the following rates
(httpwormwisecom)
bull In the case of cabbage green pepper tomatoes (etc) a topdressing at the rate of one cup per
plant should be worked into the soil in a diameter around the plant every 30 days
bull In the case of vegetables planted in furrows such as beetroot carrots onions etc apply at a
rate of one cup for every 30 cm of row alongside the row every 30 days
Vermiculture
Page 14 of 27
A liquid application (worm tea) will also give very good results when applying to the soil and to
the plant leaves once or twice a month (See 55)
54 For conventional farming purposes
Obviously for commercial farming purposes a small composting operation like the tyre stack or
compost bins would not be sufficient For soils really poor in organic content an application of 40
to 50 tons of fertiliser per hectare may be needed in the first year of converting to organic (non-
chemical fertiliser) farming methods For this volume of compost a conventional commercial
composting works would be required
You will need a large wood chipper automate compost turner big volumes of garden refuse clay
and animal manure Conventional compost and super vermicompost can be combined for use for
commercial farming operations
55 Making super vermicompost worm tea
Super vermicompost can also be applied in liquid form the so-called ldquoworm teardquo Various recipes
are available on the internet for making liquid fertiliser from super vermicompost The recipe can
be very simple for small operations to large commercial brewing operations
A simple recipe is as follows
bull Take a fairly large drum (44 gallons) and cut open the top
Otherwise use a dirt bin with a lid
bull Add a small tap to the bottom of the drum from where the tea
can be drained
bull Clean the drum properly and fill nearly to the top with clean
good quality water
bull Add about five kilograms of fresh super vermicompost You
can also first place it in a bag made of cheese cloth an old
nylon stocking or old pillowcaseDrum for making
compost tea
Vermiculture
Page 15 of 27
bull Use a small air pump which could typically be purchased from a pet shop and is
normally used to aerate indoor fish tanks
bull Put the outlet of the pump into the water and allow to bubble
air through the worm tea for about 24 hours
bull In this time the beneficial microbes (the good bugs) increase at
a very fast rate in the water
bull After this time the colour of the water would be a rich dark
brown like strong black tea
bull A small quantity of dishwashing liquid can be added to make
the liquid stick to the leaves better
bull Remember to filter the worm tea through a cheese cloth before putting into the sprayer
otherwise the nozzle will keep on blocking
This worm tea can be applied in liquid form around your plants (as fertiliser) or sprayed onto the
plants with a sprayer The inexpensive application of worm tea should be repeated every few
weeks or even more often if disease or insect pressure occurs You can never apply too much
The vermicompost tea contains micro-organisms that will inoculate the soil against harmful
organisms that would feed on plant roots (wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg)
To feed plants well you have to feed the soil they grow in One of the best ways to feed the soil
is to add vermicompost Vermicompost feed the micro-organisms in the soil improve soil structure
and fertility and provide plants with all the nutrients they need to grow and stay healthy
Air pump
ldquoM ix two tablespoons of vermicompost with a litre of w ater
and let it stand for a day shaking it occasionally then sprinkle
under the plants One-litre drinking water bottles make good
sprinklers drill a few small-diameter holes in the lid point and
squeezerdquo
wwwjourneytoforeverorg
Vermiculture
Page 16 of 27
The theory about fighting off the ldquobad bugsrdquo with worm tea is that
you assure that the ldquogood bugsrdquo are present in high numbers which
would help them to chase the ldquobad bugsrdquo away
The good bugs are the beneficial or friendly insects They help control
the insects that damage vegetable crops One must learn to recognise
them as your ldquofriendsrdquo in the garden
Good bugs from left Lacewing Praying mantis frog amp gecko
Furthermore a strong healthy well-fed plant will have improved resistance to fight off the ldquobad
bugsrdquo and diseases by itself (Nell Engelbrecht amp Du Plessis 2007)
56 Building up your soil to invite beneficial insects
To ensure good healthy soil ndash whether you have sandy or clay soil ndash boils down to one important
thing The gardener will have to continuously improve the soil If a gardener does not prepare the
soil properly it will lead to poor growth and he will not harvest good quality vegetables
Adding vermicompost deep into the soil will ensure that there is a balanced supply of air in the
soil Avoid unnecessary stepping on the vegetable beds and never work the soil when it is too wet
This will compact the soil and poor aeration will be the result
Good bugs Ladybird feeding
on aphids
ldquoA real gardener is not a man who cultivates
flowers he is a man who cultivates the soilrdquo
Karel Capek in ldquoThe Gardenerrsquos Yearrdquo
Vermiculture
Page 17 of 27
Maintaining a good soil structure can
bull increase water-holding capacity
bull promote root growth
bull maintain aeration and drainage
bull make cultivation easier
bull help to reduce the risk of erosion and
bull improve fertility
No farmer or gardener will be able to improve the soil com-
p le t e l y i n o n e g r o w in g s e a s o n H is g o a l m u s t b e t o
co n t in u o u s ly im p r o v e th e s o i l b y a d d in g co m p o st o r
vermicompost every time he prepares the bed for a new crop
(Nell Engelbrecht amp Du Plessis 2006)
In soils with high organic content there would naturally be a build-up of beneficial microbes (good
bugs) which will work hard at making nutrients ready to be used by plants And the population
of local earthworms will also increase over time This plays a very important role to produce
accessible food for plants and to aerate the soil
Therefore the farmer-who-cares-for-the-environment should do everything possible to build up
hisher soils and thereby to create and maintain conditions in the soil that would attract and protect
the little workers and their even smaller little friends the micro-organisms
DO work in leaves bark chipped garden refuse and compost into your soil and remember to put
a layer of organic matter (mulch) around the plants to cool down the soil and to maintain moisture
DO NOT turn over the soil often and thereby disturbing the fine balance Be mindful of applying
chemicals that will kill the good bugs and make sure that there is no compaction in the soil that
will prevent roots to penetrate deeply and water reserves to build up in the soil
Soils such as these can be built up with
vermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 18 of 27
6 Vermicomposting in Tyre Stacks
According to Mr Charl Pienaar the best most practical and least expensive type of housing for
earthworms is a tyre stack built from used bakkie or tractor tyres and using ldquopensmisrdquo as food
61 Housing earthworms in tyre stacks
Oslash You can use the used bakkie or tractor tyres as is but we found that cutting open one of the
sides with a strong knife or electric jig saw optimises the inside space and makes harvesting the
super vermicompost that much easier
Ugrave Put a plastic sheet on the ground in a suitable shady spot (under a tree on the south side of
your house against the wall or inside under a roof) and start building the tyre stack on top of
the plastic sheet The plastic sheet is for preventing tree roots from growing into your compost
from the bottom ndash remember all types of plants love super vermicompost
ldquoTo me it is one of Gods finest m iracles to observe how hum ble
earthworms are able to magically convert otherwise useless plant and
animal wastes into rich humus (black gold) for plants to produce
the food that enriches our livesrdquo
ndash Charl Pienaar
Tractor tyreCharl Pienaar cutting open the
side of a tyre
Vermiculture
Page 19 of 27
Uacute Water the inside of each of the tyres well
Ucirc Fill each tyre first with bedding (such as shredded paper) and then a
thick layer of manure
Uuml Water the contents well especially in the round section of the tyre
Yacute Place another layer of shredded paper on top of the layer of manure then place some of the
worms to one side on top of the food in the tyre
THORN Stack the next tyre and continue until you have five or six bakkie tyres stacked and filled with
worm food (no more than two for tractor tyres)
Watering inside of tyreLayer of shredded paper Layer of manure
Placing worms to one sideWater each tyre separately
Vermiculture
Page 20 of 27
szlig Place a sheet of plastic canvass or a layer of newspapers over
the top of the bedding This will hold moisture in and will
help reduce the chance that fruit flies come and lay their eggs
in the food
The tyre stack is now ready to provide a house and shelter for
your new little workers You can of course build as many of these
tyre stacks as you have space and energy for
If your tyre stack dries out the compost will become hard like a
rock their skins will dry out and your little workers will die
Water your tyre stack about once a week by pouring a few cups
of clean water in from the top If water runs out at the bottom
you are over-watering and you should apply less water
52 Feeding the earthworms in the tyre stack
Your little helpers will feed on a whole range of organic food sources but for agricultural purposes
we found pre-composted abattoir manure (ldquopensmisrdquo) and some types of pre-composted animal
manure (ldquokraalmisrdquo) the best
Other types of organic material such as conventional
compost made from leaves chopped scrap wood
animal manure and w ood pulp should also work
well
To test the suitability of different food sources put a
small quantity of moist food in a container (such as an
empty margarine holder) and put a small number of
earthworms on top If they refuse to burrow in after
a few minutes the food is not suitable
Pre-composting of fresh organic material should be
done by placing the organic matter in a drum or container with ventilation holes supplied and
turning the compost every few days by rolling the drum or container a few times
Building tyre stack
Abattoir manure (ldquoPensmisrdquo)
Vermiculture
Page 21 of 27
Or you could start a conventional compost heap and turn the
heap with a fork every few days The micro-organisms will start breaking the organic matter down
heat will build up and oxygen will be used in the process
Within about three weeks the pre-composted matter should be ready to be placed inside the tyre
stacks as described previously
If you have access to ldquooldrdquo organic matter (for instance manure that has been lying in a heap for
a few months) pre-composting should not be necessary
53 Harvesting the tyre stack
The following technique works well and although it is slower it is much easier and less stressful
for the little workers
Oslash Start building a new tyre stack next to the old one and put fresh worm food only in the round
bottom section of the tyre starting with shredded paper then manure (ldquopensmisrdquo)
Ugrave Fill the rest of the tyre with the harvested compost (plus worms) from the old tyre stack and
continue with the next tyre when the bottom one is full And so on until the stack is six tyres
high
Uacute The next step is to disturb the top few layers of vermicompost by stirring with your hands
which causes the worms to take flight downwards
Turning of compost
Conventional compost containers
Vermiculture
Page 22 of 27
Ucirc The clean compost can then be harvested from the top Continue with the harvesting until you
reach the fresh worm food And there you will find all the worms trapped in the round section
of the tyre ready to be scooped out with the fresh worm food
Uuml The little workers embedded in the fresh organic matter could then be scooped out and used
to populate a new tyre stack that was first filled with fresh worm food And so the cycle is
repeated over and over
7 Worming Towards LEISA and Organic Farming
Techniques
In this part we will explain how to utilise the super vermicompost that your little workers so
willingly and cost-effectively prepared for you We will also provide insights on how to build up
your soil so that the local little workers will be able to continue the good work that their brothers
and sisters in the tyre stacks did for you
LEISA is short for Low External Inputs Sustainable Agriculture simply meaning that instead of
looking for expensive external farming inputs (chemical fertilisers chem ical w eed killers
insecticides and pest control chemicals) the clever farmer or vegetable gardener should find items
and materials available locally and inexpensively to do the same or better job as the expensive
external inputs
For instance a flock of geese on the farm could do a great job to keep snails and other insects under
control while at the same time providing a renewable source of meat and eggs to feed the farmers
family As they are good for security too
Using a chicken tractor to work the soil for
y o u i s a l s o s o m e t h i n g t h a t c a n b e
in co rp o ra te d in a v e g e ta b le g a rd en A
chicken tractor is basically a bottomless cage
built from old material It allows the chickens
to scratch and eat off of the ground such
things as grass weeds bugs worms etc
You can drag the chicken tractor around the
garden The chicken manure goes directly
onto th e s o il w here it fe rtilises th e so il
C h ick en tractors are perfect for a sm a ll
number of chickens
A chicken tractor at the experimental site of the Motheo
College in Bloemfontein
Vermiculture
Page 23 of 27
In the same way super vermicompost produced on the farm or at home from waste material and
making use of the free labour provided by the little helpers could go a long way towards replacing
expensive chemical fertilisers Furthermore vermicompost is good for building up the soils
putting carbon sources and essential microbes (good bugs)
back into the place where they belong the place that
Nature prepared for the over the ages
LEISA is therefore about helping to create a positive
ldquobalance of paymentsrdquo for the farm ing enterprise or
vegetable garden ndash more money should flow in to the
project than would otherwise flow out One important
aspect of this positive balance is to purchase as little as
p o s s ib le e x p en s ive ex te rn a l in p u ts fo r fa rm in g o r
vegetable gardening operations
And super vermicompost produced on the farm fits right into the LEISA philosophy
Organic farming techniques go one step further namely to receive certification (proof) that no
harmful substances were used n the farming operations Good quality compost (also certified as
organic) is an essential input for formal organic farming techniques
However for produce to be certified organic could be very expensive especially for a small-scale
farmer Then your pack house cold chain and transport system also needs to be certified organic
adding more complications
ldquoWhat does organic mean
Organic farming is producing food the natural way Organic farmers aim
to produce good healthy tasty food from balanced healthy soil Organic
farm ers cannot grow GM (genetically modified) crops and cannot use
chem ical fertilizers or additives or spray artificial pesticides O rganic
farmers use crop rotation to improve the fertility of their soil Healthy soil
= healthy plant = healthy humanrdquo
Anonymous (Go Farming 2(2)7)
Vermiculture
Page 24 of 27
Therefore the advice for emerging farmers or vegetable growers is to learn their trade through
LEISA techniques and not to attempt to go all the way to being certified organic without having
the skills and experience to make a success of that The Internet is full of very useful tips on how
to farm better with low external inputs type LEISA and vermiculture in a search engine such as
Google and youll be amazed with the information that comes up
8 Some Vermicomposting Stories from All over
the World
Commercial vermicomposting is just beginning in the USA San Diego in California has employed
worms to convert part of its organic waste stream into useable products The castings are in high
demand In Oregon a research and demonstration project has become a thriving business A large
urban hospital in Ontario has been using worms to process some of its waste stream for several
years (Attra 2007)
We read of the ldquoworm womanrdquo Mary Appelhoff No one in this country has done more for the
self-image of worms than Mary Appelhof the undisputed and nationally recognized
Worm Woman (Green Living Magazine)
Worms eat my garbage Theyve been doing it for twenty-seven years I set up my basement worm
bin with shredded newspaper a bit of soil and a few thousand redworms I bury food waste in it
The worms eat it They also eat the bacteria and protozoa and fungi and other microorganisms
which decompose it They grind and mix and secrete and excrete and eventually the food waste
and bedding turns into worm castings which we use in our garden The whole process is truly on-
site recyclingrdquo
Mary Appelhoff published her first book Worms eat my garbage How to set up and maintain a worm
composting system in 1982 Her newest endeavour is t bring a new voice to the vermicomposting
field by publishing a childrens picture book about vermicomposting Compost by gosh Her website
for worm composting resources can be visited at httpwwwwormwomancom
Other countries have been researching and using commercial vermicompost systems for a decade
or more Cuba for instance started their vermicomposting programme in 1986 with two small
boxes of red worms By 1992 172 vermicompost centres were producing 93 000 tons of worm
humus annually (Gersper et al 1993)
Vermiculture
Page 25 of 27
Currently France Germany Italy Japan Hong Kong India Australia and many countries
in South America have research or commercial vermicomposting projects underway (Attra 2007)
One of the largest commercial producers of vermicompost is Vermitech (Pty) Ltd in Australia
This company is dedicated to the beneficial management of organic waste through the use of very
large scale Vermiculture Their website documents considerable research on the use of their
product on various crops (httpwwwvermitechcomhomehtm)
In the past ten years an organisation in India has prompted over 2 000 farmers and institutions to
switch from conventional chemical fertilisers to that of an organic fertiliser namely vermicompost
Vermiculture has been the prim ary focus at M aharashtra Agricultural Bioteks w hich w as
established in 1985 The organisation currently produces 5 000 tons of vermicompost annually In
1991 to 1992 this group promoted the adoption of vermicompost technology in 13 states in India
The organisation has also created a programme which trains housewives and home gardeners to
produce their ow n vermicompost from household garden waste (Dr Henamgee Jambhekar
wwwfadrmsuru)
The Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town added a feature to its list of facilities that is a South African
first A fully-functioning worm farm The hotel has decided to go green by instituting an organic
waste recycling programme where its kitchen waste are turned into worm droppings which
constitute some of the best fertiliser to keep the hotels lawns pot plants and vegetable gardens
flourishing They have thousands of worms housed in plastic crates behind one of the hotels
parking areas They estimate that the farm currently hosts about 33 000 worms (South Africa
Logue)
There are also plans to work on methods to combine conventional composting with super
vermicompost and to put up commercial composting plants at the two new markets for emerging
farmers at Philippi Market Cape Town and Ugu Agricultural Market in Port Shepstone The
conventional compost spiked with super vermicompost will be made available for emerging
farmers near these markets through the subsidised transport linking the markets with the emerging
supply base via a depot system (Charl Pienaar 2007)
Happy Worming
Vermiculture
Page 26 of 27
SOURCES
Anonymous [sa] Organic agriculture What does it all means Go Farming 2(2)6-8
A TTR A (A ppropria te T echnology T ransfer for Rural Areas) 2007 W orms for com posting
(Vermicomposting) National Center for Appropriate Technology
Earthworms as a natural resource httpwwwwormfarmcom
G e r s p e r e t a l 1 9 9 3 C u b a s c o m p o s t in g A g r ic u l t u r e a n d H u m a n V a lu e s X (3 ) 1 6 - 2 3
httpfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art1html
Ja m b h h e k a r H e m a n g e e V e r m ic u l t u r e in I n d i a I n t e rn a t ion a l A g -S iev e 7 (1 ) A r t 3
(httpwwwfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art3html)
Journey to Forever Organic Garden Vermicomposting
httpwwwjourneytoforeverorgcompost_wormhtml
Munro G [sa] Manual of on-farm vermicomposting and vermiculture Organic Agriculture Centre of
Canada
Nell W T Engelbrecht G M amp Du Plessis D M 2006 Growing vegetables A comprehensive guide
on how to establish maintain and manage a vegetable garden Centre for Agricultural Management
University of the Free State Bloemfontein
Organic farming and organic gardening using vermicompost httpwwwhappydranchcom92html
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 1 How to grow super vermicompost Go Farming 1(3)22-
23
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 2 How to use super vermicompost Go Farming 1(4)20-22
Pienaar Charl 2007 Vermiculture short course presented at MUCPP Mangaung Bloemfontein
Supertill cc Paarl
Recycling advocates Vermicomposting httpwwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Seasons India Vermicompost
httpwwwseasonsindiacomlifestylegrdnVermicompost_seahtm
Vermiculture
Page 27 of 27
SEED (Schools Environmental Education and Development) 2006 Improving the soil ndash worm
farms (worksheet 53) Growing the living laboratory Permaculture for environmental education in the
NCS Used with permission from Leigh Brown The complete document is available for download
on the SEED website (httpwwwseedorgza)
Setting up a worm bed httpwwwwormpoopcomWormBedWormBedhtm
Sherman Rhonda 2003 Raising earthworms successfully North Carolina Cooperative Extension
Service Publication no EBAE 103-83 North Carolina State University
South Africa Logue Mount Nelson Hotel creates ldquopermaculturerdquo of excellence with worm farm
httpwwwsouthafricaloguecom
Vermiculture Indoor composting
httpredworms-greenearthcomcgi-binshopplpage=indoorhtml
Vermiculture Canada Earthworm castings as plant growth media
httpwwwvermiculturecaarticlesearthworm_castingshtm
Vermiculture composting httpwwwwormpoopcomCompostingCompostinghtm
Vermicompost httpwwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost
Weisenhorn Julie Vermiculture Promote global warming Sustainable urban landscape information
series University of Minnesota httpwwwsustlandumnedu
What kind of earthworms do we recommend httpwwwvermicocomwormshtm
Wikipedia httpenwikipediaorg wikiVermicompost
Worm Digest Young persons guide to vermicomposting
httpwwwwormdigestorgcontentview152
Worm Farm Free worm farming newsletter ndash Vermiculture
httpwwwwormfarmingsecretscom
Worm Research Centre
httpwwwwormresearchcentrecoukvermicompostinghtml
Wormwise How to use WormWisereg Earthworm Castings
httpwormwisecomid=help
copy 2007 UFS Centre for Agricultural Management
All rights reserved
Centre for Agricultural Management
Department of Agricultural Economics
Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences
University of the Free State
PO Box 339
Bloemfontein
Suid-Afrika
9300
Tel 051 401-2557 3759
Fax 051 401-2557 3743
Email duplesdmsciufsacza (Secretary)
nellwtsciufsacza (Dr Nell Director)
Web wwwufsaczaagriman
CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION 1
2 DEFINITIONS 1
3 BENEFITS 2
4 WORM FARMING 3
41 The worms 4
42 Establishing the worm farm 5
421 Windrows 5
422 Worm bins 6
423 Tyre stacks 7
43 Maintaining your worm farm 7
431 A hospitable living environment (ldquobeddingrdquo) 8
432 A food source 8
433 Adequate moisture 10
434 Adequate aeration 10
435 Protection from temperature extremes 10
436 When the worm bin smells 11
44 Harvesting super vermicompost 11
441 Using a sieve 11
442 The ldquodivide and sortrdquo method 11
443 The ldquolighted pilerdquo method 11
5 USES FOR SUPER VERMICOMPOST 12
51 As growth medium 13
52 In the home garden 13
53 In the vegetable garden 13
54 For conventional farming purposes 14
55 Making super vermicompost worm tea 14
56 Building up your soil to invite beneficial insects 16
6 VERMICOMPOSTING IN TYRE STACKS 18
61 Housing earthworms in tyre stacks 18
62 Feeding the earthworms in the tyre stack 20
63 Harvesting the tyre stack 21
7 WORMING TOWARDS LEISA AND ORGANIC FARMING TECHNIQUES 22
8 SOME VERMICOMPOSTING STORIES FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD 24
SOURCES 26
Vermiculture
Page 1 of 27
1 Introduction
The plough is one of the most ancient and most valuable of Mans inventions but
long before he existed the land was hellip regularly ploughed and still continues to be
ploughed by earthworms It may be (doubtful) whether there are many other
animals which have played so important a part in the history of the world as these
lowly organized creatures
ndash Charles Darwin (1881)
Except w here m entioned and quoted th is docum ent w as adapted from tw o articles on
vermiculture by Mr Charl Pienaar from Supertill cc in the Paarl which appeared in Go Farming
(Volumes 1(3)22-23 and 1(4)20-21) as well as from a short course presented by Mr Pienaar at the
M U CPP com m unity food garden project of the University of the Free State in Mangaung
Bloemfontein
This document will provide you the African-farmergardener-who-cares-for-the-environment with
knowledge tools and skills on how to employ earthworms and their buddies as your little workers
and thereby to farm more profitably and skilfully
2 Definitions
Earthworms are divided into two groups (International Ag-Sieve)
bull The first group the humus formers dwell on the surface and feed on nearly 90 fresh
organic matter and 10 soil They are generally red in colour It is these worms that are
used for vermicompost
bull The second group the humus feeders are deep burrowing worms that are useful in
making the soil porous and mixing and distributing humus through the soil (Dont use
these worms from your garden soil ndash they will not live in a worm composting bin)
Vermiculture is the process of using worms to decompose organic food waste turning the
waste into a nutrient-rich material capable of supplying necessary nutrients to help sustain
plant growth (wwwwormpoopcom) The goal is to continually increase the number of worms
so that you can have a sustainable harvest The worms can either be used to expand a
vermicomposting operation or sold to customers (Glen Munroe sa1)
Vermiculture
Page 2 of 27
ldquoVermicompost (also called worm compost vermicast worm castings worm humus or worm
manure) is the end-product of the breakdown of organic matter by some species of earthworm
Verm icom post is a nutrient-rich natural fertilizer and soil conditioner The process of
p r o d u c in g v e rm ico m p o st is ca l le d v e rm ico m p o st in g rdquo ( h t t p e n w ik ip e d ia o r g
wikiVermicompost)
A worm farm is a container in which people keep earthworms Organic matter especially fruit
and vegetable scraps are added weekly to the container for the earthworms to eat They then
excrete a substance called castings which is a rich fertiliser containing five times more nitrogen
than topsoil as w ell as high amounts of potassium and pho sphate W orm farm s use
earthworms that thrive in the dark warm food-rich moist environment of the worm farm The
best earthworm to use is called the red wriggler The population in a well maintained worm
farm doubles every two to three monthsrdquo (Seed 200637)
3 Benefits
Vermicompost has lots of benefits of which only some are mentioned here (wwwwormfarmcom
wwwwormpoopcom Weisenhorn wwwsustlandumnedu wwwhappydranchcom)
bull Vermicompost is the highest grade of organic fertiliser available
bull Research has shown that vermicompost contains five times the available nitrogen seven times
the available phosphorous three times the exchangeable magnesium e leven times the
available potash and 15 times the calcium found in topsoil
bull Vermicompost is a nutritious and
environmentally friendly alternative
to chemical fertilisers
bull V e r m i c o m p o s t a d d s b e n e f i c i a l
organisms nutrients and minerals to
the soil that sustain healthy plant life
and vital plant growth
bull Micro-organisms in the vermicompost help break down organic matter and convert nutrients
into a more available food form for plants
bull Plants grow stronger and have deeper root systems for better drought tolerance and disease
resistance
bull Vermicompost mixed with soil provides a natural organic fertiliser and a very good source of
nutrients for plants that dramatically improves the structure and fertility of soil
bull Vermicompost added to compost tea is proving to be worth its weight in gold
ldquoUsing the rich 100 organic vermicompost which
you recycle on site on your organic farms or organic
gardens gives your crops the best fertilizer on the
planetrdquo
wwwhappydranchcom
Vermiculture
Page 3 of 27
bull Worm castings can be sold to other farmers and gardeners or can be used as a component of
potting soil mixtures
4 Worm Farming
Earthworms are arguably the most important animals on planet Earth ndash they are responsible for
making soils suitable for plants to grow in ndash and we all know how important plants are for all
forms of life on earth
Even in ancient Egypt the importance of earthworms was recognised ndash Queen Cleopatra (69-30 BC)
recognised the earthworms contribution to the Egyptian agriculture by declaring this animal
sacred
Unfortunately in modern times through the excessive application of chemical fertilisers the
majority of agricultural lands have become sterilised
(dead) because most of the good bugs (earthworms and
beneficial micro-organisms) have been killed by all the
chemicals However this seriously bad situation in
modern agriculture can be reversed by natures own
little workers hum ble earthw orm s and their even
smaller helpers the beneficial micro-organisms
Traditional farming methods in Africa are intrinsically
organic recycling of animal and plant wastes through natural composting methods thereby
putting clean organic matter back into the soils and by not killing natures little workers through
the modern temptation of easy (but expensive) application of chemical fertilisers
Research done by the University of Georgia show ed that ldquo
tomato plants grown in the earthworm castings grew on average
126 from their original height Plants grown in red soil grew
on average 32 and plants grow n in potting m ix grew on
average 45 from their original heightsrdquo
wwwwormfarmingsecretscom
ldquo E a r t h w o r m s s h o u l d b e c o m e t h e
farmers little workers They will even
bring along their ow n m uch sm aller
little helpersrdquo
ndash Charl Pienaar
Vermiculture
Page 4 of 27
41 The worms
There are reportedly more than 4 000 different species of
earthworms worldwide but the species that is most suitable
for our purpose is called the Red Wriggler (Eisenia fetida)
They are also called ldquocompost wormrdquo ldquomanure wormrdquo
ldquoredwormrdquo and ldquored wrigglerrdquo
These small red earthworms are very hard working (they can
eat through their own body weight in 24 hours) they breed
and multiply very actively and they are well adapted to a
range of temperatures and food sources
ldquoIn fact it seems they dont actually eat it ndash they consume it sure enough but what they derive their
nourishment from is all the micro-organisms that are really eating it [organic matter] And yet ndash mystery
ndash their casts contain eight times as many micro-organisms as their feed And these are the micro-organisms
that best favour healthy plant growth And the casts dont contain any disease pathogens ndash pathogenic
bacteria are reliably killed in the worms gut This is one of the great benefits of vermicompostingrdquo
(wwwjourneytoforeverorg)
According to Seed (200637) one need at least 2 000 worms
as a starter stock These worms will breed and multiply to
about 8 000 worms in six months
The Red Wrigglers do not occur naturally in Africa and
your starter stock of this hard-working type of earthworm
should be ordered from a reliable supplier There are
va rio u s su p p lie rs around Som e se ll th ese p re cio u s
earthworms for fish bait
You should only be required to purchase the first batch
thereafter they will multiply very actively unless you dont look after them properly or some
disaster strikes Adult worms produce about three cocoons a week and each cocoon will contain
at least three baby worms and sometimes ten or more (wwwwormpoopcom)
The red wrigglers hate light After 20 minutes exposed to sunlight they will become confused In
30 minutes they will stop breathing and by 35 minutes exposure they die Worms should therefore
be covered at all times (wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg)
Earthworms breath through their skin w hich needs to remain moist to facilitate respiration
Earthworms can live for months completely submerged in water but they will die of they dry out
(Sherman 2003)
httpenwikipediaorgwikiEisenia_foe
tida
Starter stock (two hand-fulls)
Vermiculture
Page 5 of 27
The worms should be harvested every three months or separated from the castings
42 Establishing the worm farm
Your little workers should have proper housing for them to work at their best Expensive containers
are available in the market but w e will only discuss the follow ing groups of worm farming
methods
421 Windrow systems
Windrow systems on concrete or on the ground require the
least capita l inves tm en t but the y are s low an d labo ur
in ten s ive T h is is norm ally used for large-sca le verm i-
composting Bedding is put in long rows with organic matter
on top of it New food are put aside the previous ones because
worms will move towards the fresh foodstuff Castings can
then be removed on one side of the bed while new food are always put on a new row
httpwwwwaterkeeperorg
httpenwikipediaorgwikiVermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 6 of 27
422 Worm bins
For indoor composting you can use plastic storage bins or make one
yourself from wood Plastic bins are light and easy to move They will
hold moisture You will however need to drill holes into them to allow
air for the worms and to drain into a collection tray Plastic bins require
more drainage than wooden ones because they are non-absorbent
The size of the bin depends on how much food waste your household
produces A general rule of thumb is that you will need a square of about
30 cm surface area for each 500 g of waste your household produces
(httpredworms-greenearthcom)
Worm bins can be grouped into three categories (wwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost)
Oslash Non-continuous (an undivided container) A layer of bedding material is placed in the bin
to line the bottom Worms are added on the bedding and a layer of organic matter above the
bedding Another layer is added on top of the organic matter This type of bin is often used and
small and easy to build but harvesting is more difficult
Ugrave Continuous vertical flow ( a series of trays stacked vertically) This type of tray is available
commercially The bottom tray is filled first but is not harvested when it is full Instead a thick
layer of bedding is added on top and the tray above is used for adding organic matter When
worms finish eating the bottom tray they will move to the one above The bottom tray can be
emptied when most of the worms have migrated to the top tray These bins are easier to
harvest
Uacute Continuous horizontal flow (a series of trays lined horizontally) This method also relies on
earthworms to migrate towards a food source This bin is longer than the non-continuous bins
but divided in half usually by a large gauge screen One half is used until it becomes full then
the other half is filled with bedding and organic matter The worms will migrate to the side
with the food and the castings can then be collected This is therefore easier to harvest
Examples of worm bins
Drainage holes in plastic
bin
wwwtimetorecyclecomwwwwormwomancom wwwallthingsorganiccom
Vermiculture
Page 7 of 27
423 Tyre stacks
From experiments by Mr Charl Pienaar over the past five years the best most practical and least
expensive type of housing for your little workers is a tyre stack built from used bakkie or tractor
tyres Your local tyre dealer in town will be too happy to give these to you for free ndash this also helps
to solve a big problem in terms of the disposal of these items (This will be discussed in more detail
in Section 6)
43 Maintaining your worm farm
Your compost worms will need five basic things to survive and be happy a hospitable living
environm ent a food source adequ ate m oisture adequ ate aeration and protection from
temperature extremes (Munroe sa5-11) If you manage your composting system well keeping
these five things in mind you will be successful in the end
Hester with a worm tyre stack
ldquoGrowing worms is part science part green thumb You
need the knowledge but you also need to do it to learn how
to do it wellrdquo
Munroe (sa13)
Vermiculture
Page 8 of 27
431 A hospitable living environment (ldquobeddingrdquo)
ldquoBedding is the living medium for the worms but also a food source It is material high in carbon
a n d m a d e t o m i m i c d r i e d l e a v e s o n t h e f o r e s t f l o o r t h e w o r m s n a t u r a l h a b i t a t rdquo
(wwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost) The selection of bedding material is a key to successful
vermicomposting Bedding should be moist like that of a wrung out sponge When you squeeze
it hard a drop or two of water should drop out
Good bedding mixtures are therefore an essential element in meeting the needs of the worms
Shredded newspaper or cardboard makes an excellent bedding This can be combined with straw
or hay composted sheep cattle horse or abattoir manure (ldquopensmisrdquo) Poultry manure is not
recommended as it is too high in nitrogen and minerals
In hot climates the bins should be placed in the shade or away from direct midday sun Worms are
likely to die if conventional hot composting takes place Only thin layers of uncomposted material
should be added and temperature need to be monitored continuously If the bedding dries out mist
it with water from a spray bottle (wwwredworms-greenearthcom)
432 A food source
Compost worms are big eaters They are able to consume in excess of their body weight each day
although the general rule-of-thumb is that they will eat half of their body weight per day (Munroe
sa7) Their food consists primarily of decomposing organic matter where carbon sources (such
as dried leaves shredded paper cardboard etc) are mixed with nitrogen sources (such as food
scraps grass clippings manure etc) (wwwvermicocom)
Wait at least a day or two after placing the worms on the bedding before
adding the first food A good practice is to first test the suitability of food
for earthworms especially when manure or compost will be used Place
the m ateria l in a sm all conta iner add enough w ater to m oisten it
thoroughly and place a few worms on top Observe their behaviour over
the next few hours If the worms crawl out or die then you will know
that the material is not suitable and should not be fed to the w orm s
(Pienaar 2007)
Add more food when you see the worms beginning to work and when
they have eaten the first layer of food you can add another layer about 25 cm thick If you add too
much food you risk creating anaerobic conditions After you have added a layer of food always
add another layer of bedding material at about 25 cm thick (wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg)
There are two methods of adding food to the bin (wwwanswerscom topicvermicompost)
Testing suitability of food
Vermiculture
Page 9 of 27
Oslash Top feeding Organic matter is placed directly on top of the existing layer of bedding in a bin
and then covered with another layer of bedding This is repeated every time the bin is fed
Ugrave Pocket feeding A top layer of bedding is maintained and food is buried beneath The location
of the food is changed each time and often the bed is fed in more than one location As bedding
runs low more is added Add fruit and vegetable scraps each week Chop up food before
adding and try to feed the worms a mixture of materials Add less food in the first week and
gradually increase the amount over six months It is best to feed your worms weekly If
uneaten food remains then you know you have overfed the worms After feeding the worms
each week cover the food scraps with some compost or soil to avoid attracting fruit flies (Seed
200638)
If you regularly check the areas where you added the food you can soon see what foods your
worms like or dislike
Worms will eat almost any type of vegetable and fruit scraps partly decomposed compost
shredded newspaper small amounts of grass clippings leaves and even damp cardboard pieces
Add crushed eggshells as the worms need the calcium in the shells
The worms further love potato peelings carrots and carrot tops lettuce cabbage celery apple
peelings banana peels orange rinds grapefruit and
watermelon rinds They also like cornmeal oatmeal
coffee grounds with the filter and tea bags
Keep a plastic tub in your refrigerator to hold food
scraps so they will still be nice and fresh when you
feed the w orms Do not let them rot and become
smelly
Do not add onions or garlic or too much acidic food
like citrus pineapples and tomato strong spices and
acid (sour) food such as large amounts of vinegar and
sa lt A v o id m a te r ia ls co n ta m in a ted w ith to x ic
chemicals for example sawdust from treated wood
Do not feed them meat scraps bones oily food and dairy products such as cheese and butter as
these will attract ldquobadrdquo bugs and cause odours Never feed them cat or dog poop
The compost worms are low-maintenance and you can skip two or three weeks without feeding
t h e m b u t a n y l o n g e r t h a n t h a t a n d y o u w i l l h a v e a b i g b o x o f d e a d w o r m s
(wwwseasonsindiacom)
Vegetable and fruit scraps
Vermiculture
Page 10 of 27
433 Adequate moisture
Earthworms breathe through their skins (they do not have lungs) and for that they require
m ois tu re (w ater) A dd w ater every few days or w hen
necessary to prevent the worm farm from drying out You
may need to add more water during hot windy weather It
is important to keep the worm farm moist as the worms may
die if it dries out However the worm farm should not be
soggy either Remember there is also moisture in the food
scraps (Seed 200638)
You should also cover the top of the tyre stack with a suitable material to prevent evaporation of
moisture and to keep unwanted visitors out
434 Adequate aeration
Worms are oxygen-breathers and operate best when ventilation is good and the bedding is relative
porous and well aerated They cannot survive anaerobic conditions which occur when there is an
absence of oxygen Your worm farm will then start having a bad odour If that is the case then you
have added too much food and the worms are finding it difficult to aerate the compost by their
regular movement through it
To rectify the problem you will need to stir the bedding to aerate it add dry shredded newspaper
cover the container and add no more food until the smell has gone To prevent acid conditions you
can sprinkle crushed egg shells into the worm food when building the tyre stack
435 Protection from temperature extremes
Large quantities of fresh uncomposted organic matter will naturally start composting excessive
heat will build up which may kill your little workers
Earthworms like to work in the dark (is that why they multiply so quickly) and very hot or cold
temperatures should be avoided
Remember
The bedding material should feel
like a wrung-out sponge
ldquo M oistu re con ten t o f less th an 5 0 is d an g erou s W ith th e
exception of extreme heat or cold nothing will kill worms faster
than a lack of adequate moisturerdquo
Munroe (sa10)
Vermiculture
Page 11 of 27
436 When the worm bin smells
A healthy worm bin should smell like garden soil A foul odour indicates that something is wrong
The following checklist should help you to prevent or solve odour problems (httpredworms-
greenearthcom)
bull Put plenty of air hols in the bin to ensure that the worms have adequate air to breathe
bull Feed only a vegetarian diet
bull Bury food wastes completely under the bedding
bull Insure adequate drainage for the bin
bull Do not overfeed
44 Harvesting vermicompost
Depending on the original quantity and quality of w orm food the living conditions and the
number of earthworms you started off with the little workers should be finished with their job
three to six months after you started them off in a tyre stack Your little workers would have turned
the organic matter into rich and dark super vermicompost (the so-called ldquoBlack Goldrdquo) ndash filled with
beneficial micro-organisms and concentrated plant foods
Now we need to become a little more technical since it is not so easy to separate the earthworms
from the rich ldquoblack goldrdquo vermicompost that they produced We do not want to hurt or damage
the little ones since who will do the work then Also check for cocoons of young worms They look
like yellowish jelly beans
Hester busy harvesting vermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 12 of 27
441 Using a sieve
Some farmers use a circular sieve to do the trick They load the harvested vermicompost on a
trailer and use gravity to make the compost (and worms) roll down into a circular sieve which is
then being turned by hand The fine compost will fall through the sieve to be collected while the
larger worms and rough clumps of compost would roll through to be collected at the bottom For
this procedure the moisture content of the compost should be just right not too wet and not too
dry
This technique however is a bit too complicated although for large volumes of compost it may
be the best way
442 The ldquodivide and sortrdquo method
This method is used when worms are kept in plastic bins Move all the old bedding to one side of
the bin Add fresh bedding like newspaper to the
other side and bury the new food scraps only to
the new bedding
Within a week or two most of the worms will have
moved (migrated) from the old bedding into the
new bedding Now you can harvest the worm
castings
443 The ldquolighted pilerdquo method
Lay a large strong plastic sheet on the floor Dump the contents of the worm farm onto the plastic
sheet and divide it in piles Shine a light on the top of each pile Since worms are sensitive to light
they will go down into the pile to avoid the light You will need to remove a little bit of the castings
at a time until all you have left is just a pile of worms
5 Uses for Vermicompost
Vermicompost is the highest grade of organic fertiliser available It can be used as growth medium
in the home garden vegetable garden as compost tea and to improve the quality of the soil
A great trick for doing this is to p lace
w a te rm e lon r in d in th e b in w ith th e
new bedding Worms love watermelon
rind they cant get enough of it and will
greedily rush towards it
wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Vermiculture
Page 13 of 27
51 As growth medium
A good idea is to mix super vermicompost half-half with river sand This mixture can then be used
as growth medium for seedlings This mixture gives very good results because it drains very well
yet provides the plants with excellent nutrition from the super vermicompost (Pienaar 2007)
52 In the home garden
The super vermicompost can also be applied as top dressing directly to pot plants and to the
garden on plants such as lavender roses hedges etc Use it sparingly but it will not burn plants
if you use too much (Pienaar 2007)
Mixing it with good topsoil compost vermiculite or perlite in equal amounts creates a good potting
soil (wwwwormdigestorg)
A s p o t t in g m ix o n e th ird v e r m ic o m p o s t c a n b e m ix e d w ith tw o -th ird s p o t t in g s o i l
(httpredworms-greenearthcom) As top dressing apply at a rate of two tablespoons every 30 days
after establishing new pot plants In already established pot plants use four tablespoons for the
first application of vermicompost and then follow up with two tablespoons every 30 days
thereafter (wwwwormwisecom)
53 In the vegetable garden
When transplanting seedlings such as cabbage green pepper tomatoes etc up to one cup of
vermicompost can be put in the hole where the seedling will be planted which is then covered with
a layer of ordinary soil and then planting the seedling on top (Pienaar 2007)
When sowing seeds in furrows make the furrow a little deeper and wider than normal sprinkle
some vermicompost onto the rows cover with about 3-5 cm of soil and then sow the seeds at its
normal depth (Pienaar 2007)
The initial application w ould probably not provide enough nutrition to see the vegetable
crop through and in that case apply vermicompost as a top dressing at the following rates
(httpwormwisecom)
bull In the case of cabbage green pepper tomatoes (etc) a topdressing at the rate of one cup per
plant should be worked into the soil in a diameter around the plant every 30 days
bull In the case of vegetables planted in furrows such as beetroot carrots onions etc apply at a
rate of one cup for every 30 cm of row alongside the row every 30 days
Vermiculture
Page 14 of 27
A liquid application (worm tea) will also give very good results when applying to the soil and to
the plant leaves once or twice a month (See 55)
54 For conventional farming purposes
Obviously for commercial farming purposes a small composting operation like the tyre stack or
compost bins would not be sufficient For soils really poor in organic content an application of 40
to 50 tons of fertiliser per hectare may be needed in the first year of converting to organic (non-
chemical fertiliser) farming methods For this volume of compost a conventional commercial
composting works would be required
You will need a large wood chipper automate compost turner big volumes of garden refuse clay
and animal manure Conventional compost and super vermicompost can be combined for use for
commercial farming operations
55 Making super vermicompost worm tea
Super vermicompost can also be applied in liquid form the so-called ldquoworm teardquo Various recipes
are available on the internet for making liquid fertiliser from super vermicompost The recipe can
be very simple for small operations to large commercial brewing operations
A simple recipe is as follows
bull Take a fairly large drum (44 gallons) and cut open the top
Otherwise use a dirt bin with a lid
bull Add a small tap to the bottom of the drum from where the tea
can be drained
bull Clean the drum properly and fill nearly to the top with clean
good quality water
bull Add about five kilograms of fresh super vermicompost You
can also first place it in a bag made of cheese cloth an old
nylon stocking or old pillowcaseDrum for making
compost tea
Vermiculture
Page 15 of 27
bull Use a small air pump which could typically be purchased from a pet shop and is
normally used to aerate indoor fish tanks
bull Put the outlet of the pump into the water and allow to bubble
air through the worm tea for about 24 hours
bull In this time the beneficial microbes (the good bugs) increase at
a very fast rate in the water
bull After this time the colour of the water would be a rich dark
brown like strong black tea
bull A small quantity of dishwashing liquid can be added to make
the liquid stick to the leaves better
bull Remember to filter the worm tea through a cheese cloth before putting into the sprayer
otherwise the nozzle will keep on blocking
This worm tea can be applied in liquid form around your plants (as fertiliser) or sprayed onto the
plants with a sprayer The inexpensive application of worm tea should be repeated every few
weeks or even more often if disease or insect pressure occurs You can never apply too much
The vermicompost tea contains micro-organisms that will inoculate the soil against harmful
organisms that would feed on plant roots (wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg)
To feed plants well you have to feed the soil they grow in One of the best ways to feed the soil
is to add vermicompost Vermicompost feed the micro-organisms in the soil improve soil structure
and fertility and provide plants with all the nutrients they need to grow and stay healthy
Air pump
ldquoM ix two tablespoons of vermicompost with a litre of w ater
and let it stand for a day shaking it occasionally then sprinkle
under the plants One-litre drinking water bottles make good
sprinklers drill a few small-diameter holes in the lid point and
squeezerdquo
wwwjourneytoforeverorg
Vermiculture
Page 16 of 27
The theory about fighting off the ldquobad bugsrdquo with worm tea is that
you assure that the ldquogood bugsrdquo are present in high numbers which
would help them to chase the ldquobad bugsrdquo away
The good bugs are the beneficial or friendly insects They help control
the insects that damage vegetable crops One must learn to recognise
them as your ldquofriendsrdquo in the garden
Good bugs from left Lacewing Praying mantis frog amp gecko
Furthermore a strong healthy well-fed plant will have improved resistance to fight off the ldquobad
bugsrdquo and diseases by itself (Nell Engelbrecht amp Du Plessis 2007)
56 Building up your soil to invite beneficial insects
To ensure good healthy soil ndash whether you have sandy or clay soil ndash boils down to one important
thing The gardener will have to continuously improve the soil If a gardener does not prepare the
soil properly it will lead to poor growth and he will not harvest good quality vegetables
Adding vermicompost deep into the soil will ensure that there is a balanced supply of air in the
soil Avoid unnecessary stepping on the vegetable beds and never work the soil when it is too wet
This will compact the soil and poor aeration will be the result
Good bugs Ladybird feeding
on aphids
ldquoA real gardener is not a man who cultivates
flowers he is a man who cultivates the soilrdquo
Karel Capek in ldquoThe Gardenerrsquos Yearrdquo
Vermiculture
Page 17 of 27
Maintaining a good soil structure can
bull increase water-holding capacity
bull promote root growth
bull maintain aeration and drainage
bull make cultivation easier
bull help to reduce the risk of erosion and
bull improve fertility
No farmer or gardener will be able to improve the soil com-
p le t e l y i n o n e g r o w in g s e a s o n H is g o a l m u s t b e t o
co n t in u o u s ly im p r o v e th e s o i l b y a d d in g co m p o st o r
vermicompost every time he prepares the bed for a new crop
(Nell Engelbrecht amp Du Plessis 2006)
In soils with high organic content there would naturally be a build-up of beneficial microbes (good
bugs) which will work hard at making nutrients ready to be used by plants And the population
of local earthworms will also increase over time This plays a very important role to produce
accessible food for plants and to aerate the soil
Therefore the farmer-who-cares-for-the-environment should do everything possible to build up
hisher soils and thereby to create and maintain conditions in the soil that would attract and protect
the little workers and their even smaller little friends the micro-organisms
DO work in leaves bark chipped garden refuse and compost into your soil and remember to put
a layer of organic matter (mulch) around the plants to cool down the soil and to maintain moisture
DO NOT turn over the soil often and thereby disturbing the fine balance Be mindful of applying
chemicals that will kill the good bugs and make sure that there is no compaction in the soil that
will prevent roots to penetrate deeply and water reserves to build up in the soil
Soils such as these can be built up with
vermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 18 of 27
6 Vermicomposting in Tyre Stacks
According to Mr Charl Pienaar the best most practical and least expensive type of housing for
earthworms is a tyre stack built from used bakkie or tractor tyres and using ldquopensmisrdquo as food
61 Housing earthworms in tyre stacks
Oslash You can use the used bakkie or tractor tyres as is but we found that cutting open one of the
sides with a strong knife or electric jig saw optimises the inside space and makes harvesting the
super vermicompost that much easier
Ugrave Put a plastic sheet on the ground in a suitable shady spot (under a tree on the south side of
your house against the wall or inside under a roof) and start building the tyre stack on top of
the plastic sheet The plastic sheet is for preventing tree roots from growing into your compost
from the bottom ndash remember all types of plants love super vermicompost
ldquoTo me it is one of Gods finest m iracles to observe how hum ble
earthworms are able to magically convert otherwise useless plant and
animal wastes into rich humus (black gold) for plants to produce
the food that enriches our livesrdquo
ndash Charl Pienaar
Tractor tyreCharl Pienaar cutting open the
side of a tyre
Vermiculture
Page 19 of 27
Uacute Water the inside of each of the tyres well
Ucirc Fill each tyre first with bedding (such as shredded paper) and then a
thick layer of manure
Uuml Water the contents well especially in the round section of the tyre
Yacute Place another layer of shredded paper on top of the layer of manure then place some of the
worms to one side on top of the food in the tyre
THORN Stack the next tyre and continue until you have five or six bakkie tyres stacked and filled with
worm food (no more than two for tractor tyres)
Watering inside of tyreLayer of shredded paper Layer of manure
Placing worms to one sideWater each tyre separately
Vermiculture
Page 20 of 27
szlig Place a sheet of plastic canvass or a layer of newspapers over
the top of the bedding This will hold moisture in and will
help reduce the chance that fruit flies come and lay their eggs
in the food
The tyre stack is now ready to provide a house and shelter for
your new little workers You can of course build as many of these
tyre stacks as you have space and energy for
If your tyre stack dries out the compost will become hard like a
rock their skins will dry out and your little workers will die
Water your tyre stack about once a week by pouring a few cups
of clean water in from the top If water runs out at the bottom
you are over-watering and you should apply less water
52 Feeding the earthworms in the tyre stack
Your little helpers will feed on a whole range of organic food sources but for agricultural purposes
we found pre-composted abattoir manure (ldquopensmisrdquo) and some types of pre-composted animal
manure (ldquokraalmisrdquo) the best
Other types of organic material such as conventional
compost made from leaves chopped scrap wood
animal manure and w ood pulp should also work
well
To test the suitability of different food sources put a
small quantity of moist food in a container (such as an
empty margarine holder) and put a small number of
earthworms on top If they refuse to burrow in after
a few minutes the food is not suitable
Pre-composting of fresh organic material should be
done by placing the organic matter in a drum or container with ventilation holes supplied and
turning the compost every few days by rolling the drum or container a few times
Building tyre stack
Abattoir manure (ldquoPensmisrdquo)
Vermiculture
Page 21 of 27
Or you could start a conventional compost heap and turn the
heap with a fork every few days The micro-organisms will start breaking the organic matter down
heat will build up and oxygen will be used in the process
Within about three weeks the pre-composted matter should be ready to be placed inside the tyre
stacks as described previously
If you have access to ldquooldrdquo organic matter (for instance manure that has been lying in a heap for
a few months) pre-composting should not be necessary
53 Harvesting the tyre stack
The following technique works well and although it is slower it is much easier and less stressful
for the little workers
Oslash Start building a new tyre stack next to the old one and put fresh worm food only in the round
bottom section of the tyre starting with shredded paper then manure (ldquopensmisrdquo)
Ugrave Fill the rest of the tyre with the harvested compost (plus worms) from the old tyre stack and
continue with the next tyre when the bottom one is full And so on until the stack is six tyres
high
Uacute The next step is to disturb the top few layers of vermicompost by stirring with your hands
which causes the worms to take flight downwards
Turning of compost
Conventional compost containers
Vermiculture
Page 22 of 27
Ucirc The clean compost can then be harvested from the top Continue with the harvesting until you
reach the fresh worm food And there you will find all the worms trapped in the round section
of the tyre ready to be scooped out with the fresh worm food
Uuml The little workers embedded in the fresh organic matter could then be scooped out and used
to populate a new tyre stack that was first filled with fresh worm food And so the cycle is
repeated over and over
7 Worming Towards LEISA and Organic Farming
Techniques
In this part we will explain how to utilise the super vermicompost that your little workers so
willingly and cost-effectively prepared for you We will also provide insights on how to build up
your soil so that the local little workers will be able to continue the good work that their brothers
and sisters in the tyre stacks did for you
LEISA is short for Low External Inputs Sustainable Agriculture simply meaning that instead of
looking for expensive external farming inputs (chemical fertilisers chem ical w eed killers
insecticides and pest control chemicals) the clever farmer or vegetable gardener should find items
and materials available locally and inexpensively to do the same or better job as the expensive
external inputs
For instance a flock of geese on the farm could do a great job to keep snails and other insects under
control while at the same time providing a renewable source of meat and eggs to feed the farmers
family As they are good for security too
Using a chicken tractor to work the soil for
y o u i s a l s o s o m e t h i n g t h a t c a n b e
in co rp o ra te d in a v e g e ta b le g a rd en A
chicken tractor is basically a bottomless cage
built from old material It allows the chickens
to scratch and eat off of the ground such
things as grass weeds bugs worms etc
You can drag the chicken tractor around the
garden The chicken manure goes directly
onto th e s o il w here it fe rtilises th e so il
C h ick en tractors are perfect for a sm a ll
number of chickens
A chicken tractor at the experimental site of the Motheo
College in Bloemfontein
Vermiculture
Page 23 of 27
In the same way super vermicompost produced on the farm or at home from waste material and
making use of the free labour provided by the little helpers could go a long way towards replacing
expensive chemical fertilisers Furthermore vermicompost is good for building up the soils
putting carbon sources and essential microbes (good bugs)
back into the place where they belong the place that
Nature prepared for the over the ages
LEISA is therefore about helping to create a positive
ldquobalance of paymentsrdquo for the farm ing enterprise or
vegetable garden ndash more money should flow in to the
project than would otherwise flow out One important
aspect of this positive balance is to purchase as little as
p o s s ib le e x p en s ive ex te rn a l in p u ts fo r fa rm in g o r
vegetable gardening operations
And super vermicompost produced on the farm fits right into the LEISA philosophy
Organic farming techniques go one step further namely to receive certification (proof) that no
harmful substances were used n the farming operations Good quality compost (also certified as
organic) is an essential input for formal organic farming techniques
However for produce to be certified organic could be very expensive especially for a small-scale
farmer Then your pack house cold chain and transport system also needs to be certified organic
adding more complications
ldquoWhat does organic mean
Organic farming is producing food the natural way Organic farmers aim
to produce good healthy tasty food from balanced healthy soil Organic
farm ers cannot grow GM (genetically modified) crops and cannot use
chem ical fertilizers or additives or spray artificial pesticides O rganic
farmers use crop rotation to improve the fertility of their soil Healthy soil
= healthy plant = healthy humanrdquo
Anonymous (Go Farming 2(2)7)
Vermiculture
Page 24 of 27
Therefore the advice for emerging farmers or vegetable growers is to learn their trade through
LEISA techniques and not to attempt to go all the way to being certified organic without having
the skills and experience to make a success of that The Internet is full of very useful tips on how
to farm better with low external inputs type LEISA and vermiculture in a search engine such as
Google and youll be amazed with the information that comes up
8 Some Vermicomposting Stories from All over
the World
Commercial vermicomposting is just beginning in the USA San Diego in California has employed
worms to convert part of its organic waste stream into useable products The castings are in high
demand In Oregon a research and demonstration project has become a thriving business A large
urban hospital in Ontario has been using worms to process some of its waste stream for several
years (Attra 2007)
We read of the ldquoworm womanrdquo Mary Appelhoff No one in this country has done more for the
self-image of worms than Mary Appelhof the undisputed and nationally recognized
Worm Woman (Green Living Magazine)
Worms eat my garbage Theyve been doing it for twenty-seven years I set up my basement worm
bin with shredded newspaper a bit of soil and a few thousand redworms I bury food waste in it
The worms eat it They also eat the bacteria and protozoa and fungi and other microorganisms
which decompose it They grind and mix and secrete and excrete and eventually the food waste
and bedding turns into worm castings which we use in our garden The whole process is truly on-
site recyclingrdquo
Mary Appelhoff published her first book Worms eat my garbage How to set up and maintain a worm
composting system in 1982 Her newest endeavour is t bring a new voice to the vermicomposting
field by publishing a childrens picture book about vermicomposting Compost by gosh Her website
for worm composting resources can be visited at httpwwwwormwomancom
Other countries have been researching and using commercial vermicompost systems for a decade
or more Cuba for instance started their vermicomposting programme in 1986 with two small
boxes of red worms By 1992 172 vermicompost centres were producing 93 000 tons of worm
humus annually (Gersper et al 1993)
Vermiculture
Page 25 of 27
Currently France Germany Italy Japan Hong Kong India Australia and many countries
in South America have research or commercial vermicomposting projects underway (Attra 2007)
One of the largest commercial producers of vermicompost is Vermitech (Pty) Ltd in Australia
This company is dedicated to the beneficial management of organic waste through the use of very
large scale Vermiculture Their website documents considerable research on the use of their
product on various crops (httpwwwvermitechcomhomehtm)
In the past ten years an organisation in India has prompted over 2 000 farmers and institutions to
switch from conventional chemical fertilisers to that of an organic fertiliser namely vermicompost
Vermiculture has been the prim ary focus at M aharashtra Agricultural Bioteks w hich w as
established in 1985 The organisation currently produces 5 000 tons of vermicompost annually In
1991 to 1992 this group promoted the adoption of vermicompost technology in 13 states in India
The organisation has also created a programme which trains housewives and home gardeners to
produce their ow n vermicompost from household garden waste (Dr Henamgee Jambhekar
wwwfadrmsuru)
The Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town added a feature to its list of facilities that is a South African
first A fully-functioning worm farm The hotel has decided to go green by instituting an organic
waste recycling programme where its kitchen waste are turned into worm droppings which
constitute some of the best fertiliser to keep the hotels lawns pot plants and vegetable gardens
flourishing They have thousands of worms housed in plastic crates behind one of the hotels
parking areas They estimate that the farm currently hosts about 33 000 worms (South Africa
Logue)
There are also plans to work on methods to combine conventional composting with super
vermicompost and to put up commercial composting plants at the two new markets for emerging
farmers at Philippi Market Cape Town and Ugu Agricultural Market in Port Shepstone The
conventional compost spiked with super vermicompost will be made available for emerging
farmers near these markets through the subsidised transport linking the markets with the emerging
supply base via a depot system (Charl Pienaar 2007)
Happy Worming
Vermiculture
Page 26 of 27
SOURCES
Anonymous [sa] Organic agriculture What does it all means Go Farming 2(2)6-8
A TTR A (A ppropria te T echnology T ransfer for Rural Areas) 2007 W orms for com posting
(Vermicomposting) National Center for Appropriate Technology
Earthworms as a natural resource httpwwwwormfarmcom
G e r s p e r e t a l 1 9 9 3 C u b a s c o m p o s t in g A g r ic u l t u r e a n d H u m a n V a lu e s X (3 ) 1 6 - 2 3
httpfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art1html
Ja m b h h e k a r H e m a n g e e V e r m ic u l t u r e in I n d i a I n t e rn a t ion a l A g -S iev e 7 (1 ) A r t 3
(httpwwwfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art3html)
Journey to Forever Organic Garden Vermicomposting
httpwwwjourneytoforeverorgcompost_wormhtml
Munro G [sa] Manual of on-farm vermicomposting and vermiculture Organic Agriculture Centre of
Canada
Nell W T Engelbrecht G M amp Du Plessis D M 2006 Growing vegetables A comprehensive guide
on how to establish maintain and manage a vegetable garden Centre for Agricultural Management
University of the Free State Bloemfontein
Organic farming and organic gardening using vermicompost httpwwwhappydranchcom92html
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 1 How to grow super vermicompost Go Farming 1(3)22-
23
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 2 How to use super vermicompost Go Farming 1(4)20-22
Pienaar Charl 2007 Vermiculture short course presented at MUCPP Mangaung Bloemfontein
Supertill cc Paarl
Recycling advocates Vermicomposting httpwwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Seasons India Vermicompost
httpwwwseasonsindiacomlifestylegrdnVermicompost_seahtm
Vermiculture
Page 27 of 27
SEED (Schools Environmental Education and Development) 2006 Improving the soil ndash worm
farms (worksheet 53) Growing the living laboratory Permaculture for environmental education in the
NCS Used with permission from Leigh Brown The complete document is available for download
on the SEED website (httpwwwseedorgza)
Setting up a worm bed httpwwwwormpoopcomWormBedWormBedhtm
Sherman Rhonda 2003 Raising earthworms successfully North Carolina Cooperative Extension
Service Publication no EBAE 103-83 North Carolina State University
South Africa Logue Mount Nelson Hotel creates ldquopermaculturerdquo of excellence with worm farm
httpwwwsouthafricaloguecom
Vermiculture Indoor composting
httpredworms-greenearthcomcgi-binshopplpage=indoorhtml
Vermiculture Canada Earthworm castings as plant growth media
httpwwwvermiculturecaarticlesearthworm_castingshtm
Vermiculture composting httpwwwwormpoopcomCompostingCompostinghtm
Vermicompost httpwwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost
Weisenhorn Julie Vermiculture Promote global warming Sustainable urban landscape information
series University of Minnesota httpwwwsustlandumnedu
What kind of earthworms do we recommend httpwwwvermicocomwormshtm
Wikipedia httpenwikipediaorg wikiVermicompost
Worm Digest Young persons guide to vermicomposting
httpwwwwormdigestorgcontentview152
Worm Farm Free worm farming newsletter ndash Vermiculture
httpwwwwormfarmingsecretscom
Worm Research Centre
httpwwwwormresearchcentrecoukvermicompostinghtml
Wormwise How to use WormWisereg Earthworm Castings
httpwormwisecomid=help
CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION 1
2 DEFINITIONS 1
3 BENEFITS 2
4 WORM FARMING 3
41 The worms 4
42 Establishing the worm farm 5
421 Windrows 5
422 Worm bins 6
423 Tyre stacks 7
43 Maintaining your worm farm 7
431 A hospitable living environment (ldquobeddingrdquo) 8
432 A food source 8
433 Adequate moisture 10
434 Adequate aeration 10
435 Protection from temperature extremes 10
436 When the worm bin smells 11
44 Harvesting super vermicompost 11
441 Using a sieve 11
442 The ldquodivide and sortrdquo method 11
443 The ldquolighted pilerdquo method 11
5 USES FOR SUPER VERMICOMPOST 12
51 As growth medium 13
52 In the home garden 13
53 In the vegetable garden 13
54 For conventional farming purposes 14
55 Making super vermicompost worm tea 14
56 Building up your soil to invite beneficial insects 16
6 VERMICOMPOSTING IN TYRE STACKS 18
61 Housing earthworms in tyre stacks 18
62 Feeding the earthworms in the tyre stack 20
63 Harvesting the tyre stack 21
7 WORMING TOWARDS LEISA AND ORGANIC FARMING TECHNIQUES 22
8 SOME VERMICOMPOSTING STORIES FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD 24
SOURCES 26
Vermiculture
Page 1 of 27
1 Introduction
The plough is one of the most ancient and most valuable of Mans inventions but
long before he existed the land was hellip regularly ploughed and still continues to be
ploughed by earthworms It may be (doubtful) whether there are many other
animals which have played so important a part in the history of the world as these
lowly organized creatures
ndash Charles Darwin (1881)
Except w here m entioned and quoted th is docum ent w as adapted from tw o articles on
vermiculture by Mr Charl Pienaar from Supertill cc in the Paarl which appeared in Go Farming
(Volumes 1(3)22-23 and 1(4)20-21) as well as from a short course presented by Mr Pienaar at the
M U CPP com m unity food garden project of the University of the Free State in Mangaung
Bloemfontein
This document will provide you the African-farmergardener-who-cares-for-the-environment with
knowledge tools and skills on how to employ earthworms and their buddies as your little workers
and thereby to farm more profitably and skilfully
2 Definitions
Earthworms are divided into two groups (International Ag-Sieve)
bull The first group the humus formers dwell on the surface and feed on nearly 90 fresh
organic matter and 10 soil They are generally red in colour It is these worms that are
used for vermicompost
bull The second group the humus feeders are deep burrowing worms that are useful in
making the soil porous and mixing and distributing humus through the soil (Dont use
these worms from your garden soil ndash they will not live in a worm composting bin)
Vermiculture is the process of using worms to decompose organic food waste turning the
waste into a nutrient-rich material capable of supplying necessary nutrients to help sustain
plant growth (wwwwormpoopcom) The goal is to continually increase the number of worms
so that you can have a sustainable harvest The worms can either be used to expand a
vermicomposting operation or sold to customers (Glen Munroe sa1)
Vermiculture
Page 2 of 27
ldquoVermicompost (also called worm compost vermicast worm castings worm humus or worm
manure) is the end-product of the breakdown of organic matter by some species of earthworm
Verm icom post is a nutrient-rich natural fertilizer and soil conditioner The process of
p r o d u c in g v e rm ico m p o st is ca l le d v e rm ico m p o st in g rdquo ( h t t p e n w ik ip e d ia o r g
wikiVermicompost)
A worm farm is a container in which people keep earthworms Organic matter especially fruit
and vegetable scraps are added weekly to the container for the earthworms to eat They then
excrete a substance called castings which is a rich fertiliser containing five times more nitrogen
than topsoil as w ell as high amounts of potassium and pho sphate W orm farm s use
earthworms that thrive in the dark warm food-rich moist environment of the worm farm The
best earthworm to use is called the red wriggler The population in a well maintained worm
farm doubles every two to three monthsrdquo (Seed 200637)
3 Benefits
Vermicompost has lots of benefits of which only some are mentioned here (wwwwormfarmcom
wwwwormpoopcom Weisenhorn wwwsustlandumnedu wwwhappydranchcom)
bull Vermicompost is the highest grade of organic fertiliser available
bull Research has shown that vermicompost contains five times the available nitrogen seven times
the available phosphorous three times the exchangeable magnesium e leven times the
available potash and 15 times the calcium found in topsoil
bull Vermicompost is a nutritious and
environmentally friendly alternative
to chemical fertilisers
bull V e r m i c o m p o s t a d d s b e n e f i c i a l
organisms nutrients and minerals to
the soil that sustain healthy plant life
and vital plant growth
bull Micro-organisms in the vermicompost help break down organic matter and convert nutrients
into a more available food form for plants
bull Plants grow stronger and have deeper root systems for better drought tolerance and disease
resistance
bull Vermicompost mixed with soil provides a natural organic fertiliser and a very good source of
nutrients for plants that dramatically improves the structure and fertility of soil
bull Vermicompost added to compost tea is proving to be worth its weight in gold
ldquoUsing the rich 100 organic vermicompost which
you recycle on site on your organic farms or organic
gardens gives your crops the best fertilizer on the
planetrdquo
wwwhappydranchcom
Vermiculture
Page 3 of 27
bull Worm castings can be sold to other farmers and gardeners or can be used as a component of
potting soil mixtures
4 Worm Farming
Earthworms are arguably the most important animals on planet Earth ndash they are responsible for
making soils suitable for plants to grow in ndash and we all know how important plants are for all
forms of life on earth
Even in ancient Egypt the importance of earthworms was recognised ndash Queen Cleopatra (69-30 BC)
recognised the earthworms contribution to the Egyptian agriculture by declaring this animal
sacred
Unfortunately in modern times through the excessive application of chemical fertilisers the
majority of agricultural lands have become sterilised
(dead) because most of the good bugs (earthworms and
beneficial micro-organisms) have been killed by all the
chemicals However this seriously bad situation in
modern agriculture can be reversed by natures own
little workers hum ble earthw orm s and their even
smaller helpers the beneficial micro-organisms
Traditional farming methods in Africa are intrinsically
organic recycling of animal and plant wastes through natural composting methods thereby
putting clean organic matter back into the soils and by not killing natures little workers through
the modern temptation of easy (but expensive) application of chemical fertilisers
Research done by the University of Georgia show ed that ldquo
tomato plants grown in the earthworm castings grew on average
126 from their original height Plants grown in red soil grew
on average 32 and plants grow n in potting m ix grew on
average 45 from their original heightsrdquo
wwwwormfarmingsecretscom
ldquo E a r t h w o r m s s h o u l d b e c o m e t h e
farmers little workers They will even
bring along their ow n m uch sm aller
little helpersrdquo
ndash Charl Pienaar
Vermiculture
Page 4 of 27
41 The worms
There are reportedly more than 4 000 different species of
earthworms worldwide but the species that is most suitable
for our purpose is called the Red Wriggler (Eisenia fetida)
They are also called ldquocompost wormrdquo ldquomanure wormrdquo
ldquoredwormrdquo and ldquored wrigglerrdquo
These small red earthworms are very hard working (they can
eat through their own body weight in 24 hours) they breed
and multiply very actively and they are well adapted to a
range of temperatures and food sources
ldquoIn fact it seems they dont actually eat it ndash they consume it sure enough but what they derive their
nourishment from is all the micro-organisms that are really eating it [organic matter] And yet ndash mystery
ndash their casts contain eight times as many micro-organisms as their feed And these are the micro-organisms
that best favour healthy plant growth And the casts dont contain any disease pathogens ndash pathogenic
bacteria are reliably killed in the worms gut This is one of the great benefits of vermicompostingrdquo
(wwwjourneytoforeverorg)
According to Seed (200637) one need at least 2 000 worms
as a starter stock These worms will breed and multiply to
about 8 000 worms in six months
The Red Wrigglers do not occur naturally in Africa and
your starter stock of this hard-working type of earthworm
should be ordered from a reliable supplier There are
va rio u s su p p lie rs around Som e se ll th ese p re cio u s
earthworms for fish bait
You should only be required to purchase the first batch
thereafter they will multiply very actively unless you dont look after them properly or some
disaster strikes Adult worms produce about three cocoons a week and each cocoon will contain
at least three baby worms and sometimes ten or more (wwwwormpoopcom)
The red wrigglers hate light After 20 minutes exposed to sunlight they will become confused In
30 minutes they will stop breathing and by 35 minutes exposure they die Worms should therefore
be covered at all times (wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg)
Earthworms breath through their skin w hich needs to remain moist to facilitate respiration
Earthworms can live for months completely submerged in water but they will die of they dry out
(Sherman 2003)
httpenwikipediaorgwikiEisenia_foe
tida
Starter stock (two hand-fulls)
Vermiculture
Page 5 of 27
The worms should be harvested every three months or separated from the castings
42 Establishing the worm farm
Your little workers should have proper housing for them to work at their best Expensive containers
are available in the market but w e will only discuss the follow ing groups of worm farming
methods
421 Windrow systems
Windrow systems on concrete or on the ground require the
least capita l inves tm en t but the y are s low an d labo ur
in ten s ive T h is is norm ally used for large-sca le verm i-
composting Bedding is put in long rows with organic matter
on top of it New food are put aside the previous ones because
worms will move towards the fresh foodstuff Castings can
then be removed on one side of the bed while new food are always put on a new row
httpwwwwaterkeeperorg
httpenwikipediaorgwikiVermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 6 of 27
422 Worm bins
For indoor composting you can use plastic storage bins or make one
yourself from wood Plastic bins are light and easy to move They will
hold moisture You will however need to drill holes into them to allow
air for the worms and to drain into a collection tray Plastic bins require
more drainage than wooden ones because they are non-absorbent
The size of the bin depends on how much food waste your household
produces A general rule of thumb is that you will need a square of about
30 cm surface area for each 500 g of waste your household produces
(httpredworms-greenearthcom)
Worm bins can be grouped into three categories (wwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost)
Oslash Non-continuous (an undivided container) A layer of bedding material is placed in the bin
to line the bottom Worms are added on the bedding and a layer of organic matter above the
bedding Another layer is added on top of the organic matter This type of bin is often used and
small and easy to build but harvesting is more difficult
Ugrave Continuous vertical flow ( a series of trays stacked vertically) This type of tray is available
commercially The bottom tray is filled first but is not harvested when it is full Instead a thick
layer of bedding is added on top and the tray above is used for adding organic matter When
worms finish eating the bottom tray they will move to the one above The bottom tray can be
emptied when most of the worms have migrated to the top tray These bins are easier to
harvest
Uacute Continuous horizontal flow (a series of trays lined horizontally) This method also relies on
earthworms to migrate towards a food source This bin is longer than the non-continuous bins
but divided in half usually by a large gauge screen One half is used until it becomes full then
the other half is filled with bedding and organic matter The worms will migrate to the side
with the food and the castings can then be collected This is therefore easier to harvest
Examples of worm bins
Drainage holes in plastic
bin
wwwtimetorecyclecomwwwwormwomancom wwwallthingsorganiccom
Vermiculture
Page 7 of 27
423 Tyre stacks
From experiments by Mr Charl Pienaar over the past five years the best most practical and least
expensive type of housing for your little workers is a tyre stack built from used bakkie or tractor
tyres Your local tyre dealer in town will be too happy to give these to you for free ndash this also helps
to solve a big problem in terms of the disposal of these items (This will be discussed in more detail
in Section 6)
43 Maintaining your worm farm
Your compost worms will need five basic things to survive and be happy a hospitable living
environm ent a food source adequ ate m oisture adequ ate aeration and protection from
temperature extremes (Munroe sa5-11) If you manage your composting system well keeping
these five things in mind you will be successful in the end
Hester with a worm tyre stack
ldquoGrowing worms is part science part green thumb You
need the knowledge but you also need to do it to learn how
to do it wellrdquo
Munroe (sa13)
Vermiculture
Page 8 of 27
431 A hospitable living environment (ldquobeddingrdquo)
ldquoBedding is the living medium for the worms but also a food source It is material high in carbon
a n d m a d e t o m i m i c d r i e d l e a v e s o n t h e f o r e s t f l o o r t h e w o r m s n a t u r a l h a b i t a t rdquo
(wwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost) The selection of bedding material is a key to successful
vermicomposting Bedding should be moist like that of a wrung out sponge When you squeeze
it hard a drop or two of water should drop out
Good bedding mixtures are therefore an essential element in meeting the needs of the worms
Shredded newspaper or cardboard makes an excellent bedding This can be combined with straw
or hay composted sheep cattle horse or abattoir manure (ldquopensmisrdquo) Poultry manure is not
recommended as it is too high in nitrogen and minerals
In hot climates the bins should be placed in the shade or away from direct midday sun Worms are
likely to die if conventional hot composting takes place Only thin layers of uncomposted material
should be added and temperature need to be monitored continuously If the bedding dries out mist
it with water from a spray bottle (wwwredworms-greenearthcom)
432 A food source
Compost worms are big eaters They are able to consume in excess of their body weight each day
although the general rule-of-thumb is that they will eat half of their body weight per day (Munroe
sa7) Their food consists primarily of decomposing organic matter where carbon sources (such
as dried leaves shredded paper cardboard etc) are mixed with nitrogen sources (such as food
scraps grass clippings manure etc) (wwwvermicocom)
Wait at least a day or two after placing the worms on the bedding before
adding the first food A good practice is to first test the suitability of food
for earthworms especially when manure or compost will be used Place
the m ateria l in a sm all conta iner add enough w ater to m oisten it
thoroughly and place a few worms on top Observe their behaviour over
the next few hours If the worms crawl out or die then you will know
that the material is not suitable and should not be fed to the w orm s
(Pienaar 2007)
Add more food when you see the worms beginning to work and when
they have eaten the first layer of food you can add another layer about 25 cm thick If you add too
much food you risk creating anaerobic conditions After you have added a layer of food always
add another layer of bedding material at about 25 cm thick (wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg)
There are two methods of adding food to the bin (wwwanswerscom topicvermicompost)
Testing suitability of food
Vermiculture
Page 9 of 27
Oslash Top feeding Organic matter is placed directly on top of the existing layer of bedding in a bin
and then covered with another layer of bedding This is repeated every time the bin is fed
Ugrave Pocket feeding A top layer of bedding is maintained and food is buried beneath The location
of the food is changed each time and often the bed is fed in more than one location As bedding
runs low more is added Add fruit and vegetable scraps each week Chop up food before
adding and try to feed the worms a mixture of materials Add less food in the first week and
gradually increase the amount over six months It is best to feed your worms weekly If
uneaten food remains then you know you have overfed the worms After feeding the worms
each week cover the food scraps with some compost or soil to avoid attracting fruit flies (Seed
200638)
If you regularly check the areas where you added the food you can soon see what foods your
worms like or dislike
Worms will eat almost any type of vegetable and fruit scraps partly decomposed compost
shredded newspaper small amounts of grass clippings leaves and even damp cardboard pieces
Add crushed eggshells as the worms need the calcium in the shells
The worms further love potato peelings carrots and carrot tops lettuce cabbage celery apple
peelings banana peels orange rinds grapefruit and
watermelon rinds They also like cornmeal oatmeal
coffee grounds with the filter and tea bags
Keep a plastic tub in your refrigerator to hold food
scraps so they will still be nice and fresh when you
feed the w orms Do not let them rot and become
smelly
Do not add onions or garlic or too much acidic food
like citrus pineapples and tomato strong spices and
acid (sour) food such as large amounts of vinegar and
sa lt A v o id m a te r ia ls co n ta m in a ted w ith to x ic
chemicals for example sawdust from treated wood
Do not feed them meat scraps bones oily food and dairy products such as cheese and butter as
these will attract ldquobadrdquo bugs and cause odours Never feed them cat or dog poop
The compost worms are low-maintenance and you can skip two or three weeks without feeding
t h e m b u t a n y l o n g e r t h a n t h a t a n d y o u w i l l h a v e a b i g b o x o f d e a d w o r m s
(wwwseasonsindiacom)
Vegetable and fruit scraps
Vermiculture
Page 10 of 27
433 Adequate moisture
Earthworms breathe through their skins (they do not have lungs) and for that they require
m ois tu re (w ater) A dd w ater every few days or w hen
necessary to prevent the worm farm from drying out You
may need to add more water during hot windy weather It
is important to keep the worm farm moist as the worms may
die if it dries out However the worm farm should not be
soggy either Remember there is also moisture in the food
scraps (Seed 200638)
You should also cover the top of the tyre stack with a suitable material to prevent evaporation of
moisture and to keep unwanted visitors out
434 Adequate aeration
Worms are oxygen-breathers and operate best when ventilation is good and the bedding is relative
porous and well aerated They cannot survive anaerobic conditions which occur when there is an
absence of oxygen Your worm farm will then start having a bad odour If that is the case then you
have added too much food and the worms are finding it difficult to aerate the compost by their
regular movement through it
To rectify the problem you will need to stir the bedding to aerate it add dry shredded newspaper
cover the container and add no more food until the smell has gone To prevent acid conditions you
can sprinkle crushed egg shells into the worm food when building the tyre stack
435 Protection from temperature extremes
Large quantities of fresh uncomposted organic matter will naturally start composting excessive
heat will build up which may kill your little workers
Earthworms like to work in the dark (is that why they multiply so quickly) and very hot or cold
temperatures should be avoided
Remember
The bedding material should feel
like a wrung-out sponge
ldquo M oistu re con ten t o f less th an 5 0 is d an g erou s W ith th e
exception of extreme heat or cold nothing will kill worms faster
than a lack of adequate moisturerdquo
Munroe (sa10)
Vermiculture
Page 11 of 27
436 When the worm bin smells
A healthy worm bin should smell like garden soil A foul odour indicates that something is wrong
The following checklist should help you to prevent or solve odour problems (httpredworms-
greenearthcom)
bull Put plenty of air hols in the bin to ensure that the worms have adequate air to breathe
bull Feed only a vegetarian diet
bull Bury food wastes completely under the bedding
bull Insure adequate drainage for the bin
bull Do not overfeed
44 Harvesting vermicompost
Depending on the original quantity and quality of w orm food the living conditions and the
number of earthworms you started off with the little workers should be finished with their job
three to six months after you started them off in a tyre stack Your little workers would have turned
the organic matter into rich and dark super vermicompost (the so-called ldquoBlack Goldrdquo) ndash filled with
beneficial micro-organisms and concentrated plant foods
Now we need to become a little more technical since it is not so easy to separate the earthworms
from the rich ldquoblack goldrdquo vermicompost that they produced We do not want to hurt or damage
the little ones since who will do the work then Also check for cocoons of young worms They look
like yellowish jelly beans
Hester busy harvesting vermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 12 of 27
441 Using a sieve
Some farmers use a circular sieve to do the trick They load the harvested vermicompost on a
trailer and use gravity to make the compost (and worms) roll down into a circular sieve which is
then being turned by hand The fine compost will fall through the sieve to be collected while the
larger worms and rough clumps of compost would roll through to be collected at the bottom For
this procedure the moisture content of the compost should be just right not too wet and not too
dry
This technique however is a bit too complicated although for large volumes of compost it may
be the best way
442 The ldquodivide and sortrdquo method
This method is used when worms are kept in plastic bins Move all the old bedding to one side of
the bin Add fresh bedding like newspaper to the
other side and bury the new food scraps only to
the new bedding
Within a week or two most of the worms will have
moved (migrated) from the old bedding into the
new bedding Now you can harvest the worm
castings
443 The ldquolighted pilerdquo method
Lay a large strong plastic sheet on the floor Dump the contents of the worm farm onto the plastic
sheet and divide it in piles Shine a light on the top of each pile Since worms are sensitive to light
they will go down into the pile to avoid the light You will need to remove a little bit of the castings
at a time until all you have left is just a pile of worms
5 Uses for Vermicompost
Vermicompost is the highest grade of organic fertiliser available It can be used as growth medium
in the home garden vegetable garden as compost tea and to improve the quality of the soil
A great trick for doing this is to p lace
w a te rm e lon r in d in th e b in w ith th e
new bedding Worms love watermelon
rind they cant get enough of it and will
greedily rush towards it
wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Vermiculture
Page 13 of 27
51 As growth medium
A good idea is to mix super vermicompost half-half with river sand This mixture can then be used
as growth medium for seedlings This mixture gives very good results because it drains very well
yet provides the plants with excellent nutrition from the super vermicompost (Pienaar 2007)
52 In the home garden
The super vermicompost can also be applied as top dressing directly to pot plants and to the
garden on plants such as lavender roses hedges etc Use it sparingly but it will not burn plants
if you use too much (Pienaar 2007)
Mixing it with good topsoil compost vermiculite or perlite in equal amounts creates a good potting
soil (wwwwormdigestorg)
A s p o t t in g m ix o n e th ird v e r m ic o m p o s t c a n b e m ix e d w ith tw o -th ird s p o t t in g s o i l
(httpredworms-greenearthcom) As top dressing apply at a rate of two tablespoons every 30 days
after establishing new pot plants In already established pot plants use four tablespoons for the
first application of vermicompost and then follow up with two tablespoons every 30 days
thereafter (wwwwormwisecom)
53 In the vegetable garden
When transplanting seedlings such as cabbage green pepper tomatoes etc up to one cup of
vermicompost can be put in the hole where the seedling will be planted which is then covered with
a layer of ordinary soil and then planting the seedling on top (Pienaar 2007)
When sowing seeds in furrows make the furrow a little deeper and wider than normal sprinkle
some vermicompost onto the rows cover with about 3-5 cm of soil and then sow the seeds at its
normal depth (Pienaar 2007)
The initial application w ould probably not provide enough nutrition to see the vegetable
crop through and in that case apply vermicompost as a top dressing at the following rates
(httpwormwisecom)
bull In the case of cabbage green pepper tomatoes (etc) a topdressing at the rate of one cup per
plant should be worked into the soil in a diameter around the plant every 30 days
bull In the case of vegetables planted in furrows such as beetroot carrots onions etc apply at a
rate of one cup for every 30 cm of row alongside the row every 30 days
Vermiculture
Page 14 of 27
A liquid application (worm tea) will also give very good results when applying to the soil and to
the plant leaves once or twice a month (See 55)
54 For conventional farming purposes
Obviously for commercial farming purposes a small composting operation like the tyre stack or
compost bins would not be sufficient For soils really poor in organic content an application of 40
to 50 tons of fertiliser per hectare may be needed in the first year of converting to organic (non-
chemical fertiliser) farming methods For this volume of compost a conventional commercial
composting works would be required
You will need a large wood chipper automate compost turner big volumes of garden refuse clay
and animal manure Conventional compost and super vermicompost can be combined for use for
commercial farming operations
55 Making super vermicompost worm tea
Super vermicompost can also be applied in liquid form the so-called ldquoworm teardquo Various recipes
are available on the internet for making liquid fertiliser from super vermicompost The recipe can
be very simple for small operations to large commercial brewing operations
A simple recipe is as follows
bull Take a fairly large drum (44 gallons) and cut open the top
Otherwise use a dirt bin with a lid
bull Add a small tap to the bottom of the drum from where the tea
can be drained
bull Clean the drum properly and fill nearly to the top with clean
good quality water
bull Add about five kilograms of fresh super vermicompost You
can also first place it in a bag made of cheese cloth an old
nylon stocking or old pillowcaseDrum for making
compost tea
Vermiculture
Page 15 of 27
bull Use a small air pump which could typically be purchased from a pet shop and is
normally used to aerate indoor fish tanks
bull Put the outlet of the pump into the water and allow to bubble
air through the worm tea for about 24 hours
bull In this time the beneficial microbes (the good bugs) increase at
a very fast rate in the water
bull After this time the colour of the water would be a rich dark
brown like strong black tea
bull A small quantity of dishwashing liquid can be added to make
the liquid stick to the leaves better
bull Remember to filter the worm tea through a cheese cloth before putting into the sprayer
otherwise the nozzle will keep on blocking
This worm tea can be applied in liquid form around your plants (as fertiliser) or sprayed onto the
plants with a sprayer The inexpensive application of worm tea should be repeated every few
weeks or even more often if disease or insect pressure occurs You can never apply too much
The vermicompost tea contains micro-organisms that will inoculate the soil against harmful
organisms that would feed on plant roots (wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg)
To feed plants well you have to feed the soil they grow in One of the best ways to feed the soil
is to add vermicompost Vermicompost feed the micro-organisms in the soil improve soil structure
and fertility and provide plants with all the nutrients they need to grow and stay healthy
Air pump
ldquoM ix two tablespoons of vermicompost with a litre of w ater
and let it stand for a day shaking it occasionally then sprinkle
under the plants One-litre drinking water bottles make good
sprinklers drill a few small-diameter holes in the lid point and
squeezerdquo
wwwjourneytoforeverorg
Vermiculture
Page 16 of 27
The theory about fighting off the ldquobad bugsrdquo with worm tea is that
you assure that the ldquogood bugsrdquo are present in high numbers which
would help them to chase the ldquobad bugsrdquo away
The good bugs are the beneficial or friendly insects They help control
the insects that damage vegetable crops One must learn to recognise
them as your ldquofriendsrdquo in the garden
Good bugs from left Lacewing Praying mantis frog amp gecko
Furthermore a strong healthy well-fed plant will have improved resistance to fight off the ldquobad
bugsrdquo and diseases by itself (Nell Engelbrecht amp Du Plessis 2007)
56 Building up your soil to invite beneficial insects
To ensure good healthy soil ndash whether you have sandy or clay soil ndash boils down to one important
thing The gardener will have to continuously improve the soil If a gardener does not prepare the
soil properly it will lead to poor growth and he will not harvest good quality vegetables
Adding vermicompost deep into the soil will ensure that there is a balanced supply of air in the
soil Avoid unnecessary stepping on the vegetable beds and never work the soil when it is too wet
This will compact the soil and poor aeration will be the result
Good bugs Ladybird feeding
on aphids
ldquoA real gardener is not a man who cultivates
flowers he is a man who cultivates the soilrdquo
Karel Capek in ldquoThe Gardenerrsquos Yearrdquo
Vermiculture
Page 17 of 27
Maintaining a good soil structure can
bull increase water-holding capacity
bull promote root growth
bull maintain aeration and drainage
bull make cultivation easier
bull help to reduce the risk of erosion and
bull improve fertility
No farmer or gardener will be able to improve the soil com-
p le t e l y i n o n e g r o w in g s e a s o n H is g o a l m u s t b e t o
co n t in u o u s ly im p r o v e th e s o i l b y a d d in g co m p o st o r
vermicompost every time he prepares the bed for a new crop
(Nell Engelbrecht amp Du Plessis 2006)
In soils with high organic content there would naturally be a build-up of beneficial microbes (good
bugs) which will work hard at making nutrients ready to be used by plants And the population
of local earthworms will also increase over time This plays a very important role to produce
accessible food for plants and to aerate the soil
Therefore the farmer-who-cares-for-the-environment should do everything possible to build up
hisher soils and thereby to create and maintain conditions in the soil that would attract and protect
the little workers and their even smaller little friends the micro-organisms
DO work in leaves bark chipped garden refuse and compost into your soil and remember to put
a layer of organic matter (mulch) around the plants to cool down the soil and to maintain moisture
DO NOT turn over the soil often and thereby disturbing the fine balance Be mindful of applying
chemicals that will kill the good bugs and make sure that there is no compaction in the soil that
will prevent roots to penetrate deeply and water reserves to build up in the soil
Soils such as these can be built up with
vermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 18 of 27
6 Vermicomposting in Tyre Stacks
According to Mr Charl Pienaar the best most practical and least expensive type of housing for
earthworms is a tyre stack built from used bakkie or tractor tyres and using ldquopensmisrdquo as food
61 Housing earthworms in tyre stacks
Oslash You can use the used bakkie or tractor tyres as is but we found that cutting open one of the
sides with a strong knife or electric jig saw optimises the inside space and makes harvesting the
super vermicompost that much easier
Ugrave Put a plastic sheet on the ground in a suitable shady spot (under a tree on the south side of
your house against the wall or inside under a roof) and start building the tyre stack on top of
the plastic sheet The plastic sheet is for preventing tree roots from growing into your compost
from the bottom ndash remember all types of plants love super vermicompost
ldquoTo me it is one of Gods finest m iracles to observe how hum ble
earthworms are able to magically convert otherwise useless plant and
animal wastes into rich humus (black gold) for plants to produce
the food that enriches our livesrdquo
ndash Charl Pienaar
Tractor tyreCharl Pienaar cutting open the
side of a tyre
Vermiculture
Page 19 of 27
Uacute Water the inside of each of the tyres well
Ucirc Fill each tyre first with bedding (such as shredded paper) and then a
thick layer of manure
Uuml Water the contents well especially in the round section of the tyre
Yacute Place another layer of shredded paper on top of the layer of manure then place some of the
worms to one side on top of the food in the tyre
THORN Stack the next tyre and continue until you have five or six bakkie tyres stacked and filled with
worm food (no more than two for tractor tyres)
Watering inside of tyreLayer of shredded paper Layer of manure
Placing worms to one sideWater each tyre separately
Vermiculture
Page 20 of 27
szlig Place a sheet of plastic canvass or a layer of newspapers over
the top of the bedding This will hold moisture in and will
help reduce the chance that fruit flies come and lay their eggs
in the food
The tyre stack is now ready to provide a house and shelter for
your new little workers You can of course build as many of these
tyre stacks as you have space and energy for
If your tyre stack dries out the compost will become hard like a
rock their skins will dry out and your little workers will die
Water your tyre stack about once a week by pouring a few cups
of clean water in from the top If water runs out at the bottom
you are over-watering and you should apply less water
52 Feeding the earthworms in the tyre stack
Your little helpers will feed on a whole range of organic food sources but for agricultural purposes
we found pre-composted abattoir manure (ldquopensmisrdquo) and some types of pre-composted animal
manure (ldquokraalmisrdquo) the best
Other types of organic material such as conventional
compost made from leaves chopped scrap wood
animal manure and w ood pulp should also work
well
To test the suitability of different food sources put a
small quantity of moist food in a container (such as an
empty margarine holder) and put a small number of
earthworms on top If they refuse to burrow in after
a few minutes the food is not suitable
Pre-composting of fresh organic material should be
done by placing the organic matter in a drum or container with ventilation holes supplied and
turning the compost every few days by rolling the drum or container a few times
Building tyre stack
Abattoir manure (ldquoPensmisrdquo)
Vermiculture
Page 21 of 27
Or you could start a conventional compost heap and turn the
heap with a fork every few days The micro-organisms will start breaking the organic matter down
heat will build up and oxygen will be used in the process
Within about three weeks the pre-composted matter should be ready to be placed inside the tyre
stacks as described previously
If you have access to ldquooldrdquo organic matter (for instance manure that has been lying in a heap for
a few months) pre-composting should not be necessary
53 Harvesting the tyre stack
The following technique works well and although it is slower it is much easier and less stressful
for the little workers
Oslash Start building a new tyre stack next to the old one and put fresh worm food only in the round
bottom section of the tyre starting with shredded paper then manure (ldquopensmisrdquo)
Ugrave Fill the rest of the tyre with the harvested compost (plus worms) from the old tyre stack and
continue with the next tyre when the bottom one is full And so on until the stack is six tyres
high
Uacute The next step is to disturb the top few layers of vermicompost by stirring with your hands
which causes the worms to take flight downwards
Turning of compost
Conventional compost containers
Vermiculture
Page 22 of 27
Ucirc The clean compost can then be harvested from the top Continue with the harvesting until you
reach the fresh worm food And there you will find all the worms trapped in the round section
of the tyre ready to be scooped out with the fresh worm food
Uuml The little workers embedded in the fresh organic matter could then be scooped out and used
to populate a new tyre stack that was first filled with fresh worm food And so the cycle is
repeated over and over
7 Worming Towards LEISA and Organic Farming
Techniques
In this part we will explain how to utilise the super vermicompost that your little workers so
willingly and cost-effectively prepared for you We will also provide insights on how to build up
your soil so that the local little workers will be able to continue the good work that their brothers
and sisters in the tyre stacks did for you
LEISA is short for Low External Inputs Sustainable Agriculture simply meaning that instead of
looking for expensive external farming inputs (chemical fertilisers chem ical w eed killers
insecticides and pest control chemicals) the clever farmer or vegetable gardener should find items
and materials available locally and inexpensively to do the same or better job as the expensive
external inputs
For instance a flock of geese on the farm could do a great job to keep snails and other insects under
control while at the same time providing a renewable source of meat and eggs to feed the farmers
family As they are good for security too
Using a chicken tractor to work the soil for
y o u i s a l s o s o m e t h i n g t h a t c a n b e
in co rp o ra te d in a v e g e ta b le g a rd en A
chicken tractor is basically a bottomless cage
built from old material It allows the chickens
to scratch and eat off of the ground such
things as grass weeds bugs worms etc
You can drag the chicken tractor around the
garden The chicken manure goes directly
onto th e s o il w here it fe rtilises th e so il
C h ick en tractors are perfect for a sm a ll
number of chickens
A chicken tractor at the experimental site of the Motheo
College in Bloemfontein
Vermiculture
Page 23 of 27
In the same way super vermicompost produced on the farm or at home from waste material and
making use of the free labour provided by the little helpers could go a long way towards replacing
expensive chemical fertilisers Furthermore vermicompost is good for building up the soils
putting carbon sources and essential microbes (good bugs)
back into the place where they belong the place that
Nature prepared for the over the ages
LEISA is therefore about helping to create a positive
ldquobalance of paymentsrdquo for the farm ing enterprise or
vegetable garden ndash more money should flow in to the
project than would otherwise flow out One important
aspect of this positive balance is to purchase as little as
p o s s ib le e x p en s ive ex te rn a l in p u ts fo r fa rm in g o r
vegetable gardening operations
And super vermicompost produced on the farm fits right into the LEISA philosophy
Organic farming techniques go one step further namely to receive certification (proof) that no
harmful substances were used n the farming operations Good quality compost (also certified as
organic) is an essential input for formal organic farming techniques
However for produce to be certified organic could be very expensive especially for a small-scale
farmer Then your pack house cold chain and transport system also needs to be certified organic
adding more complications
ldquoWhat does organic mean
Organic farming is producing food the natural way Organic farmers aim
to produce good healthy tasty food from balanced healthy soil Organic
farm ers cannot grow GM (genetically modified) crops and cannot use
chem ical fertilizers or additives or spray artificial pesticides O rganic
farmers use crop rotation to improve the fertility of their soil Healthy soil
= healthy plant = healthy humanrdquo
Anonymous (Go Farming 2(2)7)
Vermiculture
Page 24 of 27
Therefore the advice for emerging farmers or vegetable growers is to learn their trade through
LEISA techniques and not to attempt to go all the way to being certified organic without having
the skills and experience to make a success of that The Internet is full of very useful tips on how
to farm better with low external inputs type LEISA and vermiculture in a search engine such as
Google and youll be amazed with the information that comes up
8 Some Vermicomposting Stories from All over
the World
Commercial vermicomposting is just beginning in the USA San Diego in California has employed
worms to convert part of its organic waste stream into useable products The castings are in high
demand In Oregon a research and demonstration project has become a thriving business A large
urban hospital in Ontario has been using worms to process some of its waste stream for several
years (Attra 2007)
We read of the ldquoworm womanrdquo Mary Appelhoff No one in this country has done more for the
self-image of worms than Mary Appelhof the undisputed and nationally recognized
Worm Woman (Green Living Magazine)
Worms eat my garbage Theyve been doing it for twenty-seven years I set up my basement worm
bin with shredded newspaper a bit of soil and a few thousand redworms I bury food waste in it
The worms eat it They also eat the bacteria and protozoa and fungi and other microorganisms
which decompose it They grind and mix and secrete and excrete and eventually the food waste
and bedding turns into worm castings which we use in our garden The whole process is truly on-
site recyclingrdquo
Mary Appelhoff published her first book Worms eat my garbage How to set up and maintain a worm
composting system in 1982 Her newest endeavour is t bring a new voice to the vermicomposting
field by publishing a childrens picture book about vermicomposting Compost by gosh Her website
for worm composting resources can be visited at httpwwwwormwomancom
Other countries have been researching and using commercial vermicompost systems for a decade
or more Cuba for instance started their vermicomposting programme in 1986 with two small
boxes of red worms By 1992 172 vermicompost centres were producing 93 000 tons of worm
humus annually (Gersper et al 1993)
Vermiculture
Page 25 of 27
Currently France Germany Italy Japan Hong Kong India Australia and many countries
in South America have research or commercial vermicomposting projects underway (Attra 2007)
One of the largest commercial producers of vermicompost is Vermitech (Pty) Ltd in Australia
This company is dedicated to the beneficial management of organic waste through the use of very
large scale Vermiculture Their website documents considerable research on the use of their
product on various crops (httpwwwvermitechcomhomehtm)
In the past ten years an organisation in India has prompted over 2 000 farmers and institutions to
switch from conventional chemical fertilisers to that of an organic fertiliser namely vermicompost
Vermiculture has been the prim ary focus at M aharashtra Agricultural Bioteks w hich w as
established in 1985 The organisation currently produces 5 000 tons of vermicompost annually In
1991 to 1992 this group promoted the adoption of vermicompost technology in 13 states in India
The organisation has also created a programme which trains housewives and home gardeners to
produce their ow n vermicompost from household garden waste (Dr Henamgee Jambhekar
wwwfadrmsuru)
The Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town added a feature to its list of facilities that is a South African
first A fully-functioning worm farm The hotel has decided to go green by instituting an organic
waste recycling programme where its kitchen waste are turned into worm droppings which
constitute some of the best fertiliser to keep the hotels lawns pot plants and vegetable gardens
flourishing They have thousands of worms housed in plastic crates behind one of the hotels
parking areas They estimate that the farm currently hosts about 33 000 worms (South Africa
Logue)
There are also plans to work on methods to combine conventional composting with super
vermicompost and to put up commercial composting plants at the two new markets for emerging
farmers at Philippi Market Cape Town and Ugu Agricultural Market in Port Shepstone The
conventional compost spiked with super vermicompost will be made available for emerging
farmers near these markets through the subsidised transport linking the markets with the emerging
supply base via a depot system (Charl Pienaar 2007)
Happy Worming
Vermiculture
Page 26 of 27
SOURCES
Anonymous [sa] Organic agriculture What does it all means Go Farming 2(2)6-8
A TTR A (A ppropria te T echnology T ransfer for Rural Areas) 2007 W orms for com posting
(Vermicomposting) National Center for Appropriate Technology
Earthworms as a natural resource httpwwwwormfarmcom
G e r s p e r e t a l 1 9 9 3 C u b a s c o m p o s t in g A g r ic u l t u r e a n d H u m a n V a lu e s X (3 ) 1 6 - 2 3
httpfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art1html
Ja m b h h e k a r H e m a n g e e V e r m ic u l t u r e in I n d i a I n t e rn a t ion a l A g -S iev e 7 (1 ) A r t 3
(httpwwwfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art3html)
Journey to Forever Organic Garden Vermicomposting
httpwwwjourneytoforeverorgcompost_wormhtml
Munro G [sa] Manual of on-farm vermicomposting and vermiculture Organic Agriculture Centre of
Canada
Nell W T Engelbrecht G M amp Du Plessis D M 2006 Growing vegetables A comprehensive guide
on how to establish maintain and manage a vegetable garden Centre for Agricultural Management
University of the Free State Bloemfontein
Organic farming and organic gardening using vermicompost httpwwwhappydranchcom92html
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 1 How to grow super vermicompost Go Farming 1(3)22-
23
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 2 How to use super vermicompost Go Farming 1(4)20-22
Pienaar Charl 2007 Vermiculture short course presented at MUCPP Mangaung Bloemfontein
Supertill cc Paarl
Recycling advocates Vermicomposting httpwwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Seasons India Vermicompost
httpwwwseasonsindiacomlifestylegrdnVermicompost_seahtm
Vermiculture
Page 27 of 27
SEED (Schools Environmental Education and Development) 2006 Improving the soil ndash worm
farms (worksheet 53) Growing the living laboratory Permaculture for environmental education in the
NCS Used with permission from Leigh Brown The complete document is available for download
on the SEED website (httpwwwseedorgza)
Setting up a worm bed httpwwwwormpoopcomWormBedWormBedhtm
Sherman Rhonda 2003 Raising earthworms successfully North Carolina Cooperative Extension
Service Publication no EBAE 103-83 North Carolina State University
South Africa Logue Mount Nelson Hotel creates ldquopermaculturerdquo of excellence with worm farm
httpwwwsouthafricaloguecom
Vermiculture Indoor composting
httpredworms-greenearthcomcgi-binshopplpage=indoorhtml
Vermiculture Canada Earthworm castings as plant growth media
httpwwwvermiculturecaarticlesearthworm_castingshtm
Vermiculture composting httpwwwwormpoopcomCompostingCompostinghtm
Vermicompost httpwwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost
Weisenhorn Julie Vermiculture Promote global warming Sustainable urban landscape information
series University of Minnesota httpwwwsustlandumnedu
What kind of earthworms do we recommend httpwwwvermicocomwormshtm
Wikipedia httpenwikipediaorg wikiVermicompost
Worm Digest Young persons guide to vermicomposting
httpwwwwormdigestorgcontentview152
Worm Farm Free worm farming newsletter ndash Vermiculture
httpwwwwormfarmingsecretscom
Worm Research Centre
httpwwwwormresearchcentrecoukvermicompostinghtml
Wormwise How to use WormWisereg Earthworm Castings
httpwormwisecomid=help
Vermiculture
Page 1 of 27
1 Introduction
The plough is one of the most ancient and most valuable of Mans inventions but
long before he existed the land was hellip regularly ploughed and still continues to be
ploughed by earthworms It may be (doubtful) whether there are many other
animals which have played so important a part in the history of the world as these
lowly organized creatures
ndash Charles Darwin (1881)
Except w here m entioned and quoted th is docum ent w as adapted from tw o articles on
vermiculture by Mr Charl Pienaar from Supertill cc in the Paarl which appeared in Go Farming
(Volumes 1(3)22-23 and 1(4)20-21) as well as from a short course presented by Mr Pienaar at the
M U CPP com m unity food garden project of the University of the Free State in Mangaung
Bloemfontein
This document will provide you the African-farmergardener-who-cares-for-the-environment with
knowledge tools and skills on how to employ earthworms and their buddies as your little workers
and thereby to farm more profitably and skilfully
2 Definitions
Earthworms are divided into two groups (International Ag-Sieve)
bull The first group the humus formers dwell on the surface and feed on nearly 90 fresh
organic matter and 10 soil They are generally red in colour It is these worms that are
used for vermicompost
bull The second group the humus feeders are deep burrowing worms that are useful in
making the soil porous and mixing and distributing humus through the soil (Dont use
these worms from your garden soil ndash they will not live in a worm composting bin)
Vermiculture is the process of using worms to decompose organic food waste turning the
waste into a nutrient-rich material capable of supplying necessary nutrients to help sustain
plant growth (wwwwormpoopcom) The goal is to continually increase the number of worms
so that you can have a sustainable harvest The worms can either be used to expand a
vermicomposting operation or sold to customers (Glen Munroe sa1)
Vermiculture
Page 2 of 27
ldquoVermicompost (also called worm compost vermicast worm castings worm humus or worm
manure) is the end-product of the breakdown of organic matter by some species of earthworm
Verm icom post is a nutrient-rich natural fertilizer and soil conditioner The process of
p r o d u c in g v e rm ico m p o st is ca l le d v e rm ico m p o st in g rdquo ( h t t p e n w ik ip e d ia o r g
wikiVermicompost)
A worm farm is a container in which people keep earthworms Organic matter especially fruit
and vegetable scraps are added weekly to the container for the earthworms to eat They then
excrete a substance called castings which is a rich fertiliser containing five times more nitrogen
than topsoil as w ell as high amounts of potassium and pho sphate W orm farm s use
earthworms that thrive in the dark warm food-rich moist environment of the worm farm The
best earthworm to use is called the red wriggler The population in a well maintained worm
farm doubles every two to three monthsrdquo (Seed 200637)
3 Benefits
Vermicompost has lots of benefits of which only some are mentioned here (wwwwormfarmcom
wwwwormpoopcom Weisenhorn wwwsustlandumnedu wwwhappydranchcom)
bull Vermicompost is the highest grade of organic fertiliser available
bull Research has shown that vermicompost contains five times the available nitrogen seven times
the available phosphorous three times the exchangeable magnesium e leven times the
available potash and 15 times the calcium found in topsoil
bull Vermicompost is a nutritious and
environmentally friendly alternative
to chemical fertilisers
bull V e r m i c o m p o s t a d d s b e n e f i c i a l
organisms nutrients and minerals to
the soil that sustain healthy plant life
and vital plant growth
bull Micro-organisms in the vermicompost help break down organic matter and convert nutrients
into a more available food form for plants
bull Plants grow stronger and have deeper root systems for better drought tolerance and disease
resistance
bull Vermicompost mixed with soil provides a natural organic fertiliser and a very good source of
nutrients for plants that dramatically improves the structure and fertility of soil
bull Vermicompost added to compost tea is proving to be worth its weight in gold
ldquoUsing the rich 100 organic vermicompost which
you recycle on site on your organic farms or organic
gardens gives your crops the best fertilizer on the
planetrdquo
wwwhappydranchcom
Vermiculture
Page 3 of 27
bull Worm castings can be sold to other farmers and gardeners or can be used as a component of
potting soil mixtures
4 Worm Farming
Earthworms are arguably the most important animals on planet Earth ndash they are responsible for
making soils suitable for plants to grow in ndash and we all know how important plants are for all
forms of life on earth
Even in ancient Egypt the importance of earthworms was recognised ndash Queen Cleopatra (69-30 BC)
recognised the earthworms contribution to the Egyptian agriculture by declaring this animal
sacred
Unfortunately in modern times through the excessive application of chemical fertilisers the
majority of agricultural lands have become sterilised
(dead) because most of the good bugs (earthworms and
beneficial micro-organisms) have been killed by all the
chemicals However this seriously bad situation in
modern agriculture can be reversed by natures own
little workers hum ble earthw orm s and their even
smaller helpers the beneficial micro-organisms
Traditional farming methods in Africa are intrinsically
organic recycling of animal and plant wastes through natural composting methods thereby
putting clean organic matter back into the soils and by not killing natures little workers through
the modern temptation of easy (but expensive) application of chemical fertilisers
Research done by the University of Georgia show ed that ldquo
tomato plants grown in the earthworm castings grew on average
126 from their original height Plants grown in red soil grew
on average 32 and plants grow n in potting m ix grew on
average 45 from their original heightsrdquo
wwwwormfarmingsecretscom
ldquo E a r t h w o r m s s h o u l d b e c o m e t h e
farmers little workers They will even
bring along their ow n m uch sm aller
little helpersrdquo
ndash Charl Pienaar
Vermiculture
Page 4 of 27
41 The worms
There are reportedly more than 4 000 different species of
earthworms worldwide but the species that is most suitable
for our purpose is called the Red Wriggler (Eisenia fetida)
They are also called ldquocompost wormrdquo ldquomanure wormrdquo
ldquoredwormrdquo and ldquored wrigglerrdquo
These small red earthworms are very hard working (they can
eat through their own body weight in 24 hours) they breed
and multiply very actively and they are well adapted to a
range of temperatures and food sources
ldquoIn fact it seems they dont actually eat it ndash they consume it sure enough but what they derive their
nourishment from is all the micro-organisms that are really eating it [organic matter] And yet ndash mystery
ndash their casts contain eight times as many micro-organisms as their feed And these are the micro-organisms
that best favour healthy plant growth And the casts dont contain any disease pathogens ndash pathogenic
bacteria are reliably killed in the worms gut This is one of the great benefits of vermicompostingrdquo
(wwwjourneytoforeverorg)
According to Seed (200637) one need at least 2 000 worms
as a starter stock These worms will breed and multiply to
about 8 000 worms in six months
The Red Wrigglers do not occur naturally in Africa and
your starter stock of this hard-working type of earthworm
should be ordered from a reliable supplier There are
va rio u s su p p lie rs around Som e se ll th ese p re cio u s
earthworms for fish bait
You should only be required to purchase the first batch
thereafter they will multiply very actively unless you dont look after them properly or some
disaster strikes Adult worms produce about three cocoons a week and each cocoon will contain
at least three baby worms and sometimes ten or more (wwwwormpoopcom)
The red wrigglers hate light After 20 minutes exposed to sunlight they will become confused In
30 minutes they will stop breathing and by 35 minutes exposure they die Worms should therefore
be covered at all times (wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg)
Earthworms breath through their skin w hich needs to remain moist to facilitate respiration
Earthworms can live for months completely submerged in water but they will die of they dry out
(Sherman 2003)
httpenwikipediaorgwikiEisenia_foe
tida
Starter stock (two hand-fulls)
Vermiculture
Page 5 of 27
The worms should be harvested every three months or separated from the castings
42 Establishing the worm farm
Your little workers should have proper housing for them to work at their best Expensive containers
are available in the market but w e will only discuss the follow ing groups of worm farming
methods
421 Windrow systems
Windrow systems on concrete or on the ground require the
least capita l inves tm en t but the y are s low an d labo ur
in ten s ive T h is is norm ally used for large-sca le verm i-
composting Bedding is put in long rows with organic matter
on top of it New food are put aside the previous ones because
worms will move towards the fresh foodstuff Castings can
then be removed on one side of the bed while new food are always put on a new row
httpwwwwaterkeeperorg
httpenwikipediaorgwikiVermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 6 of 27
422 Worm bins
For indoor composting you can use plastic storage bins or make one
yourself from wood Plastic bins are light and easy to move They will
hold moisture You will however need to drill holes into them to allow
air for the worms and to drain into a collection tray Plastic bins require
more drainage than wooden ones because they are non-absorbent
The size of the bin depends on how much food waste your household
produces A general rule of thumb is that you will need a square of about
30 cm surface area for each 500 g of waste your household produces
(httpredworms-greenearthcom)
Worm bins can be grouped into three categories (wwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost)
Oslash Non-continuous (an undivided container) A layer of bedding material is placed in the bin
to line the bottom Worms are added on the bedding and a layer of organic matter above the
bedding Another layer is added on top of the organic matter This type of bin is often used and
small and easy to build but harvesting is more difficult
Ugrave Continuous vertical flow ( a series of trays stacked vertically) This type of tray is available
commercially The bottom tray is filled first but is not harvested when it is full Instead a thick
layer of bedding is added on top and the tray above is used for adding organic matter When
worms finish eating the bottom tray they will move to the one above The bottom tray can be
emptied when most of the worms have migrated to the top tray These bins are easier to
harvest
Uacute Continuous horizontal flow (a series of trays lined horizontally) This method also relies on
earthworms to migrate towards a food source This bin is longer than the non-continuous bins
but divided in half usually by a large gauge screen One half is used until it becomes full then
the other half is filled with bedding and organic matter The worms will migrate to the side
with the food and the castings can then be collected This is therefore easier to harvest
Examples of worm bins
Drainage holes in plastic
bin
wwwtimetorecyclecomwwwwormwomancom wwwallthingsorganiccom
Vermiculture
Page 7 of 27
423 Tyre stacks
From experiments by Mr Charl Pienaar over the past five years the best most practical and least
expensive type of housing for your little workers is a tyre stack built from used bakkie or tractor
tyres Your local tyre dealer in town will be too happy to give these to you for free ndash this also helps
to solve a big problem in terms of the disposal of these items (This will be discussed in more detail
in Section 6)
43 Maintaining your worm farm
Your compost worms will need five basic things to survive and be happy a hospitable living
environm ent a food source adequ ate m oisture adequ ate aeration and protection from
temperature extremes (Munroe sa5-11) If you manage your composting system well keeping
these five things in mind you will be successful in the end
Hester with a worm tyre stack
ldquoGrowing worms is part science part green thumb You
need the knowledge but you also need to do it to learn how
to do it wellrdquo
Munroe (sa13)
Vermiculture
Page 8 of 27
431 A hospitable living environment (ldquobeddingrdquo)
ldquoBedding is the living medium for the worms but also a food source It is material high in carbon
a n d m a d e t o m i m i c d r i e d l e a v e s o n t h e f o r e s t f l o o r t h e w o r m s n a t u r a l h a b i t a t rdquo
(wwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost) The selection of bedding material is a key to successful
vermicomposting Bedding should be moist like that of a wrung out sponge When you squeeze
it hard a drop or two of water should drop out
Good bedding mixtures are therefore an essential element in meeting the needs of the worms
Shredded newspaper or cardboard makes an excellent bedding This can be combined with straw
or hay composted sheep cattle horse or abattoir manure (ldquopensmisrdquo) Poultry manure is not
recommended as it is too high in nitrogen and minerals
In hot climates the bins should be placed in the shade or away from direct midday sun Worms are
likely to die if conventional hot composting takes place Only thin layers of uncomposted material
should be added and temperature need to be monitored continuously If the bedding dries out mist
it with water from a spray bottle (wwwredworms-greenearthcom)
432 A food source
Compost worms are big eaters They are able to consume in excess of their body weight each day
although the general rule-of-thumb is that they will eat half of their body weight per day (Munroe
sa7) Their food consists primarily of decomposing organic matter where carbon sources (such
as dried leaves shredded paper cardboard etc) are mixed with nitrogen sources (such as food
scraps grass clippings manure etc) (wwwvermicocom)
Wait at least a day or two after placing the worms on the bedding before
adding the first food A good practice is to first test the suitability of food
for earthworms especially when manure or compost will be used Place
the m ateria l in a sm all conta iner add enough w ater to m oisten it
thoroughly and place a few worms on top Observe their behaviour over
the next few hours If the worms crawl out or die then you will know
that the material is not suitable and should not be fed to the w orm s
(Pienaar 2007)
Add more food when you see the worms beginning to work and when
they have eaten the first layer of food you can add another layer about 25 cm thick If you add too
much food you risk creating anaerobic conditions After you have added a layer of food always
add another layer of bedding material at about 25 cm thick (wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg)
There are two methods of adding food to the bin (wwwanswerscom topicvermicompost)
Testing suitability of food
Vermiculture
Page 9 of 27
Oslash Top feeding Organic matter is placed directly on top of the existing layer of bedding in a bin
and then covered with another layer of bedding This is repeated every time the bin is fed
Ugrave Pocket feeding A top layer of bedding is maintained and food is buried beneath The location
of the food is changed each time and often the bed is fed in more than one location As bedding
runs low more is added Add fruit and vegetable scraps each week Chop up food before
adding and try to feed the worms a mixture of materials Add less food in the first week and
gradually increase the amount over six months It is best to feed your worms weekly If
uneaten food remains then you know you have overfed the worms After feeding the worms
each week cover the food scraps with some compost or soil to avoid attracting fruit flies (Seed
200638)
If you regularly check the areas where you added the food you can soon see what foods your
worms like or dislike
Worms will eat almost any type of vegetable and fruit scraps partly decomposed compost
shredded newspaper small amounts of grass clippings leaves and even damp cardboard pieces
Add crushed eggshells as the worms need the calcium in the shells
The worms further love potato peelings carrots and carrot tops lettuce cabbage celery apple
peelings banana peels orange rinds grapefruit and
watermelon rinds They also like cornmeal oatmeal
coffee grounds with the filter and tea bags
Keep a plastic tub in your refrigerator to hold food
scraps so they will still be nice and fresh when you
feed the w orms Do not let them rot and become
smelly
Do not add onions or garlic or too much acidic food
like citrus pineapples and tomato strong spices and
acid (sour) food such as large amounts of vinegar and
sa lt A v o id m a te r ia ls co n ta m in a ted w ith to x ic
chemicals for example sawdust from treated wood
Do not feed them meat scraps bones oily food and dairy products such as cheese and butter as
these will attract ldquobadrdquo bugs and cause odours Never feed them cat or dog poop
The compost worms are low-maintenance and you can skip two or three weeks without feeding
t h e m b u t a n y l o n g e r t h a n t h a t a n d y o u w i l l h a v e a b i g b o x o f d e a d w o r m s
(wwwseasonsindiacom)
Vegetable and fruit scraps
Vermiculture
Page 10 of 27
433 Adequate moisture
Earthworms breathe through their skins (they do not have lungs) and for that they require
m ois tu re (w ater) A dd w ater every few days or w hen
necessary to prevent the worm farm from drying out You
may need to add more water during hot windy weather It
is important to keep the worm farm moist as the worms may
die if it dries out However the worm farm should not be
soggy either Remember there is also moisture in the food
scraps (Seed 200638)
You should also cover the top of the tyre stack with a suitable material to prevent evaporation of
moisture and to keep unwanted visitors out
434 Adequate aeration
Worms are oxygen-breathers and operate best when ventilation is good and the bedding is relative
porous and well aerated They cannot survive anaerobic conditions which occur when there is an
absence of oxygen Your worm farm will then start having a bad odour If that is the case then you
have added too much food and the worms are finding it difficult to aerate the compost by their
regular movement through it
To rectify the problem you will need to stir the bedding to aerate it add dry shredded newspaper
cover the container and add no more food until the smell has gone To prevent acid conditions you
can sprinkle crushed egg shells into the worm food when building the tyre stack
435 Protection from temperature extremes
Large quantities of fresh uncomposted organic matter will naturally start composting excessive
heat will build up which may kill your little workers
Earthworms like to work in the dark (is that why they multiply so quickly) and very hot or cold
temperatures should be avoided
Remember
The bedding material should feel
like a wrung-out sponge
ldquo M oistu re con ten t o f less th an 5 0 is d an g erou s W ith th e
exception of extreme heat or cold nothing will kill worms faster
than a lack of adequate moisturerdquo
Munroe (sa10)
Vermiculture
Page 11 of 27
436 When the worm bin smells
A healthy worm bin should smell like garden soil A foul odour indicates that something is wrong
The following checklist should help you to prevent or solve odour problems (httpredworms-
greenearthcom)
bull Put plenty of air hols in the bin to ensure that the worms have adequate air to breathe
bull Feed only a vegetarian diet
bull Bury food wastes completely under the bedding
bull Insure adequate drainage for the bin
bull Do not overfeed
44 Harvesting vermicompost
Depending on the original quantity and quality of w orm food the living conditions and the
number of earthworms you started off with the little workers should be finished with their job
three to six months after you started them off in a tyre stack Your little workers would have turned
the organic matter into rich and dark super vermicompost (the so-called ldquoBlack Goldrdquo) ndash filled with
beneficial micro-organisms and concentrated plant foods
Now we need to become a little more technical since it is not so easy to separate the earthworms
from the rich ldquoblack goldrdquo vermicompost that they produced We do not want to hurt or damage
the little ones since who will do the work then Also check for cocoons of young worms They look
like yellowish jelly beans
Hester busy harvesting vermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 12 of 27
441 Using a sieve
Some farmers use a circular sieve to do the trick They load the harvested vermicompost on a
trailer and use gravity to make the compost (and worms) roll down into a circular sieve which is
then being turned by hand The fine compost will fall through the sieve to be collected while the
larger worms and rough clumps of compost would roll through to be collected at the bottom For
this procedure the moisture content of the compost should be just right not too wet and not too
dry
This technique however is a bit too complicated although for large volumes of compost it may
be the best way
442 The ldquodivide and sortrdquo method
This method is used when worms are kept in plastic bins Move all the old bedding to one side of
the bin Add fresh bedding like newspaper to the
other side and bury the new food scraps only to
the new bedding
Within a week or two most of the worms will have
moved (migrated) from the old bedding into the
new bedding Now you can harvest the worm
castings
443 The ldquolighted pilerdquo method
Lay a large strong plastic sheet on the floor Dump the contents of the worm farm onto the plastic
sheet and divide it in piles Shine a light on the top of each pile Since worms are sensitive to light
they will go down into the pile to avoid the light You will need to remove a little bit of the castings
at a time until all you have left is just a pile of worms
5 Uses for Vermicompost
Vermicompost is the highest grade of organic fertiliser available It can be used as growth medium
in the home garden vegetable garden as compost tea and to improve the quality of the soil
A great trick for doing this is to p lace
w a te rm e lon r in d in th e b in w ith th e
new bedding Worms love watermelon
rind they cant get enough of it and will
greedily rush towards it
wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Vermiculture
Page 13 of 27
51 As growth medium
A good idea is to mix super vermicompost half-half with river sand This mixture can then be used
as growth medium for seedlings This mixture gives very good results because it drains very well
yet provides the plants with excellent nutrition from the super vermicompost (Pienaar 2007)
52 In the home garden
The super vermicompost can also be applied as top dressing directly to pot plants and to the
garden on plants such as lavender roses hedges etc Use it sparingly but it will not burn plants
if you use too much (Pienaar 2007)
Mixing it with good topsoil compost vermiculite or perlite in equal amounts creates a good potting
soil (wwwwormdigestorg)
A s p o t t in g m ix o n e th ird v e r m ic o m p o s t c a n b e m ix e d w ith tw o -th ird s p o t t in g s o i l
(httpredworms-greenearthcom) As top dressing apply at a rate of two tablespoons every 30 days
after establishing new pot plants In already established pot plants use four tablespoons for the
first application of vermicompost and then follow up with two tablespoons every 30 days
thereafter (wwwwormwisecom)
53 In the vegetable garden
When transplanting seedlings such as cabbage green pepper tomatoes etc up to one cup of
vermicompost can be put in the hole where the seedling will be planted which is then covered with
a layer of ordinary soil and then planting the seedling on top (Pienaar 2007)
When sowing seeds in furrows make the furrow a little deeper and wider than normal sprinkle
some vermicompost onto the rows cover with about 3-5 cm of soil and then sow the seeds at its
normal depth (Pienaar 2007)
The initial application w ould probably not provide enough nutrition to see the vegetable
crop through and in that case apply vermicompost as a top dressing at the following rates
(httpwormwisecom)
bull In the case of cabbage green pepper tomatoes (etc) a topdressing at the rate of one cup per
plant should be worked into the soil in a diameter around the plant every 30 days
bull In the case of vegetables planted in furrows such as beetroot carrots onions etc apply at a
rate of one cup for every 30 cm of row alongside the row every 30 days
Vermiculture
Page 14 of 27
A liquid application (worm tea) will also give very good results when applying to the soil and to
the plant leaves once or twice a month (See 55)
54 For conventional farming purposes
Obviously for commercial farming purposes a small composting operation like the tyre stack or
compost bins would not be sufficient For soils really poor in organic content an application of 40
to 50 tons of fertiliser per hectare may be needed in the first year of converting to organic (non-
chemical fertiliser) farming methods For this volume of compost a conventional commercial
composting works would be required
You will need a large wood chipper automate compost turner big volumes of garden refuse clay
and animal manure Conventional compost and super vermicompost can be combined for use for
commercial farming operations
55 Making super vermicompost worm tea
Super vermicompost can also be applied in liquid form the so-called ldquoworm teardquo Various recipes
are available on the internet for making liquid fertiliser from super vermicompost The recipe can
be very simple for small operations to large commercial brewing operations
A simple recipe is as follows
bull Take a fairly large drum (44 gallons) and cut open the top
Otherwise use a dirt bin with a lid
bull Add a small tap to the bottom of the drum from where the tea
can be drained
bull Clean the drum properly and fill nearly to the top with clean
good quality water
bull Add about five kilograms of fresh super vermicompost You
can also first place it in a bag made of cheese cloth an old
nylon stocking or old pillowcaseDrum for making
compost tea
Vermiculture
Page 15 of 27
bull Use a small air pump which could typically be purchased from a pet shop and is
normally used to aerate indoor fish tanks
bull Put the outlet of the pump into the water and allow to bubble
air through the worm tea for about 24 hours
bull In this time the beneficial microbes (the good bugs) increase at
a very fast rate in the water
bull After this time the colour of the water would be a rich dark
brown like strong black tea
bull A small quantity of dishwashing liquid can be added to make
the liquid stick to the leaves better
bull Remember to filter the worm tea through a cheese cloth before putting into the sprayer
otherwise the nozzle will keep on blocking
This worm tea can be applied in liquid form around your plants (as fertiliser) or sprayed onto the
plants with a sprayer The inexpensive application of worm tea should be repeated every few
weeks or even more often if disease or insect pressure occurs You can never apply too much
The vermicompost tea contains micro-organisms that will inoculate the soil against harmful
organisms that would feed on plant roots (wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg)
To feed plants well you have to feed the soil they grow in One of the best ways to feed the soil
is to add vermicompost Vermicompost feed the micro-organisms in the soil improve soil structure
and fertility and provide plants with all the nutrients they need to grow and stay healthy
Air pump
ldquoM ix two tablespoons of vermicompost with a litre of w ater
and let it stand for a day shaking it occasionally then sprinkle
under the plants One-litre drinking water bottles make good
sprinklers drill a few small-diameter holes in the lid point and
squeezerdquo
wwwjourneytoforeverorg
Vermiculture
Page 16 of 27
The theory about fighting off the ldquobad bugsrdquo with worm tea is that
you assure that the ldquogood bugsrdquo are present in high numbers which
would help them to chase the ldquobad bugsrdquo away
The good bugs are the beneficial or friendly insects They help control
the insects that damage vegetable crops One must learn to recognise
them as your ldquofriendsrdquo in the garden
Good bugs from left Lacewing Praying mantis frog amp gecko
Furthermore a strong healthy well-fed plant will have improved resistance to fight off the ldquobad
bugsrdquo and diseases by itself (Nell Engelbrecht amp Du Plessis 2007)
56 Building up your soil to invite beneficial insects
To ensure good healthy soil ndash whether you have sandy or clay soil ndash boils down to one important
thing The gardener will have to continuously improve the soil If a gardener does not prepare the
soil properly it will lead to poor growth and he will not harvest good quality vegetables
Adding vermicompost deep into the soil will ensure that there is a balanced supply of air in the
soil Avoid unnecessary stepping on the vegetable beds and never work the soil when it is too wet
This will compact the soil and poor aeration will be the result
Good bugs Ladybird feeding
on aphids
ldquoA real gardener is not a man who cultivates
flowers he is a man who cultivates the soilrdquo
Karel Capek in ldquoThe Gardenerrsquos Yearrdquo
Vermiculture
Page 17 of 27
Maintaining a good soil structure can
bull increase water-holding capacity
bull promote root growth
bull maintain aeration and drainage
bull make cultivation easier
bull help to reduce the risk of erosion and
bull improve fertility
No farmer or gardener will be able to improve the soil com-
p le t e l y i n o n e g r o w in g s e a s o n H is g o a l m u s t b e t o
co n t in u o u s ly im p r o v e th e s o i l b y a d d in g co m p o st o r
vermicompost every time he prepares the bed for a new crop
(Nell Engelbrecht amp Du Plessis 2006)
In soils with high organic content there would naturally be a build-up of beneficial microbes (good
bugs) which will work hard at making nutrients ready to be used by plants And the population
of local earthworms will also increase over time This plays a very important role to produce
accessible food for plants and to aerate the soil
Therefore the farmer-who-cares-for-the-environment should do everything possible to build up
hisher soils and thereby to create and maintain conditions in the soil that would attract and protect
the little workers and their even smaller little friends the micro-organisms
DO work in leaves bark chipped garden refuse and compost into your soil and remember to put
a layer of organic matter (mulch) around the plants to cool down the soil and to maintain moisture
DO NOT turn over the soil often and thereby disturbing the fine balance Be mindful of applying
chemicals that will kill the good bugs and make sure that there is no compaction in the soil that
will prevent roots to penetrate deeply and water reserves to build up in the soil
Soils such as these can be built up with
vermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 18 of 27
6 Vermicomposting in Tyre Stacks
According to Mr Charl Pienaar the best most practical and least expensive type of housing for
earthworms is a tyre stack built from used bakkie or tractor tyres and using ldquopensmisrdquo as food
61 Housing earthworms in tyre stacks
Oslash You can use the used bakkie or tractor tyres as is but we found that cutting open one of the
sides with a strong knife or electric jig saw optimises the inside space and makes harvesting the
super vermicompost that much easier
Ugrave Put a plastic sheet on the ground in a suitable shady spot (under a tree on the south side of
your house against the wall or inside under a roof) and start building the tyre stack on top of
the plastic sheet The plastic sheet is for preventing tree roots from growing into your compost
from the bottom ndash remember all types of plants love super vermicompost
ldquoTo me it is one of Gods finest m iracles to observe how hum ble
earthworms are able to magically convert otherwise useless plant and
animal wastes into rich humus (black gold) for plants to produce
the food that enriches our livesrdquo
ndash Charl Pienaar
Tractor tyreCharl Pienaar cutting open the
side of a tyre
Vermiculture
Page 19 of 27
Uacute Water the inside of each of the tyres well
Ucirc Fill each tyre first with bedding (such as shredded paper) and then a
thick layer of manure
Uuml Water the contents well especially in the round section of the tyre
Yacute Place another layer of shredded paper on top of the layer of manure then place some of the
worms to one side on top of the food in the tyre
THORN Stack the next tyre and continue until you have five or six bakkie tyres stacked and filled with
worm food (no more than two for tractor tyres)
Watering inside of tyreLayer of shredded paper Layer of manure
Placing worms to one sideWater each tyre separately
Vermiculture
Page 20 of 27
szlig Place a sheet of plastic canvass or a layer of newspapers over
the top of the bedding This will hold moisture in and will
help reduce the chance that fruit flies come and lay their eggs
in the food
The tyre stack is now ready to provide a house and shelter for
your new little workers You can of course build as many of these
tyre stacks as you have space and energy for
If your tyre stack dries out the compost will become hard like a
rock their skins will dry out and your little workers will die
Water your tyre stack about once a week by pouring a few cups
of clean water in from the top If water runs out at the bottom
you are over-watering and you should apply less water
52 Feeding the earthworms in the tyre stack
Your little helpers will feed on a whole range of organic food sources but for agricultural purposes
we found pre-composted abattoir manure (ldquopensmisrdquo) and some types of pre-composted animal
manure (ldquokraalmisrdquo) the best
Other types of organic material such as conventional
compost made from leaves chopped scrap wood
animal manure and w ood pulp should also work
well
To test the suitability of different food sources put a
small quantity of moist food in a container (such as an
empty margarine holder) and put a small number of
earthworms on top If they refuse to burrow in after
a few minutes the food is not suitable
Pre-composting of fresh organic material should be
done by placing the organic matter in a drum or container with ventilation holes supplied and
turning the compost every few days by rolling the drum or container a few times
Building tyre stack
Abattoir manure (ldquoPensmisrdquo)
Vermiculture
Page 21 of 27
Or you could start a conventional compost heap and turn the
heap with a fork every few days The micro-organisms will start breaking the organic matter down
heat will build up and oxygen will be used in the process
Within about three weeks the pre-composted matter should be ready to be placed inside the tyre
stacks as described previously
If you have access to ldquooldrdquo organic matter (for instance manure that has been lying in a heap for
a few months) pre-composting should not be necessary
53 Harvesting the tyre stack
The following technique works well and although it is slower it is much easier and less stressful
for the little workers
Oslash Start building a new tyre stack next to the old one and put fresh worm food only in the round
bottom section of the tyre starting with shredded paper then manure (ldquopensmisrdquo)
Ugrave Fill the rest of the tyre with the harvested compost (plus worms) from the old tyre stack and
continue with the next tyre when the bottom one is full And so on until the stack is six tyres
high
Uacute The next step is to disturb the top few layers of vermicompost by stirring with your hands
which causes the worms to take flight downwards
Turning of compost
Conventional compost containers
Vermiculture
Page 22 of 27
Ucirc The clean compost can then be harvested from the top Continue with the harvesting until you
reach the fresh worm food And there you will find all the worms trapped in the round section
of the tyre ready to be scooped out with the fresh worm food
Uuml The little workers embedded in the fresh organic matter could then be scooped out and used
to populate a new tyre stack that was first filled with fresh worm food And so the cycle is
repeated over and over
7 Worming Towards LEISA and Organic Farming
Techniques
In this part we will explain how to utilise the super vermicompost that your little workers so
willingly and cost-effectively prepared for you We will also provide insights on how to build up
your soil so that the local little workers will be able to continue the good work that their brothers
and sisters in the tyre stacks did for you
LEISA is short for Low External Inputs Sustainable Agriculture simply meaning that instead of
looking for expensive external farming inputs (chemical fertilisers chem ical w eed killers
insecticides and pest control chemicals) the clever farmer or vegetable gardener should find items
and materials available locally and inexpensively to do the same or better job as the expensive
external inputs
For instance a flock of geese on the farm could do a great job to keep snails and other insects under
control while at the same time providing a renewable source of meat and eggs to feed the farmers
family As they are good for security too
Using a chicken tractor to work the soil for
y o u i s a l s o s o m e t h i n g t h a t c a n b e
in co rp o ra te d in a v e g e ta b le g a rd en A
chicken tractor is basically a bottomless cage
built from old material It allows the chickens
to scratch and eat off of the ground such
things as grass weeds bugs worms etc
You can drag the chicken tractor around the
garden The chicken manure goes directly
onto th e s o il w here it fe rtilises th e so il
C h ick en tractors are perfect for a sm a ll
number of chickens
A chicken tractor at the experimental site of the Motheo
College in Bloemfontein
Vermiculture
Page 23 of 27
In the same way super vermicompost produced on the farm or at home from waste material and
making use of the free labour provided by the little helpers could go a long way towards replacing
expensive chemical fertilisers Furthermore vermicompost is good for building up the soils
putting carbon sources and essential microbes (good bugs)
back into the place where they belong the place that
Nature prepared for the over the ages
LEISA is therefore about helping to create a positive
ldquobalance of paymentsrdquo for the farm ing enterprise or
vegetable garden ndash more money should flow in to the
project than would otherwise flow out One important
aspect of this positive balance is to purchase as little as
p o s s ib le e x p en s ive ex te rn a l in p u ts fo r fa rm in g o r
vegetable gardening operations
And super vermicompost produced on the farm fits right into the LEISA philosophy
Organic farming techniques go one step further namely to receive certification (proof) that no
harmful substances were used n the farming operations Good quality compost (also certified as
organic) is an essential input for formal organic farming techniques
However for produce to be certified organic could be very expensive especially for a small-scale
farmer Then your pack house cold chain and transport system also needs to be certified organic
adding more complications
ldquoWhat does organic mean
Organic farming is producing food the natural way Organic farmers aim
to produce good healthy tasty food from balanced healthy soil Organic
farm ers cannot grow GM (genetically modified) crops and cannot use
chem ical fertilizers or additives or spray artificial pesticides O rganic
farmers use crop rotation to improve the fertility of their soil Healthy soil
= healthy plant = healthy humanrdquo
Anonymous (Go Farming 2(2)7)
Vermiculture
Page 24 of 27
Therefore the advice for emerging farmers or vegetable growers is to learn their trade through
LEISA techniques and not to attempt to go all the way to being certified organic without having
the skills and experience to make a success of that The Internet is full of very useful tips on how
to farm better with low external inputs type LEISA and vermiculture in a search engine such as
Google and youll be amazed with the information that comes up
8 Some Vermicomposting Stories from All over
the World
Commercial vermicomposting is just beginning in the USA San Diego in California has employed
worms to convert part of its organic waste stream into useable products The castings are in high
demand In Oregon a research and demonstration project has become a thriving business A large
urban hospital in Ontario has been using worms to process some of its waste stream for several
years (Attra 2007)
We read of the ldquoworm womanrdquo Mary Appelhoff No one in this country has done more for the
self-image of worms than Mary Appelhof the undisputed and nationally recognized
Worm Woman (Green Living Magazine)
Worms eat my garbage Theyve been doing it for twenty-seven years I set up my basement worm
bin with shredded newspaper a bit of soil and a few thousand redworms I bury food waste in it
The worms eat it They also eat the bacteria and protozoa and fungi and other microorganisms
which decompose it They grind and mix and secrete and excrete and eventually the food waste
and bedding turns into worm castings which we use in our garden The whole process is truly on-
site recyclingrdquo
Mary Appelhoff published her first book Worms eat my garbage How to set up and maintain a worm
composting system in 1982 Her newest endeavour is t bring a new voice to the vermicomposting
field by publishing a childrens picture book about vermicomposting Compost by gosh Her website
for worm composting resources can be visited at httpwwwwormwomancom
Other countries have been researching and using commercial vermicompost systems for a decade
or more Cuba for instance started their vermicomposting programme in 1986 with two small
boxes of red worms By 1992 172 vermicompost centres were producing 93 000 tons of worm
humus annually (Gersper et al 1993)
Vermiculture
Page 25 of 27
Currently France Germany Italy Japan Hong Kong India Australia and many countries
in South America have research or commercial vermicomposting projects underway (Attra 2007)
One of the largest commercial producers of vermicompost is Vermitech (Pty) Ltd in Australia
This company is dedicated to the beneficial management of organic waste through the use of very
large scale Vermiculture Their website documents considerable research on the use of their
product on various crops (httpwwwvermitechcomhomehtm)
In the past ten years an organisation in India has prompted over 2 000 farmers and institutions to
switch from conventional chemical fertilisers to that of an organic fertiliser namely vermicompost
Vermiculture has been the prim ary focus at M aharashtra Agricultural Bioteks w hich w as
established in 1985 The organisation currently produces 5 000 tons of vermicompost annually In
1991 to 1992 this group promoted the adoption of vermicompost technology in 13 states in India
The organisation has also created a programme which trains housewives and home gardeners to
produce their ow n vermicompost from household garden waste (Dr Henamgee Jambhekar
wwwfadrmsuru)
The Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town added a feature to its list of facilities that is a South African
first A fully-functioning worm farm The hotel has decided to go green by instituting an organic
waste recycling programme where its kitchen waste are turned into worm droppings which
constitute some of the best fertiliser to keep the hotels lawns pot plants and vegetable gardens
flourishing They have thousands of worms housed in plastic crates behind one of the hotels
parking areas They estimate that the farm currently hosts about 33 000 worms (South Africa
Logue)
There are also plans to work on methods to combine conventional composting with super
vermicompost and to put up commercial composting plants at the two new markets for emerging
farmers at Philippi Market Cape Town and Ugu Agricultural Market in Port Shepstone The
conventional compost spiked with super vermicompost will be made available for emerging
farmers near these markets through the subsidised transport linking the markets with the emerging
supply base via a depot system (Charl Pienaar 2007)
Happy Worming
Vermiculture
Page 26 of 27
SOURCES
Anonymous [sa] Organic agriculture What does it all means Go Farming 2(2)6-8
A TTR A (A ppropria te T echnology T ransfer for Rural Areas) 2007 W orms for com posting
(Vermicomposting) National Center for Appropriate Technology
Earthworms as a natural resource httpwwwwormfarmcom
G e r s p e r e t a l 1 9 9 3 C u b a s c o m p o s t in g A g r ic u l t u r e a n d H u m a n V a lu e s X (3 ) 1 6 - 2 3
httpfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art1html
Ja m b h h e k a r H e m a n g e e V e r m ic u l t u r e in I n d i a I n t e rn a t ion a l A g -S iev e 7 (1 ) A r t 3
(httpwwwfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art3html)
Journey to Forever Organic Garden Vermicomposting
httpwwwjourneytoforeverorgcompost_wormhtml
Munro G [sa] Manual of on-farm vermicomposting and vermiculture Organic Agriculture Centre of
Canada
Nell W T Engelbrecht G M amp Du Plessis D M 2006 Growing vegetables A comprehensive guide
on how to establish maintain and manage a vegetable garden Centre for Agricultural Management
University of the Free State Bloemfontein
Organic farming and organic gardening using vermicompost httpwwwhappydranchcom92html
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 1 How to grow super vermicompost Go Farming 1(3)22-
23
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 2 How to use super vermicompost Go Farming 1(4)20-22
Pienaar Charl 2007 Vermiculture short course presented at MUCPP Mangaung Bloemfontein
Supertill cc Paarl
Recycling advocates Vermicomposting httpwwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Seasons India Vermicompost
httpwwwseasonsindiacomlifestylegrdnVermicompost_seahtm
Vermiculture
Page 27 of 27
SEED (Schools Environmental Education and Development) 2006 Improving the soil ndash worm
farms (worksheet 53) Growing the living laboratory Permaculture for environmental education in the
NCS Used with permission from Leigh Brown The complete document is available for download
on the SEED website (httpwwwseedorgza)
Setting up a worm bed httpwwwwormpoopcomWormBedWormBedhtm
Sherman Rhonda 2003 Raising earthworms successfully North Carolina Cooperative Extension
Service Publication no EBAE 103-83 North Carolina State University
South Africa Logue Mount Nelson Hotel creates ldquopermaculturerdquo of excellence with worm farm
httpwwwsouthafricaloguecom
Vermiculture Indoor composting
httpredworms-greenearthcomcgi-binshopplpage=indoorhtml
Vermiculture Canada Earthworm castings as plant growth media
httpwwwvermiculturecaarticlesearthworm_castingshtm
Vermiculture composting httpwwwwormpoopcomCompostingCompostinghtm
Vermicompost httpwwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost
Weisenhorn Julie Vermiculture Promote global warming Sustainable urban landscape information
series University of Minnesota httpwwwsustlandumnedu
What kind of earthworms do we recommend httpwwwvermicocomwormshtm
Wikipedia httpenwikipediaorg wikiVermicompost
Worm Digest Young persons guide to vermicomposting
httpwwwwormdigestorgcontentview152
Worm Farm Free worm farming newsletter ndash Vermiculture
httpwwwwormfarmingsecretscom
Worm Research Centre
httpwwwwormresearchcentrecoukvermicompostinghtml
Wormwise How to use WormWisereg Earthworm Castings
httpwormwisecomid=help
Vermiculture
Page 2 of 27
ldquoVermicompost (also called worm compost vermicast worm castings worm humus or worm
manure) is the end-product of the breakdown of organic matter by some species of earthworm
Verm icom post is a nutrient-rich natural fertilizer and soil conditioner The process of
p r o d u c in g v e rm ico m p o st is ca l le d v e rm ico m p o st in g rdquo ( h t t p e n w ik ip e d ia o r g
wikiVermicompost)
A worm farm is a container in which people keep earthworms Organic matter especially fruit
and vegetable scraps are added weekly to the container for the earthworms to eat They then
excrete a substance called castings which is a rich fertiliser containing five times more nitrogen
than topsoil as w ell as high amounts of potassium and pho sphate W orm farm s use
earthworms that thrive in the dark warm food-rich moist environment of the worm farm The
best earthworm to use is called the red wriggler The population in a well maintained worm
farm doubles every two to three monthsrdquo (Seed 200637)
3 Benefits
Vermicompost has lots of benefits of which only some are mentioned here (wwwwormfarmcom
wwwwormpoopcom Weisenhorn wwwsustlandumnedu wwwhappydranchcom)
bull Vermicompost is the highest grade of organic fertiliser available
bull Research has shown that vermicompost contains five times the available nitrogen seven times
the available phosphorous three times the exchangeable magnesium e leven times the
available potash and 15 times the calcium found in topsoil
bull Vermicompost is a nutritious and
environmentally friendly alternative
to chemical fertilisers
bull V e r m i c o m p o s t a d d s b e n e f i c i a l
organisms nutrients and minerals to
the soil that sustain healthy plant life
and vital plant growth
bull Micro-organisms in the vermicompost help break down organic matter and convert nutrients
into a more available food form for plants
bull Plants grow stronger and have deeper root systems for better drought tolerance and disease
resistance
bull Vermicompost mixed with soil provides a natural organic fertiliser and a very good source of
nutrients for plants that dramatically improves the structure and fertility of soil
bull Vermicompost added to compost tea is proving to be worth its weight in gold
ldquoUsing the rich 100 organic vermicompost which
you recycle on site on your organic farms or organic
gardens gives your crops the best fertilizer on the
planetrdquo
wwwhappydranchcom
Vermiculture
Page 3 of 27
bull Worm castings can be sold to other farmers and gardeners or can be used as a component of
potting soil mixtures
4 Worm Farming
Earthworms are arguably the most important animals on planet Earth ndash they are responsible for
making soils suitable for plants to grow in ndash and we all know how important plants are for all
forms of life on earth
Even in ancient Egypt the importance of earthworms was recognised ndash Queen Cleopatra (69-30 BC)
recognised the earthworms contribution to the Egyptian agriculture by declaring this animal
sacred
Unfortunately in modern times through the excessive application of chemical fertilisers the
majority of agricultural lands have become sterilised
(dead) because most of the good bugs (earthworms and
beneficial micro-organisms) have been killed by all the
chemicals However this seriously bad situation in
modern agriculture can be reversed by natures own
little workers hum ble earthw orm s and their even
smaller helpers the beneficial micro-organisms
Traditional farming methods in Africa are intrinsically
organic recycling of animal and plant wastes through natural composting methods thereby
putting clean organic matter back into the soils and by not killing natures little workers through
the modern temptation of easy (but expensive) application of chemical fertilisers
Research done by the University of Georgia show ed that ldquo
tomato plants grown in the earthworm castings grew on average
126 from their original height Plants grown in red soil grew
on average 32 and plants grow n in potting m ix grew on
average 45 from their original heightsrdquo
wwwwormfarmingsecretscom
ldquo E a r t h w o r m s s h o u l d b e c o m e t h e
farmers little workers They will even
bring along their ow n m uch sm aller
little helpersrdquo
ndash Charl Pienaar
Vermiculture
Page 4 of 27
41 The worms
There are reportedly more than 4 000 different species of
earthworms worldwide but the species that is most suitable
for our purpose is called the Red Wriggler (Eisenia fetida)
They are also called ldquocompost wormrdquo ldquomanure wormrdquo
ldquoredwormrdquo and ldquored wrigglerrdquo
These small red earthworms are very hard working (they can
eat through their own body weight in 24 hours) they breed
and multiply very actively and they are well adapted to a
range of temperatures and food sources
ldquoIn fact it seems they dont actually eat it ndash they consume it sure enough but what they derive their
nourishment from is all the micro-organisms that are really eating it [organic matter] And yet ndash mystery
ndash their casts contain eight times as many micro-organisms as their feed And these are the micro-organisms
that best favour healthy plant growth And the casts dont contain any disease pathogens ndash pathogenic
bacteria are reliably killed in the worms gut This is one of the great benefits of vermicompostingrdquo
(wwwjourneytoforeverorg)
According to Seed (200637) one need at least 2 000 worms
as a starter stock These worms will breed and multiply to
about 8 000 worms in six months
The Red Wrigglers do not occur naturally in Africa and
your starter stock of this hard-working type of earthworm
should be ordered from a reliable supplier There are
va rio u s su p p lie rs around Som e se ll th ese p re cio u s
earthworms for fish bait
You should only be required to purchase the first batch
thereafter they will multiply very actively unless you dont look after them properly or some
disaster strikes Adult worms produce about three cocoons a week and each cocoon will contain
at least three baby worms and sometimes ten or more (wwwwormpoopcom)
The red wrigglers hate light After 20 minutes exposed to sunlight they will become confused In
30 minutes they will stop breathing and by 35 minutes exposure they die Worms should therefore
be covered at all times (wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg)
Earthworms breath through their skin w hich needs to remain moist to facilitate respiration
Earthworms can live for months completely submerged in water but they will die of they dry out
(Sherman 2003)
httpenwikipediaorgwikiEisenia_foe
tida
Starter stock (two hand-fulls)
Vermiculture
Page 5 of 27
The worms should be harvested every three months or separated from the castings
42 Establishing the worm farm
Your little workers should have proper housing for them to work at their best Expensive containers
are available in the market but w e will only discuss the follow ing groups of worm farming
methods
421 Windrow systems
Windrow systems on concrete or on the ground require the
least capita l inves tm en t but the y are s low an d labo ur
in ten s ive T h is is norm ally used for large-sca le verm i-
composting Bedding is put in long rows with organic matter
on top of it New food are put aside the previous ones because
worms will move towards the fresh foodstuff Castings can
then be removed on one side of the bed while new food are always put on a new row
httpwwwwaterkeeperorg
httpenwikipediaorgwikiVermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 6 of 27
422 Worm bins
For indoor composting you can use plastic storage bins or make one
yourself from wood Plastic bins are light and easy to move They will
hold moisture You will however need to drill holes into them to allow
air for the worms and to drain into a collection tray Plastic bins require
more drainage than wooden ones because they are non-absorbent
The size of the bin depends on how much food waste your household
produces A general rule of thumb is that you will need a square of about
30 cm surface area for each 500 g of waste your household produces
(httpredworms-greenearthcom)
Worm bins can be grouped into three categories (wwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost)
Oslash Non-continuous (an undivided container) A layer of bedding material is placed in the bin
to line the bottom Worms are added on the bedding and a layer of organic matter above the
bedding Another layer is added on top of the organic matter This type of bin is often used and
small and easy to build but harvesting is more difficult
Ugrave Continuous vertical flow ( a series of trays stacked vertically) This type of tray is available
commercially The bottom tray is filled first but is not harvested when it is full Instead a thick
layer of bedding is added on top and the tray above is used for adding organic matter When
worms finish eating the bottom tray they will move to the one above The bottom tray can be
emptied when most of the worms have migrated to the top tray These bins are easier to
harvest
Uacute Continuous horizontal flow (a series of trays lined horizontally) This method also relies on
earthworms to migrate towards a food source This bin is longer than the non-continuous bins
but divided in half usually by a large gauge screen One half is used until it becomes full then
the other half is filled with bedding and organic matter The worms will migrate to the side
with the food and the castings can then be collected This is therefore easier to harvest
Examples of worm bins
Drainage holes in plastic
bin
wwwtimetorecyclecomwwwwormwomancom wwwallthingsorganiccom
Vermiculture
Page 7 of 27
423 Tyre stacks
From experiments by Mr Charl Pienaar over the past five years the best most practical and least
expensive type of housing for your little workers is a tyre stack built from used bakkie or tractor
tyres Your local tyre dealer in town will be too happy to give these to you for free ndash this also helps
to solve a big problem in terms of the disposal of these items (This will be discussed in more detail
in Section 6)
43 Maintaining your worm farm
Your compost worms will need five basic things to survive and be happy a hospitable living
environm ent a food source adequ ate m oisture adequ ate aeration and protection from
temperature extremes (Munroe sa5-11) If you manage your composting system well keeping
these five things in mind you will be successful in the end
Hester with a worm tyre stack
ldquoGrowing worms is part science part green thumb You
need the knowledge but you also need to do it to learn how
to do it wellrdquo
Munroe (sa13)
Vermiculture
Page 8 of 27
431 A hospitable living environment (ldquobeddingrdquo)
ldquoBedding is the living medium for the worms but also a food source It is material high in carbon
a n d m a d e t o m i m i c d r i e d l e a v e s o n t h e f o r e s t f l o o r t h e w o r m s n a t u r a l h a b i t a t rdquo
(wwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost) The selection of bedding material is a key to successful
vermicomposting Bedding should be moist like that of a wrung out sponge When you squeeze
it hard a drop or two of water should drop out
Good bedding mixtures are therefore an essential element in meeting the needs of the worms
Shredded newspaper or cardboard makes an excellent bedding This can be combined with straw
or hay composted sheep cattle horse or abattoir manure (ldquopensmisrdquo) Poultry manure is not
recommended as it is too high in nitrogen and minerals
In hot climates the bins should be placed in the shade or away from direct midday sun Worms are
likely to die if conventional hot composting takes place Only thin layers of uncomposted material
should be added and temperature need to be monitored continuously If the bedding dries out mist
it with water from a spray bottle (wwwredworms-greenearthcom)
432 A food source
Compost worms are big eaters They are able to consume in excess of their body weight each day
although the general rule-of-thumb is that they will eat half of their body weight per day (Munroe
sa7) Their food consists primarily of decomposing organic matter where carbon sources (such
as dried leaves shredded paper cardboard etc) are mixed with nitrogen sources (such as food
scraps grass clippings manure etc) (wwwvermicocom)
Wait at least a day or two after placing the worms on the bedding before
adding the first food A good practice is to first test the suitability of food
for earthworms especially when manure or compost will be used Place
the m ateria l in a sm all conta iner add enough w ater to m oisten it
thoroughly and place a few worms on top Observe their behaviour over
the next few hours If the worms crawl out or die then you will know
that the material is not suitable and should not be fed to the w orm s
(Pienaar 2007)
Add more food when you see the worms beginning to work and when
they have eaten the first layer of food you can add another layer about 25 cm thick If you add too
much food you risk creating anaerobic conditions After you have added a layer of food always
add another layer of bedding material at about 25 cm thick (wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg)
There are two methods of adding food to the bin (wwwanswerscom topicvermicompost)
Testing suitability of food
Vermiculture
Page 9 of 27
Oslash Top feeding Organic matter is placed directly on top of the existing layer of bedding in a bin
and then covered with another layer of bedding This is repeated every time the bin is fed
Ugrave Pocket feeding A top layer of bedding is maintained and food is buried beneath The location
of the food is changed each time and often the bed is fed in more than one location As bedding
runs low more is added Add fruit and vegetable scraps each week Chop up food before
adding and try to feed the worms a mixture of materials Add less food in the first week and
gradually increase the amount over six months It is best to feed your worms weekly If
uneaten food remains then you know you have overfed the worms After feeding the worms
each week cover the food scraps with some compost or soil to avoid attracting fruit flies (Seed
200638)
If you regularly check the areas where you added the food you can soon see what foods your
worms like or dislike
Worms will eat almost any type of vegetable and fruit scraps partly decomposed compost
shredded newspaper small amounts of grass clippings leaves and even damp cardboard pieces
Add crushed eggshells as the worms need the calcium in the shells
The worms further love potato peelings carrots and carrot tops lettuce cabbage celery apple
peelings banana peels orange rinds grapefruit and
watermelon rinds They also like cornmeal oatmeal
coffee grounds with the filter and tea bags
Keep a plastic tub in your refrigerator to hold food
scraps so they will still be nice and fresh when you
feed the w orms Do not let them rot and become
smelly
Do not add onions or garlic or too much acidic food
like citrus pineapples and tomato strong spices and
acid (sour) food such as large amounts of vinegar and
sa lt A v o id m a te r ia ls co n ta m in a ted w ith to x ic
chemicals for example sawdust from treated wood
Do not feed them meat scraps bones oily food and dairy products such as cheese and butter as
these will attract ldquobadrdquo bugs and cause odours Never feed them cat or dog poop
The compost worms are low-maintenance and you can skip two or three weeks without feeding
t h e m b u t a n y l o n g e r t h a n t h a t a n d y o u w i l l h a v e a b i g b o x o f d e a d w o r m s
(wwwseasonsindiacom)
Vegetable and fruit scraps
Vermiculture
Page 10 of 27
433 Adequate moisture
Earthworms breathe through their skins (they do not have lungs) and for that they require
m ois tu re (w ater) A dd w ater every few days or w hen
necessary to prevent the worm farm from drying out You
may need to add more water during hot windy weather It
is important to keep the worm farm moist as the worms may
die if it dries out However the worm farm should not be
soggy either Remember there is also moisture in the food
scraps (Seed 200638)
You should also cover the top of the tyre stack with a suitable material to prevent evaporation of
moisture and to keep unwanted visitors out
434 Adequate aeration
Worms are oxygen-breathers and operate best when ventilation is good and the bedding is relative
porous and well aerated They cannot survive anaerobic conditions which occur when there is an
absence of oxygen Your worm farm will then start having a bad odour If that is the case then you
have added too much food and the worms are finding it difficult to aerate the compost by their
regular movement through it
To rectify the problem you will need to stir the bedding to aerate it add dry shredded newspaper
cover the container and add no more food until the smell has gone To prevent acid conditions you
can sprinkle crushed egg shells into the worm food when building the tyre stack
435 Protection from temperature extremes
Large quantities of fresh uncomposted organic matter will naturally start composting excessive
heat will build up which may kill your little workers
Earthworms like to work in the dark (is that why they multiply so quickly) and very hot or cold
temperatures should be avoided
Remember
The bedding material should feel
like a wrung-out sponge
ldquo M oistu re con ten t o f less th an 5 0 is d an g erou s W ith th e
exception of extreme heat or cold nothing will kill worms faster
than a lack of adequate moisturerdquo
Munroe (sa10)
Vermiculture
Page 11 of 27
436 When the worm bin smells
A healthy worm bin should smell like garden soil A foul odour indicates that something is wrong
The following checklist should help you to prevent or solve odour problems (httpredworms-
greenearthcom)
bull Put plenty of air hols in the bin to ensure that the worms have adequate air to breathe
bull Feed only a vegetarian diet
bull Bury food wastes completely under the bedding
bull Insure adequate drainage for the bin
bull Do not overfeed
44 Harvesting vermicompost
Depending on the original quantity and quality of w orm food the living conditions and the
number of earthworms you started off with the little workers should be finished with their job
three to six months after you started them off in a tyre stack Your little workers would have turned
the organic matter into rich and dark super vermicompost (the so-called ldquoBlack Goldrdquo) ndash filled with
beneficial micro-organisms and concentrated plant foods
Now we need to become a little more technical since it is not so easy to separate the earthworms
from the rich ldquoblack goldrdquo vermicompost that they produced We do not want to hurt or damage
the little ones since who will do the work then Also check for cocoons of young worms They look
like yellowish jelly beans
Hester busy harvesting vermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 12 of 27
441 Using a sieve
Some farmers use a circular sieve to do the trick They load the harvested vermicompost on a
trailer and use gravity to make the compost (and worms) roll down into a circular sieve which is
then being turned by hand The fine compost will fall through the sieve to be collected while the
larger worms and rough clumps of compost would roll through to be collected at the bottom For
this procedure the moisture content of the compost should be just right not too wet and not too
dry
This technique however is a bit too complicated although for large volumes of compost it may
be the best way
442 The ldquodivide and sortrdquo method
This method is used when worms are kept in plastic bins Move all the old bedding to one side of
the bin Add fresh bedding like newspaper to the
other side and bury the new food scraps only to
the new bedding
Within a week or two most of the worms will have
moved (migrated) from the old bedding into the
new bedding Now you can harvest the worm
castings
443 The ldquolighted pilerdquo method
Lay a large strong plastic sheet on the floor Dump the contents of the worm farm onto the plastic
sheet and divide it in piles Shine a light on the top of each pile Since worms are sensitive to light
they will go down into the pile to avoid the light You will need to remove a little bit of the castings
at a time until all you have left is just a pile of worms
5 Uses for Vermicompost
Vermicompost is the highest grade of organic fertiliser available It can be used as growth medium
in the home garden vegetable garden as compost tea and to improve the quality of the soil
A great trick for doing this is to p lace
w a te rm e lon r in d in th e b in w ith th e
new bedding Worms love watermelon
rind they cant get enough of it and will
greedily rush towards it
wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Vermiculture
Page 13 of 27
51 As growth medium
A good idea is to mix super vermicompost half-half with river sand This mixture can then be used
as growth medium for seedlings This mixture gives very good results because it drains very well
yet provides the plants with excellent nutrition from the super vermicompost (Pienaar 2007)
52 In the home garden
The super vermicompost can also be applied as top dressing directly to pot plants and to the
garden on plants such as lavender roses hedges etc Use it sparingly but it will not burn plants
if you use too much (Pienaar 2007)
Mixing it with good topsoil compost vermiculite or perlite in equal amounts creates a good potting
soil (wwwwormdigestorg)
A s p o t t in g m ix o n e th ird v e r m ic o m p o s t c a n b e m ix e d w ith tw o -th ird s p o t t in g s o i l
(httpredworms-greenearthcom) As top dressing apply at a rate of two tablespoons every 30 days
after establishing new pot plants In already established pot plants use four tablespoons for the
first application of vermicompost and then follow up with two tablespoons every 30 days
thereafter (wwwwormwisecom)
53 In the vegetable garden
When transplanting seedlings such as cabbage green pepper tomatoes etc up to one cup of
vermicompost can be put in the hole where the seedling will be planted which is then covered with
a layer of ordinary soil and then planting the seedling on top (Pienaar 2007)
When sowing seeds in furrows make the furrow a little deeper and wider than normal sprinkle
some vermicompost onto the rows cover with about 3-5 cm of soil and then sow the seeds at its
normal depth (Pienaar 2007)
The initial application w ould probably not provide enough nutrition to see the vegetable
crop through and in that case apply vermicompost as a top dressing at the following rates
(httpwormwisecom)
bull In the case of cabbage green pepper tomatoes (etc) a topdressing at the rate of one cup per
plant should be worked into the soil in a diameter around the plant every 30 days
bull In the case of vegetables planted in furrows such as beetroot carrots onions etc apply at a
rate of one cup for every 30 cm of row alongside the row every 30 days
Vermiculture
Page 14 of 27
A liquid application (worm tea) will also give very good results when applying to the soil and to
the plant leaves once or twice a month (See 55)
54 For conventional farming purposes
Obviously for commercial farming purposes a small composting operation like the tyre stack or
compost bins would not be sufficient For soils really poor in organic content an application of 40
to 50 tons of fertiliser per hectare may be needed in the first year of converting to organic (non-
chemical fertiliser) farming methods For this volume of compost a conventional commercial
composting works would be required
You will need a large wood chipper automate compost turner big volumes of garden refuse clay
and animal manure Conventional compost and super vermicompost can be combined for use for
commercial farming operations
55 Making super vermicompost worm tea
Super vermicompost can also be applied in liquid form the so-called ldquoworm teardquo Various recipes
are available on the internet for making liquid fertiliser from super vermicompost The recipe can
be very simple for small operations to large commercial brewing operations
A simple recipe is as follows
bull Take a fairly large drum (44 gallons) and cut open the top
Otherwise use a dirt bin with a lid
bull Add a small tap to the bottom of the drum from where the tea
can be drained
bull Clean the drum properly and fill nearly to the top with clean
good quality water
bull Add about five kilograms of fresh super vermicompost You
can also first place it in a bag made of cheese cloth an old
nylon stocking or old pillowcaseDrum for making
compost tea
Vermiculture
Page 15 of 27
bull Use a small air pump which could typically be purchased from a pet shop and is
normally used to aerate indoor fish tanks
bull Put the outlet of the pump into the water and allow to bubble
air through the worm tea for about 24 hours
bull In this time the beneficial microbes (the good bugs) increase at
a very fast rate in the water
bull After this time the colour of the water would be a rich dark
brown like strong black tea
bull A small quantity of dishwashing liquid can be added to make
the liquid stick to the leaves better
bull Remember to filter the worm tea through a cheese cloth before putting into the sprayer
otherwise the nozzle will keep on blocking
This worm tea can be applied in liquid form around your plants (as fertiliser) or sprayed onto the
plants with a sprayer The inexpensive application of worm tea should be repeated every few
weeks or even more often if disease or insect pressure occurs You can never apply too much
The vermicompost tea contains micro-organisms that will inoculate the soil against harmful
organisms that would feed on plant roots (wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg)
To feed plants well you have to feed the soil they grow in One of the best ways to feed the soil
is to add vermicompost Vermicompost feed the micro-organisms in the soil improve soil structure
and fertility and provide plants with all the nutrients they need to grow and stay healthy
Air pump
ldquoM ix two tablespoons of vermicompost with a litre of w ater
and let it stand for a day shaking it occasionally then sprinkle
under the plants One-litre drinking water bottles make good
sprinklers drill a few small-diameter holes in the lid point and
squeezerdquo
wwwjourneytoforeverorg
Vermiculture
Page 16 of 27
The theory about fighting off the ldquobad bugsrdquo with worm tea is that
you assure that the ldquogood bugsrdquo are present in high numbers which
would help them to chase the ldquobad bugsrdquo away
The good bugs are the beneficial or friendly insects They help control
the insects that damage vegetable crops One must learn to recognise
them as your ldquofriendsrdquo in the garden
Good bugs from left Lacewing Praying mantis frog amp gecko
Furthermore a strong healthy well-fed plant will have improved resistance to fight off the ldquobad
bugsrdquo and diseases by itself (Nell Engelbrecht amp Du Plessis 2007)
56 Building up your soil to invite beneficial insects
To ensure good healthy soil ndash whether you have sandy or clay soil ndash boils down to one important
thing The gardener will have to continuously improve the soil If a gardener does not prepare the
soil properly it will lead to poor growth and he will not harvest good quality vegetables
Adding vermicompost deep into the soil will ensure that there is a balanced supply of air in the
soil Avoid unnecessary stepping on the vegetable beds and never work the soil when it is too wet
This will compact the soil and poor aeration will be the result
Good bugs Ladybird feeding
on aphids
ldquoA real gardener is not a man who cultivates
flowers he is a man who cultivates the soilrdquo
Karel Capek in ldquoThe Gardenerrsquos Yearrdquo
Vermiculture
Page 17 of 27
Maintaining a good soil structure can
bull increase water-holding capacity
bull promote root growth
bull maintain aeration and drainage
bull make cultivation easier
bull help to reduce the risk of erosion and
bull improve fertility
No farmer or gardener will be able to improve the soil com-
p le t e l y i n o n e g r o w in g s e a s o n H is g o a l m u s t b e t o
co n t in u o u s ly im p r o v e th e s o i l b y a d d in g co m p o st o r
vermicompost every time he prepares the bed for a new crop
(Nell Engelbrecht amp Du Plessis 2006)
In soils with high organic content there would naturally be a build-up of beneficial microbes (good
bugs) which will work hard at making nutrients ready to be used by plants And the population
of local earthworms will also increase over time This plays a very important role to produce
accessible food for plants and to aerate the soil
Therefore the farmer-who-cares-for-the-environment should do everything possible to build up
hisher soils and thereby to create and maintain conditions in the soil that would attract and protect
the little workers and their even smaller little friends the micro-organisms
DO work in leaves bark chipped garden refuse and compost into your soil and remember to put
a layer of organic matter (mulch) around the plants to cool down the soil and to maintain moisture
DO NOT turn over the soil often and thereby disturbing the fine balance Be mindful of applying
chemicals that will kill the good bugs and make sure that there is no compaction in the soil that
will prevent roots to penetrate deeply and water reserves to build up in the soil
Soils such as these can be built up with
vermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 18 of 27
6 Vermicomposting in Tyre Stacks
According to Mr Charl Pienaar the best most practical and least expensive type of housing for
earthworms is a tyre stack built from used bakkie or tractor tyres and using ldquopensmisrdquo as food
61 Housing earthworms in tyre stacks
Oslash You can use the used bakkie or tractor tyres as is but we found that cutting open one of the
sides with a strong knife or electric jig saw optimises the inside space and makes harvesting the
super vermicompost that much easier
Ugrave Put a plastic sheet on the ground in a suitable shady spot (under a tree on the south side of
your house against the wall or inside under a roof) and start building the tyre stack on top of
the plastic sheet The plastic sheet is for preventing tree roots from growing into your compost
from the bottom ndash remember all types of plants love super vermicompost
ldquoTo me it is one of Gods finest m iracles to observe how hum ble
earthworms are able to magically convert otherwise useless plant and
animal wastes into rich humus (black gold) for plants to produce
the food that enriches our livesrdquo
ndash Charl Pienaar
Tractor tyreCharl Pienaar cutting open the
side of a tyre
Vermiculture
Page 19 of 27
Uacute Water the inside of each of the tyres well
Ucirc Fill each tyre first with bedding (such as shredded paper) and then a
thick layer of manure
Uuml Water the contents well especially in the round section of the tyre
Yacute Place another layer of shredded paper on top of the layer of manure then place some of the
worms to one side on top of the food in the tyre
THORN Stack the next tyre and continue until you have five or six bakkie tyres stacked and filled with
worm food (no more than two for tractor tyres)
Watering inside of tyreLayer of shredded paper Layer of manure
Placing worms to one sideWater each tyre separately
Vermiculture
Page 20 of 27
szlig Place a sheet of plastic canvass or a layer of newspapers over
the top of the bedding This will hold moisture in and will
help reduce the chance that fruit flies come and lay their eggs
in the food
The tyre stack is now ready to provide a house and shelter for
your new little workers You can of course build as many of these
tyre stacks as you have space and energy for
If your tyre stack dries out the compost will become hard like a
rock their skins will dry out and your little workers will die
Water your tyre stack about once a week by pouring a few cups
of clean water in from the top If water runs out at the bottom
you are over-watering and you should apply less water
52 Feeding the earthworms in the tyre stack
Your little helpers will feed on a whole range of organic food sources but for agricultural purposes
we found pre-composted abattoir manure (ldquopensmisrdquo) and some types of pre-composted animal
manure (ldquokraalmisrdquo) the best
Other types of organic material such as conventional
compost made from leaves chopped scrap wood
animal manure and w ood pulp should also work
well
To test the suitability of different food sources put a
small quantity of moist food in a container (such as an
empty margarine holder) and put a small number of
earthworms on top If they refuse to burrow in after
a few minutes the food is not suitable
Pre-composting of fresh organic material should be
done by placing the organic matter in a drum or container with ventilation holes supplied and
turning the compost every few days by rolling the drum or container a few times
Building tyre stack
Abattoir manure (ldquoPensmisrdquo)
Vermiculture
Page 21 of 27
Or you could start a conventional compost heap and turn the
heap with a fork every few days The micro-organisms will start breaking the organic matter down
heat will build up and oxygen will be used in the process
Within about three weeks the pre-composted matter should be ready to be placed inside the tyre
stacks as described previously
If you have access to ldquooldrdquo organic matter (for instance manure that has been lying in a heap for
a few months) pre-composting should not be necessary
53 Harvesting the tyre stack
The following technique works well and although it is slower it is much easier and less stressful
for the little workers
Oslash Start building a new tyre stack next to the old one and put fresh worm food only in the round
bottom section of the tyre starting with shredded paper then manure (ldquopensmisrdquo)
Ugrave Fill the rest of the tyre with the harvested compost (plus worms) from the old tyre stack and
continue with the next tyre when the bottom one is full And so on until the stack is six tyres
high
Uacute The next step is to disturb the top few layers of vermicompost by stirring with your hands
which causes the worms to take flight downwards
Turning of compost
Conventional compost containers
Vermiculture
Page 22 of 27
Ucirc The clean compost can then be harvested from the top Continue with the harvesting until you
reach the fresh worm food And there you will find all the worms trapped in the round section
of the tyre ready to be scooped out with the fresh worm food
Uuml The little workers embedded in the fresh organic matter could then be scooped out and used
to populate a new tyre stack that was first filled with fresh worm food And so the cycle is
repeated over and over
7 Worming Towards LEISA and Organic Farming
Techniques
In this part we will explain how to utilise the super vermicompost that your little workers so
willingly and cost-effectively prepared for you We will also provide insights on how to build up
your soil so that the local little workers will be able to continue the good work that their brothers
and sisters in the tyre stacks did for you
LEISA is short for Low External Inputs Sustainable Agriculture simply meaning that instead of
looking for expensive external farming inputs (chemical fertilisers chem ical w eed killers
insecticides and pest control chemicals) the clever farmer or vegetable gardener should find items
and materials available locally and inexpensively to do the same or better job as the expensive
external inputs
For instance a flock of geese on the farm could do a great job to keep snails and other insects under
control while at the same time providing a renewable source of meat and eggs to feed the farmers
family As they are good for security too
Using a chicken tractor to work the soil for
y o u i s a l s o s o m e t h i n g t h a t c a n b e
in co rp o ra te d in a v e g e ta b le g a rd en A
chicken tractor is basically a bottomless cage
built from old material It allows the chickens
to scratch and eat off of the ground such
things as grass weeds bugs worms etc
You can drag the chicken tractor around the
garden The chicken manure goes directly
onto th e s o il w here it fe rtilises th e so il
C h ick en tractors are perfect for a sm a ll
number of chickens
A chicken tractor at the experimental site of the Motheo
College in Bloemfontein
Vermiculture
Page 23 of 27
In the same way super vermicompost produced on the farm or at home from waste material and
making use of the free labour provided by the little helpers could go a long way towards replacing
expensive chemical fertilisers Furthermore vermicompost is good for building up the soils
putting carbon sources and essential microbes (good bugs)
back into the place where they belong the place that
Nature prepared for the over the ages
LEISA is therefore about helping to create a positive
ldquobalance of paymentsrdquo for the farm ing enterprise or
vegetable garden ndash more money should flow in to the
project than would otherwise flow out One important
aspect of this positive balance is to purchase as little as
p o s s ib le e x p en s ive ex te rn a l in p u ts fo r fa rm in g o r
vegetable gardening operations
And super vermicompost produced on the farm fits right into the LEISA philosophy
Organic farming techniques go one step further namely to receive certification (proof) that no
harmful substances were used n the farming operations Good quality compost (also certified as
organic) is an essential input for formal organic farming techniques
However for produce to be certified organic could be very expensive especially for a small-scale
farmer Then your pack house cold chain and transport system also needs to be certified organic
adding more complications
ldquoWhat does organic mean
Organic farming is producing food the natural way Organic farmers aim
to produce good healthy tasty food from balanced healthy soil Organic
farm ers cannot grow GM (genetically modified) crops and cannot use
chem ical fertilizers or additives or spray artificial pesticides O rganic
farmers use crop rotation to improve the fertility of their soil Healthy soil
= healthy plant = healthy humanrdquo
Anonymous (Go Farming 2(2)7)
Vermiculture
Page 24 of 27
Therefore the advice for emerging farmers or vegetable growers is to learn their trade through
LEISA techniques and not to attempt to go all the way to being certified organic without having
the skills and experience to make a success of that The Internet is full of very useful tips on how
to farm better with low external inputs type LEISA and vermiculture in a search engine such as
Google and youll be amazed with the information that comes up
8 Some Vermicomposting Stories from All over
the World
Commercial vermicomposting is just beginning in the USA San Diego in California has employed
worms to convert part of its organic waste stream into useable products The castings are in high
demand In Oregon a research and demonstration project has become a thriving business A large
urban hospital in Ontario has been using worms to process some of its waste stream for several
years (Attra 2007)
We read of the ldquoworm womanrdquo Mary Appelhoff No one in this country has done more for the
self-image of worms than Mary Appelhof the undisputed and nationally recognized
Worm Woman (Green Living Magazine)
Worms eat my garbage Theyve been doing it for twenty-seven years I set up my basement worm
bin with shredded newspaper a bit of soil and a few thousand redworms I bury food waste in it
The worms eat it They also eat the bacteria and protozoa and fungi and other microorganisms
which decompose it They grind and mix and secrete and excrete and eventually the food waste
and bedding turns into worm castings which we use in our garden The whole process is truly on-
site recyclingrdquo
Mary Appelhoff published her first book Worms eat my garbage How to set up and maintain a worm
composting system in 1982 Her newest endeavour is t bring a new voice to the vermicomposting
field by publishing a childrens picture book about vermicomposting Compost by gosh Her website
for worm composting resources can be visited at httpwwwwormwomancom
Other countries have been researching and using commercial vermicompost systems for a decade
or more Cuba for instance started their vermicomposting programme in 1986 with two small
boxes of red worms By 1992 172 vermicompost centres were producing 93 000 tons of worm
humus annually (Gersper et al 1993)
Vermiculture
Page 25 of 27
Currently France Germany Italy Japan Hong Kong India Australia and many countries
in South America have research or commercial vermicomposting projects underway (Attra 2007)
One of the largest commercial producers of vermicompost is Vermitech (Pty) Ltd in Australia
This company is dedicated to the beneficial management of organic waste through the use of very
large scale Vermiculture Their website documents considerable research on the use of their
product on various crops (httpwwwvermitechcomhomehtm)
In the past ten years an organisation in India has prompted over 2 000 farmers and institutions to
switch from conventional chemical fertilisers to that of an organic fertiliser namely vermicompost
Vermiculture has been the prim ary focus at M aharashtra Agricultural Bioteks w hich w as
established in 1985 The organisation currently produces 5 000 tons of vermicompost annually In
1991 to 1992 this group promoted the adoption of vermicompost technology in 13 states in India
The organisation has also created a programme which trains housewives and home gardeners to
produce their ow n vermicompost from household garden waste (Dr Henamgee Jambhekar
wwwfadrmsuru)
The Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town added a feature to its list of facilities that is a South African
first A fully-functioning worm farm The hotel has decided to go green by instituting an organic
waste recycling programme where its kitchen waste are turned into worm droppings which
constitute some of the best fertiliser to keep the hotels lawns pot plants and vegetable gardens
flourishing They have thousands of worms housed in plastic crates behind one of the hotels
parking areas They estimate that the farm currently hosts about 33 000 worms (South Africa
Logue)
There are also plans to work on methods to combine conventional composting with super
vermicompost and to put up commercial composting plants at the two new markets for emerging
farmers at Philippi Market Cape Town and Ugu Agricultural Market in Port Shepstone The
conventional compost spiked with super vermicompost will be made available for emerging
farmers near these markets through the subsidised transport linking the markets with the emerging
supply base via a depot system (Charl Pienaar 2007)
Happy Worming
Vermiculture
Page 26 of 27
SOURCES
Anonymous [sa] Organic agriculture What does it all means Go Farming 2(2)6-8
A TTR A (A ppropria te T echnology T ransfer for Rural Areas) 2007 W orms for com posting
(Vermicomposting) National Center for Appropriate Technology
Earthworms as a natural resource httpwwwwormfarmcom
G e r s p e r e t a l 1 9 9 3 C u b a s c o m p o s t in g A g r ic u l t u r e a n d H u m a n V a lu e s X (3 ) 1 6 - 2 3
httpfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art1html
Ja m b h h e k a r H e m a n g e e V e r m ic u l t u r e in I n d i a I n t e rn a t ion a l A g -S iev e 7 (1 ) A r t 3
(httpwwwfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art3html)
Journey to Forever Organic Garden Vermicomposting
httpwwwjourneytoforeverorgcompost_wormhtml
Munro G [sa] Manual of on-farm vermicomposting and vermiculture Organic Agriculture Centre of
Canada
Nell W T Engelbrecht G M amp Du Plessis D M 2006 Growing vegetables A comprehensive guide
on how to establish maintain and manage a vegetable garden Centre for Agricultural Management
University of the Free State Bloemfontein
Organic farming and organic gardening using vermicompost httpwwwhappydranchcom92html
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 1 How to grow super vermicompost Go Farming 1(3)22-
23
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 2 How to use super vermicompost Go Farming 1(4)20-22
Pienaar Charl 2007 Vermiculture short course presented at MUCPP Mangaung Bloemfontein
Supertill cc Paarl
Recycling advocates Vermicomposting httpwwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Seasons India Vermicompost
httpwwwseasonsindiacomlifestylegrdnVermicompost_seahtm
Vermiculture
Page 27 of 27
SEED (Schools Environmental Education and Development) 2006 Improving the soil ndash worm
farms (worksheet 53) Growing the living laboratory Permaculture for environmental education in the
NCS Used with permission from Leigh Brown The complete document is available for download
on the SEED website (httpwwwseedorgza)
Setting up a worm bed httpwwwwormpoopcomWormBedWormBedhtm
Sherman Rhonda 2003 Raising earthworms successfully North Carolina Cooperative Extension
Service Publication no EBAE 103-83 North Carolina State University
South Africa Logue Mount Nelson Hotel creates ldquopermaculturerdquo of excellence with worm farm
httpwwwsouthafricaloguecom
Vermiculture Indoor composting
httpredworms-greenearthcomcgi-binshopplpage=indoorhtml
Vermiculture Canada Earthworm castings as plant growth media
httpwwwvermiculturecaarticlesearthworm_castingshtm
Vermiculture composting httpwwwwormpoopcomCompostingCompostinghtm
Vermicompost httpwwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost
Weisenhorn Julie Vermiculture Promote global warming Sustainable urban landscape information
series University of Minnesota httpwwwsustlandumnedu
What kind of earthworms do we recommend httpwwwvermicocomwormshtm
Wikipedia httpenwikipediaorg wikiVermicompost
Worm Digest Young persons guide to vermicomposting
httpwwwwormdigestorgcontentview152
Worm Farm Free worm farming newsletter ndash Vermiculture
httpwwwwormfarmingsecretscom
Worm Research Centre
httpwwwwormresearchcentrecoukvermicompostinghtml
Wormwise How to use WormWisereg Earthworm Castings
httpwormwisecomid=help
Vermiculture
Page 3 of 27
bull Worm castings can be sold to other farmers and gardeners or can be used as a component of
potting soil mixtures
4 Worm Farming
Earthworms are arguably the most important animals on planet Earth ndash they are responsible for
making soils suitable for plants to grow in ndash and we all know how important plants are for all
forms of life on earth
Even in ancient Egypt the importance of earthworms was recognised ndash Queen Cleopatra (69-30 BC)
recognised the earthworms contribution to the Egyptian agriculture by declaring this animal
sacred
Unfortunately in modern times through the excessive application of chemical fertilisers the
majority of agricultural lands have become sterilised
(dead) because most of the good bugs (earthworms and
beneficial micro-organisms) have been killed by all the
chemicals However this seriously bad situation in
modern agriculture can be reversed by natures own
little workers hum ble earthw orm s and their even
smaller helpers the beneficial micro-organisms
Traditional farming methods in Africa are intrinsically
organic recycling of animal and plant wastes through natural composting methods thereby
putting clean organic matter back into the soils and by not killing natures little workers through
the modern temptation of easy (but expensive) application of chemical fertilisers
Research done by the University of Georgia show ed that ldquo
tomato plants grown in the earthworm castings grew on average
126 from their original height Plants grown in red soil grew
on average 32 and plants grow n in potting m ix grew on
average 45 from their original heightsrdquo
wwwwormfarmingsecretscom
ldquo E a r t h w o r m s s h o u l d b e c o m e t h e
farmers little workers They will even
bring along their ow n m uch sm aller
little helpersrdquo
ndash Charl Pienaar
Vermiculture
Page 4 of 27
41 The worms
There are reportedly more than 4 000 different species of
earthworms worldwide but the species that is most suitable
for our purpose is called the Red Wriggler (Eisenia fetida)
They are also called ldquocompost wormrdquo ldquomanure wormrdquo
ldquoredwormrdquo and ldquored wrigglerrdquo
These small red earthworms are very hard working (they can
eat through their own body weight in 24 hours) they breed
and multiply very actively and they are well adapted to a
range of temperatures and food sources
ldquoIn fact it seems they dont actually eat it ndash they consume it sure enough but what they derive their
nourishment from is all the micro-organisms that are really eating it [organic matter] And yet ndash mystery
ndash their casts contain eight times as many micro-organisms as their feed And these are the micro-organisms
that best favour healthy plant growth And the casts dont contain any disease pathogens ndash pathogenic
bacteria are reliably killed in the worms gut This is one of the great benefits of vermicompostingrdquo
(wwwjourneytoforeverorg)
According to Seed (200637) one need at least 2 000 worms
as a starter stock These worms will breed and multiply to
about 8 000 worms in six months
The Red Wrigglers do not occur naturally in Africa and
your starter stock of this hard-working type of earthworm
should be ordered from a reliable supplier There are
va rio u s su p p lie rs around Som e se ll th ese p re cio u s
earthworms for fish bait
You should only be required to purchase the first batch
thereafter they will multiply very actively unless you dont look after them properly or some
disaster strikes Adult worms produce about three cocoons a week and each cocoon will contain
at least three baby worms and sometimes ten or more (wwwwormpoopcom)
The red wrigglers hate light After 20 minutes exposed to sunlight they will become confused In
30 minutes they will stop breathing and by 35 minutes exposure they die Worms should therefore
be covered at all times (wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg)
Earthworms breath through their skin w hich needs to remain moist to facilitate respiration
Earthworms can live for months completely submerged in water but they will die of they dry out
(Sherman 2003)
httpenwikipediaorgwikiEisenia_foe
tida
Starter stock (two hand-fulls)
Vermiculture
Page 5 of 27
The worms should be harvested every three months or separated from the castings
42 Establishing the worm farm
Your little workers should have proper housing for them to work at their best Expensive containers
are available in the market but w e will only discuss the follow ing groups of worm farming
methods
421 Windrow systems
Windrow systems on concrete or on the ground require the
least capita l inves tm en t but the y are s low an d labo ur
in ten s ive T h is is norm ally used for large-sca le verm i-
composting Bedding is put in long rows with organic matter
on top of it New food are put aside the previous ones because
worms will move towards the fresh foodstuff Castings can
then be removed on one side of the bed while new food are always put on a new row
httpwwwwaterkeeperorg
httpenwikipediaorgwikiVermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 6 of 27
422 Worm bins
For indoor composting you can use plastic storage bins or make one
yourself from wood Plastic bins are light and easy to move They will
hold moisture You will however need to drill holes into them to allow
air for the worms and to drain into a collection tray Plastic bins require
more drainage than wooden ones because they are non-absorbent
The size of the bin depends on how much food waste your household
produces A general rule of thumb is that you will need a square of about
30 cm surface area for each 500 g of waste your household produces
(httpredworms-greenearthcom)
Worm bins can be grouped into three categories (wwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost)
Oslash Non-continuous (an undivided container) A layer of bedding material is placed in the bin
to line the bottom Worms are added on the bedding and a layer of organic matter above the
bedding Another layer is added on top of the organic matter This type of bin is often used and
small and easy to build but harvesting is more difficult
Ugrave Continuous vertical flow ( a series of trays stacked vertically) This type of tray is available
commercially The bottom tray is filled first but is not harvested when it is full Instead a thick
layer of bedding is added on top and the tray above is used for adding organic matter When
worms finish eating the bottom tray they will move to the one above The bottom tray can be
emptied when most of the worms have migrated to the top tray These bins are easier to
harvest
Uacute Continuous horizontal flow (a series of trays lined horizontally) This method also relies on
earthworms to migrate towards a food source This bin is longer than the non-continuous bins
but divided in half usually by a large gauge screen One half is used until it becomes full then
the other half is filled with bedding and organic matter The worms will migrate to the side
with the food and the castings can then be collected This is therefore easier to harvest
Examples of worm bins
Drainage holes in plastic
bin
wwwtimetorecyclecomwwwwormwomancom wwwallthingsorganiccom
Vermiculture
Page 7 of 27
423 Tyre stacks
From experiments by Mr Charl Pienaar over the past five years the best most practical and least
expensive type of housing for your little workers is a tyre stack built from used bakkie or tractor
tyres Your local tyre dealer in town will be too happy to give these to you for free ndash this also helps
to solve a big problem in terms of the disposal of these items (This will be discussed in more detail
in Section 6)
43 Maintaining your worm farm
Your compost worms will need five basic things to survive and be happy a hospitable living
environm ent a food source adequ ate m oisture adequ ate aeration and protection from
temperature extremes (Munroe sa5-11) If you manage your composting system well keeping
these five things in mind you will be successful in the end
Hester with a worm tyre stack
ldquoGrowing worms is part science part green thumb You
need the knowledge but you also need to do it to learn how
to do it wellrdquo
Munroe (sa13)
Vermiculture
Page 8 of 27
431 A hospitable living environment (ldquobeddingrdquo)
ldquoBedding is the living medium for the worms but also a food source It is material high in carbon
a n d m a d e t o m i m i c d r i e d l e a v e s o n t h e f o r e s t f l o o r t h e w o r m s n a t u r a l h a b i t a t rdquo
(wwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost) The selection of bedding material is a key to successful
vermicomposting Bedding should be moist like that of a wrung out sponge When you squeeze
it hard a drop or two of water should drop out
Good bedding mixtures are therefore an essential element in meeting the needs of the worms
Shredded newspaper or cardboard makes an excellent bedding This can be combined with straw
or hay composted sheep cattle horse or abattoir manure (ldquopensmisrdquo) Poultry manure is not
recommended as it is too high in nitrogen and minerals
In hot climates the bins should be placed in the shade or away from direct midday sun Worms are
likely to die if conventional hot composting takes place Only thin layers of uncomposted material
should be added and temperature need to be monitored continuously If the bedding dries out mist
it with water from a spray bottle (wwwredworms-greenearthcom)
432 A food source
Compost worms are big eaters They are able to consume in excess of their body weight each day
although the general rule-of-thumb is that they will eat half of their body weight per day (Munroe
sa7) Their food consists primarily of decomposing organic matter where carbon sources (such
as dried leaves shredded paper cardboard etc) are mixed with nitrogen sources (such as food
scraps grass clippings manure etc) (wwwvermicocom)
Wait at least a day or two after placing the worms on the bedding before
adding the first food A good practice is to first test the suitability of food
for earthworms especially when manure or compost will be used Place
the m ateria l in a sm all conta iner add enough w ater to m oisten it
thoroughly and place a few worms on top Observe their behaviour over
the next few hours If the worms crawl out or die then you will know
that the material is not suitable and should not be fed to the w orm s
(Pienaar 2007)
Add more food when you see the worms beginning to work and when
they have eaten the first layer of food you can add another layer about 25 cm thick If you add too
much food you risk creating anaerobic conditions After you have added a layer of food always
add another layer of bedding material at about 25 cm thick (wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg)
There are two methods of adding food to the bin (wwwanswerscom topicvermicompost)
Testing suitability of food
Vermiculture
Page 9 of 27
Oslash Top feeding Organic matter is placed directly on top of the existing layer of bedding in a bin
and then covered with another layer of bedding This is repeated every time the bin is fed
Ugrave Pocket feeding A top layer of bedding is maintained and food is buried beneath The location
of the food is changed each time and often the bed is fed in more than one location As bedding
runs low more is added Add fruit and vegetable scraps each week Chop up food before
adding and try to feed the worms a mixture of materials Add less food in the first week and
gradually increase the amount over six months It is best to feed your worms weekly If
uneaten food remains then you know you have overfed the worms After feeding the worms
each week cover the food scraps with some compost or soil to avoid attracting fruit flies (Seed
200638)
If you regularly check the areas where you added the food you can soon see what foods your
worms like or dislike
Worms will eat almost any type of vegetable and fruit scraps partly decomposed compost
shredded newspaper small amounts of grass clippings leaves and even damp cardboard pieces
Add crushed eggshells as the worms need the calcium in the shells
The worms further love potato peelings carrots and carrot tops lettuce cabbage celery apple
peelings banana peels orange rinds grapefruit and
watermelon rinds They also like cornmeal oatmeal
coffee grounds with the filter and tea bags
Keep a plastic tub in your refrigerator to hold food
scraps so they will still be nice and fresh when you
feed the w orms Do not let them rot and become
smelly
Do not add onions or garlic or too much acidic food
like citrus pineapples and tomato strong spices and
acid (sour) food such as large amounts of vinegar and
sa lt A v o id m a te r ia ls co n ta m in a ted w ith to x ic
chemicals for example sawdust from treated wood
Do not feed them meat scraps bones oily food and dairy products such as cheese and butter as
these will attract ldquobadrdquo bugs and cause odours Never feed them cat or dog poop
The compost worms are low-maintenance and you can skip two or three weeks without feeding
t h e m b u t a n y l o n g e r t h a n t h a t a n d y o u w i l l h a v e a b i g b o x o f d e a d w o r m s
(wwwseasonsindiacom)
Vegetable and fruit scraps
Vermiculture
Page 10 of 27
433 Adequate moisture
Earthworms breathe through their skins (they do not have lungs) and for that they require
m ois tu re (w ater) A dd w ater every few days or w hen
necessary to prevent the worm farm from drying out You
may need to add more water during hot windy weather It
is important to keep the worm farm moist as the worms may
die if it dries out However the worm farm should not be
soggy either Remember there is also moisture in the food
scraps (Seed 200638)
You should also cover the top of the tyre stack with a suitable material to prevent evaporation of
moisture and to keep unwanted visitors out
434 Adequate aeration
Worms are oxygen-breathers and operate best when ventilation is good and the bedding is relative
porous and well aerated They cannot survive anaerobic conditions which occur when there is an
absence of oxygen Your worm farm will then start having a bad odour If that is the case then you
have added too much food and the worms are finding it difficult to aerate the compost by their
regular movement through it
To rectify the problem you will need to stir the bedding to aerate it add dry shredded newspaper
cover the container and add no more food until the smell has gone To prevent acid conditions you
can sprinkle crushed egg shells into the worm food when building the tyre stack
435 Protection from temperature extremes
Large quantities of fresh uncomposted organic matter will naturally start composting excessive
heat will build up which may kill your little workers
Earthworms like to work in the dark (is that why they multiply so quickly) and very hot or cold
temperatures should be avoided
Remember
The bedding material should feel
like a wrung-out sponge
ldquo M oistu re con ten t o f less th an 5 0 is d an g erou s W ith th e
exception of extreme heat or cold nothing will kill worms faster
than a lack of adequate moisturerdquo
Munroe (sa10)
Vermiculture
Page 11 of 27
436 When the worm bin smells
A healthy worm bin should smell like garden soil A foul odour indicates that something is wrong
The following checklist should help you to prevent or solve odour problems (httpredworms-
greenearthcom)
bull Put plenty of air hols in the bin to ensure that the worms have adequate air to breathe
bull Feed only a vegetarian diet
bull Bury food wastes completely under the bedding
bull Insure adequate drainage for the bin
bull Do not overfeed
44 Harvesting vermicompost
Depending on the original quantity and quality of w orm food the living conditions and the
number of earthworms you started off with the little workers should be finished with their job
three to six months after you started them off in a tyre stack Your little workers would have turned
the organic matter into rich and dark super vermicompost (the so-called ldquoBlack Goldrdquo) ndash filled with
beneficial micro-organisms and concentrated plant foods
Now we need to become a little more technical since it is not so easy to separate the earthworms
from the rich ldquoblack goldrdquo vermicompost that they produced We do not want to hurt or damage
the little ones since who will do the work then Also check for cocoons of young worms They look
like yellowish jelly beans
Hester busy harvesting vermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 12 of 27
441 Using a sieve
Some farmers use a circular sieve to do the trick They load the harvested vermicompost on a
trailer and use gravity to make the compost (and worms) roll down into a circular sieve which is
then being turned by hand The fine compost will fall through the sieve to be collected while the
larger worms and rough clumps of compost would roll through to be collected at the bottom For
this procedure the moisture content of the compost should be just right not too wet and not too
dry
This technique however is a bit too complicated although for large volumes of compost it may
be the best way
442 The ldquodivide and sortrdquo method
This method is used when worms are kept in plastic bins Move all the old bedding to one side of
the bin Add fresh bedding like newspaper to the
other side and bury the new food scraps only to
the new bedding
Within a week or two most of the worms will have
moved (migrated) from the old bedding into the
new bedding Now you can harvest the worm
castings
443 The ldquolighted pilerdquo method
Lay a large strong plastic sheet on the floor Dump the contents of the worm farm onto the plastic
sheet and divide it in piles Shine a light on the top of each pile Since worms are sensitive to light
they will go down into the pile to avoid the light You will need to remove a little bit of the castings
at a time until all you have left is just a pile of worms
5 Uses for Vermicompost
Vermicompost is the highest grade of organic fertiliser available It can be used as growth medium
in the home garden vegetable garden as compost tea and to improve the quality of the soil
A great trick for doing this is to p lace
w a te rm e lon r in d in th e b in w ith th e
new bedding Worms love watermelon
rind they cant get enough of it and will
greedily rush towards it
wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Vermiculture
Page 13 of 27
51 As growth medium
A good idea is to mix super vermicompost half-half with river sand This mixture can then be used
as growth medium for seedlings This mixture gives very good results because it drains very well
yet provides the plants with excellent nutrition from the super vermicompost (Pienaar 2007)
52 In the home garden
The super vermicompost can also be applied as top dressing directly to pot plants and to the
garden on plants such as lavender roses hedges etc Use it sparingly but it will not burn plants
if you use too much (Pienaar 2007)
Mixing it with good topsoil compost vermiculite or perlite in equal amounts creates a good potting
soil (wwwwormdigestorg)
A s p o t t in g m ix o n e th ird v e r m ic o m p o s t c a n b e m ix e d w ith tw o -th ird s p o t t in g s o i l
(httpredworms-greenearthcom) As top dressing apply at a rate of two tablespoons every 30 days
after establishing new pot plants In already established pot plants use four tablespoons for the
first application of vermicompost and then follow up with two tablespoons every 30 days
thereafter (wwwwormwisecom)
53 In the vegetable garden
When transplanting seedlings such as cabbage green pepper tomatoes etc up to one cup of
vermicompost can be put in the hole where the seedling will be planted which is then covered with
a layer of ordinary soil and then planting the seedling on top (Pienaar 2007)
When sowing seeds in furrows make the furrow a little deeper and wider than normal sprinkle
some vermicompost onto the rows cover with about 3-5 cm of soil and then sow the seeds at its
normal depth (Pienaar 2007)
The initial application w ould probably not provide enough nutrition to see the vegetable
crop through and in that case apply vermicompost as a top dressing at the following rates
(httpwormwisecom)
bull In the case of cabbage green pepper tomatoes (etc) a topdressing at the rate of one cup per
plant should be worked into the soil in a diameter around the plant every 30 days
bull In the case of vegetables planted in furrows such as beetroot carrots onions etc apply at a
rate of one cup for every 30 cm of row alongside the row every 30 days
Vermiculture
Page 14 of 27
A liquid application (worm tea) will also give very good results when applying to the soil and to
the plant leaves once or twice a month (See 55)
54 For conventional farming purposes
Obviously for commercial farming purposes a small composting operation like the tyre stack or
compost bins would not be sufficient For soils really poor in organic content an application of 40
to 50 tons of fertiliser per hectare may be needed in the first year of converting to organic (non-
chemical fertiliser) farming methods For this volume of compost a conventional commercial
composting works would be required
You will need a large wood chipper automate compost turner big volumes of garden refuse clay
and animal manure Conventional compost and super vermicompost can be combined for use for
commercial farming operations
55 Making super vermicompost worm tea
Super vermicompost can also be applied in liquid form the so-called ldquoworm teardquo Various recipes
are available on the internet for making liquid fertiliser from super vermicompost The recipe can
be very simple for small operations to large commercial brewing operations
A simple recipe is as follows
bull Take a fairly large drum (44 gallons) and cut open the top
Otherwise use a dirt bin with a lid
bull Add a small tap to the bottom of the drum from where the tea
can be drained
bull Clean the drum properly and fill nearly to the top with clean
good quality water
bull Add about five kilograms of fresh super vermicompost You
can also first place it in a bag made of cheese cloth an old
nylon stocking or old pillowcaseDrum for making
compost tea
Vermiculture
Page 15 of 27
bull Use a small air pump which could typically be purchased from a pet shop and is
normally used to aerate indoor fish tanks
bull Put the outlet of the pump into the water and allow to bubble
air through the worm tea for about 24 hours
bull In this time the beneficial microbes (the good bugs) increase at
a very fast rate in the water
bull After this time the colour of the water would be a rich dark
brown like strong black tea
bull A small quantity of dishwashing liquid can be added to make
the liquid stick to the leaves better
bull Remember to filter the worm tea through a cheese cloth before putting into the sprayer
otherwise the nozzle will keep on blocking
This worm tea can be applied in liquid form around your plants (as fertiliser) or sprayed onto the
plants with a sprayer The inexpensive application of worm tea should be repeated every few
weeks or even more often if disease or insect pressure occurs You can never apply too much
The vermicompost tea contains micro-organisms that will inoculate the soil against harmful
organisms that would feed on plant roots (wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg)
To feed plants well you have to feed the soil they grow in One of the best ways to feed the soil
is to add vermicompost Vermicompost feed the micro-organisms in the soil improve soil structure
and fertility and provide plants with all the nutrients they need to grow and stay healthy
Air pump
ldquoM ix two tablespoons of vermicompost with a litre of w ater
and let it stand for a day shaking it occasionally then sprinkle
under the plants One-litre drinking water bottles make good
sprinklers drill a few small-diameter holes in the lid point and
squeezerdquo
wwwjourneytoforeverorg
Vermiculture
Page 16 of 27
The theory about fighting off the ldquobad bugsrdquo with worm tea is that
you assure that the ldquogood bugsrdquo are present in high numbers which
would help them to chase the ldquobad bugsrdquo away
The good bugs are the beneficial or friendly insects They help control
the insects that damage vegetable crops One must learn to recognise
them as your ldquofriendsrdquo in the garden
Good bugs from left Lacewing Praying mantis frog amp gecko
Furthermore a strong healthy well-fed plant will have improved resistance to fight off the ldquobad
bugsrdquo and diseases by itself (Nell Engelbrecht amp Du Plessis 2007)
56 Building up your soil to invite beneficial insects
To ensure good healthy soil ndash whether you have sandy or clay soil ndash boils down to one important
thing The gardener will have to continuously improve the soil If a gardener does not prepare the
soil properly it will lead to poor growth and he will not harvest good quality vegetables
Adding vermicompost deep into the soil will ensure that there is a balanced supply of air in the
soil Avoid unnecessary stepping on the vegetable beds and never work the soil when it is too wet
This will compact the soil and poor aeration will be the result
Good bugs Ladybird feeding
on aphids
ldquoA real gardener is not a man who cultivates
flowers he is a man who cultivates the soilrdquo
Karel Capek in ldquoThe Gardenerrsquos Yearrdquo
Vermiculture
Page 17 of 27
Maintaining a good soil structure can
bull increase water-holding capacity
bull promote root growth
bull maintain aeration and drainage
bull make cultivation easier
bull help to reduce the risk of erosion and
bull improve fertility
No farmer or gardener will be able to improve the soil com-
p le t e l y i n o n e g r o w in g s e a s o n H is g o a l m u s t b e t o
co n t in u o u s ly im p r o v e th e s o i l b y a d d in g co m p o st o r
vermicompost every time he prepares the bed for a new crop
(Nell Engelbrecht amp Du Plessis 2006)
In soils with high organic content there would naturally be a build-up of beneficial microbes (good
bugs) which will work hard at making nutrients ready to be used by plants And the population
of local earthworms will also increase over time This plays a very important role to produce
accessible food for plants and to aerate the soil
Therefore the farmer-who-cares-for-the-environment should do everything possible to build up
hisher soils and thereby to create and maintain conditions in the soil that would attract and protect
the little workers and their even smaller little friends the micro-organisms
DO work in leaves bark chipped garden refuse and compost into your soil and remember to put
a layer of organic matter (mulch) around the plants to cool down the soil and to maintain moisture
DO NOT turn over the soil often and thereby disturbing the fine balance Be mindful of applying
chemicals that will kill the good bugs and make sure that there is no compaction in the soil that
will prevent roots to penetrate deeply and water reserves to build up in the soil
Soils such as these can be built up with
vermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 18 of 27
6 Vermicomposting in Tyre Stacks
According to Mr Charl Pienaar the best most practical and least expensive type of housing for
earthworms is a tyre stack built from used bakkie or tractor tyres and using ldquopensmisrdquo as food
61 Housing earthworms in tyre stacks
Oslash You can use the used bakkie or tractor tyres as is but we found that cutting open one of the
sides with a strong knife or electric jig saw optimises the inside space and makes harvesting the
super vermicompost that much easier
Ugrave Put a plastic sheet on the ground in a suitable shady spot (under a tree on the south side of
your house against the wall or inside under a roof) and start building the tyre stack on top of
the plastic sheet The plastic sheet is for preventing tree roots from growing into your compost
from the bottom ndash remember all types of plants love super vermicompost
ldquoTo me it is one of Gods finest m iracles to observe how hum ble
earthworms are able to magically convert otherwise useless plant and
animal wastes into rich humus (black gold) for plants to produce
the food that enriches our livesrdquo
ndash Charl Pienaar
Tractor tyreCharl Pienaar cutting open the
side of a tyre
Vermiculture
Page 19 of 27
Uacute Water the inside of each of the tyres well
Ucirc Fill each tyre first with bedding (such as shredded paper) and then a
thick layer of manure
Uuml Water the contents well especially in the round section of the tyre
Yacute Place another layer of shredded paper on top of the layer of manure then place some of the
worms to one side on top of the food in the tyre
THORN Stack the next tyre and continue until you have five or six bakkie tyres stacked and filled with
worm food (no more than two for tractor tyres)
Watering inside of tyreLayer of shredded paper Layer of manure
Placing worms to one sideWater each tyre separately
Vermiculture
Page 20 of 27
szlig Place a sheet of plastic canvass or a layer of newspapers over
the top of the bedding This will hold moisture in and will
help reduce the chance that fruit flies come and lay their eggs
in the food
The tyre stack is now ready to provide a house and shelter for
your new little workers You can of course build as many of these
tyre stacks as you have space and energy for
If your tyre stack dries out the compost will become hard like a
rock their skins will dry out and your little workers will die
Water your tyre stack about once a week by pouring a few cups
of clean water in from the top If water runs out at the bottom
you are over-watering and you should apply less water
52 Feeding the earthworms in the tyre stack
Your little helpers will feed on a whole range of organic food sources but for agricultural purposes
we found pre-composted abattoir manure (ldquopensmisrdquo) and some types of pre-composted animal
manure (ldquokraalmisrdquo) the best
Other types of organic material such as conventional
compost made from leaves chopped scrap wood
animal manure and w ood pulp should also work
well
To test the suitability of different food sources put a
small quantity of moist food in a container (such as an
empty margarine holder) and put a small number of
earthworms on top If they refuse to burrow in after
a few minutes the food is not suitable
Pre-composting of fresh organic material should be
done by placing the organic matter in a drum or container with ventilation holes supplied and
turning the compost every few days by rolling the drum or container a few times
Building tyre stack
Abattoir manure (ldquoPensmisrdquo)
Vermiculture
Page 21 of 27
Or you could start a conventional compost heap and turn the
heap with a fork every few days The micro-organisms will start breaking the organic matter down
heat will build up and oxygen will be used in the process
Within about three weeks the pre-composted matter should be ready to be placed inside the tyre
stacks as described previously
If you have access to ldquooldrdquo organic matter (for instance manure that has been lying in a heap for
a few months) pre-composting should not be necessary
53 Harvesting the tyre stack
The following technique works well and although it is slower it is much easier and less stressful
for the little workers
Oslash Start building a new tyre stack next to the old one and put fresh worm food only in the round
bottom section of the tyre starting with shredded paper then manure (ldquopensmisrdquo)
Ugrave Fill the rest of the tyre with the harvested compost (plus worms) from the old tyre stack and
continue with the next tyre when the bottom one is full And so on until the stack is six tyres
high
Uacute The next step is to disturb the top few layers of vermicompost by stirring with your hands
which causes the worms to take flight downwards
Turning of compost
Conventional compost containers
Vermiculture
Page 22 of 27
Ucirc The clean compost can then be harvested from the top Continue with the harvesting until you
reach the fresh worm food And there you will find all the worms trapped in the round section
of the tyre ready to be scooped out with the fresh worm food
Uuml The little workers embedded in the fresh organic matter could then be scooped out and used
to populate a new tyre stack that was first filled with fresh worm food And so the cycle is
repeated over and over
7 Worming Towards LEISA and Organic Farming
Techniques
In this part we will explain how to utilise the super vermicompost that your little workers so
willingly and cost-effectively prepared for you We will also provide insights on how to build up
your soil so that the local little workers will be able to continue the good work that their brothers
and sisters in the tyre stacks did for you
LEISA is short for Low External Inputs Sustainable Agriculture simply meaning that instead of
looking for expensive external farming inputs (chemical fertilisers chem ical w eed killers
insecticides and pest control chemicals) the clever farmer or vegetable gardener should find items
and materials available locally and inexpensively to do the same or better job as the expensive
external inputs
For instance a flock of geese on the farm could do a great job to keep snails and other insects under
control while at the same time providing a renewable source of meat and eggs to feed the farmers
family As they are good for security too
Using a chicken tractor to work the soil for
y o u i s a l s o s o m e t h i n g t h a t c a n b e
in co rp o ra te d in a v e g e ta b le g a rd en A
chicken tractor is basically a bottomless cage
built from old material It allows the chickens
to scratch and eat off of the ground such
things as grass weeds bugs worms etc
You can drag the chicken tractor around the
garden The chicken manure goes directly
onto th e s o il w here it fe rtilises th e so il
C h ick en tractors are perfect for a sm a ll
number of chickens
A chicken tractor at the experimental site of the Motheo
College in Bloemfontein
Vermiculture
Page 23 of 27
In the same way super vermicompost produced on the farm or at home from waste material and
making use of the free labour provided by the little helpers could go a long way towards replacing
expensive chemical fertilisers Furthermore vermicompost is good for building up the soils
putting carbon sources and essential microbes (good bugs)
back into the place where they belong the place that
Nature prepared for the over the ages
LEISA is therefore about helping to create a positive
ldquobalance of paymentsrdquo for the farm ing enterprise or
vegetable garden ndash more money should flow in to the
project than would otherwise flow out One important
aspect of this positive balance is to purchase as little as
p o s s ib le e x p en s ive ex te rn a l in p u ts fo r fa rm in g o r
vegetable gardening operations
And super vermicompost produced on the farm fits right into the LEISA philosophy
Organic farming techniques go one step further namely to receive certification (proof) that no
harmful substances were used n the farming operations Good quality compost (also certified as
organic) is an essential input for formal organic farming techniques
However for produce to be certified organic could be very expensive especially for a small-scale
farmer Then your pack house cold chain and transport system also needs to be certified organic
adding more complications
ldquoWhat does organic mean
Organic farming is producing food the natural way Organic farmers aim
to produce good healthy tasty food from balanced healthy soil Organic
farm ers cannot grow GM (genetically modified) crops and cannot use
chem ical fertilizers or additives or spray artificial pesticides O rganic
farmers use crop rotation to improve the fertility of their soil Healthy soil
= healthy plant = healthy humanrdquo
Anonymous (Go Farming 2(2)7)
Vermiculture
Page 24 of 27
Therefore the advice for emerging farmers or vegetable growers is to learn their trade through
LEISA techniques and not to attempt to go all the way to being certified organic without having
the skills and experience to make a success of that The Internet is full of very useful tips on how
to farm better with low external inputs type LEISA and vermiculture in a search engine such as
Google and youll be amazed with the information that comes up
8 Some Vermicomposting Stories from All over
the World
Commercial vermicomposting is just beginning in the USA San Diego in California has employed
worms to convert part of its organic waste stream into useable products The castings are in high
demand In Oregon a research and demonstration project has become a thriving business A large
urban hospital in Ontario has been using worms to process some of its waste stream for several
years (Attra 2007)
We read of the ldquoworm womanrdquo Mary Appelhoff No one in this country has done more for the
self-image of worms than Mary Appelhof the undisputed and nationally recognized
Worm Woman (Green Living Magazine)
Worms eat my garbage Theyve been doing it for twenty-seven years I set up my basement worm
bin with shredded newspaper a bit of soil and a few thousand redworms I bury food waste in it
The worms eat it They also eat the bacteria and protozoa and fungi and other microorganisms
which decompose it They grind and mix and secrete and excrete and eventually the food waste
and bedding turns into worm castings which we use in our garden The whole process is truly on-
site recyclingrdquo
Mary Appelhoff published her first book Worms eat my garbage How to set up and maintain a worm
composting system in 1982 Her newest endeavour is t bring a new voice to the vermicomposting
field by publishing a childrens picture book about vermicomposting Compost by gosh Her website
for worm composting resources can be visited at httpwwwwormwomancom
Other countries have been researching and using commercial vermicompost systems for a decade
or more Cuba for instance started their vermicomposting programme in 1986 with two small
boxes of red worms By 1992 172 vermicompost centres were producing 93 000 tons of worm
humus annually (Gersper et al 1993)
Vermiculture
Page 25 of 27
Currently France Germany Italy Japan Hong Kong India Australia and many countries
in South America have research or commercial vermicomposting projects underway (Attra 2007)
One of the largest commercial producers of vermicompost is Vermitech (Pty) Ltd in Australia
This company is dedicated to the beneficial management of organic waste through the use of very
large scale Vermiculture Their website documents considerable research on the use of their
product on various crops (httpwwwvermitechcomhomehtm)
In the past ten years an organisation in India has prompted over 2 000 farmers and institutions to
switch from conventional chemical fertilisers to that of an organic fertiliser namely vermicompost
Vermiculture has been the prim ary focus at M aharashtra Agricultural Bioteks w hich w as
established in 1985 The organisation currently produces 5 000 tons of vermicompost annually In
1991 to 1992 this group promoted the adoption of vermicompost technology in 13 states in India
The organisation has also created a programme which trains housewives and home gardeners to
produce their ow n vermicompost from household garden waste (Dr Henamgee Jambhekar
wwwfadrmsuru)
The Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town added a feature to its list of facilities that is a South African
first A fully-functioning worm farm The hotel has decided to go green by instituting an organic
waste recycling programme where its kitchen waste are turned into worm droppings which
constitute some of the best fertiliser to keep the hotels lawns pot plants and vegetable gardens
flourishing They have thousands of worms housed in plastic crates behind one of the hotels
parking areas They estimate that the farm currently hosts about 33 000 worms (South Africa
Logue)
There are also plans to work on methods to combine conventional composting with super
vermicompost and to put up commercial composting plants at the two new markets for emerging
farmers at Philippi Market Cape Town and Ugu Agricultural Market in Port Shepstone The
conventional compost spiked with super vermicompost will be made available for emerging
farmers near these markets through the subsidised transport linking the markets with the emerging
supply base via a depot system (Charl Pienaar 2007)
Happy Worming
Vermiculture
Page 26 of 27
SOURCES
Anonymous [sa] Organic agriculture What does it all means Go Farming 2(2)6-8
A TTR A (A ppropria te T echnology T ransfer for Rural Areas) 2007 W orms for com posting
(Vermicomposting) National Center for Appropriate Technology
Earthworms as a natural resource httpwwwwormfarmcom
G e r s p e r e t a l 1 9 9 3 C u b a s c o m p o s t in g A g r ic u l t u r e a n d H u m a n V a lu e s X (3 ) 1 6 - 2 3
httpfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art1html
Ja m b h h e k a r H e m a n g e e V e r m ic u l t u r e in I n d i a I n t e rn a t ion a l A g -S iev e 7 (1 ) A r t 3
(httpwwwfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art3html)
Journey to Forever Organic Garden Vermicomposting
httpwwwjourneytoforeverorgcompost_wormhtml
Munro G [sa] Manual of on-farm vermicomposting and vermiculture Organic Agriculture Centre of
Canada
Nell W T Engelbrecht G M amp Du Plessis D M 2006 Growing vegetables A comprehensive guide
on how to establish maintain and manage a vegetable garden Centre for Agricultural Management
University of the Free State Bloemfontein
Organic farming and organic gardening using vermicompost httpwwwhappydranchcom92html
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 1 How to grow super vermicompost Go Farming 1(3)22-
23
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 2 How to use super vermicompost Go Farming 1(4)20-22
Pienaar Charl 2007 Vermiculture short course presented at MUCPP Mangaung Bloemfontein
Supertill cc Paarl
Recycling advocates Vermicomposting httpwwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Seasons India Vermicompost
httpwwwseasonsindiacomlifestylegrdnVermicompost_seahtm
Vermiculture
Page 27 of 27
SEED (Schools Environmental Education and Development) 2006 Improving the soil ndash worm
farms (worksheet 53) Growing the living laboratory Permaculture for environmental education in the
NCS Used with permission from Leigh Brown The complete document is available for download
on the SEED website (httpwwwseedorgza)
Setting up a worm bed httpwwwwormpoopcomWormBedWormBedhtm
Sherman Rhonda 2003 Raising earthworms successfully North Carolina Cooperative Extension
Service Publication no EBAE 103-83 North Carolina State University
South Africa Logue Mount Nelson Hotel creates ldquopermaculturerdquo of excellence with worm farm
httpwwwsouthafricaloguecom
Vermiculture Indoor composting
httpredworms-greenearthcomcgi-binshopplpage=indoorhtml
Vermiculture Canada Earthworm castings as plant growth media
httpwwwvermiculturecaarticlesearthworm_castingshtm
Vermiculture composting httpwwwwormpoopcomCompostingCompostinghtm
Vermicompost httpwwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost
Weisenhorn Julie Vermiculture Promote global warming Sustainable urban landscape information
series University of Minnesota httpwwwsustlandumnedu
What kind of earthworms do we recommend httpwwwvermicocomwormshtm
Wikipedia httpenwikipediaorg wikiVermicompost
Worm Digest Young persons guide to vermicomposting
httpwwwwormdigestorgcontentview152
Worm Farm Free worm farming newsletter ndash Vermiculture
httpwwwwormfarmingsecretscom
Worm Research Centre
httpwwwwormresearchcentrecoukvermicompostinghtml
Wormwise How to use WormWisereg Earthworm Castings
httpwormwisecomid=help
Vermiculture
Page 4 of 27
41 The worms
There are reportedly more than 4 000 different species of
earthworms worldwide but the species that is most suitable
for our purpose is called the Red Wriggler (Eisenia fetida)
They are also called ldquocompost wormrdquo ldquomanure wormrdquo
ldquoredwormrdquo and ldquored wrigglerrdquo
These small red earthworms are very hard working (they can
eat through their own body weight in 24 hours) they breed
and multiply very actively and they are well adapted to a
range of temperatures and food sources
ldquoIn fact it seems they dont actually eat it ndash they consume it sure enough but what they derive their
nourishment from is all the micro-organisms that are really eating it [organic matter] And yet ndash mystery
ndash their casts contain eight times as many micro-organisms as their feed And these are the micro-organisms
that best favour healthy plant growth And the casts dont contain any disease pathogens ndash pathogenic
bacteria are reliably killed in the worms gut This is one of the great benefits of vermicompostingrdquo
(wwwjourneytoforeverorg)
According to Seed (200637) one need at least 2 000 worms
as a starter stock These worms will breed and multiply to
about 8 000 worms in six months
The Red Wrigglers do not occur naturally in Africa and
your starter stock of this hard-working type of earthworm
should be ordered from a reliable supplier There are
va rio u s su p p lie rs around Som e se ll th ese p re cio u s
earthworms for fish bait
You should only be required to purchase the first batch
thereafter they will multiply very actively unless you dont look after them properly or some
disaster strikes Adult worms produce about three cocoons a week and each cocoon will contain
at least three baby worms and sometimes ten or more (wwwwormpoopcom)
The red wrigglers hate light After 20 minutes exposed to sunlight they will become confused In
30 minutes they will stop breathing and by 35 minutes exposure they die Worms should therefore
be covered at all times (wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg)
Earthworms breath through their skin w hich needs to remain moist to facilitate respiration
Earthworms can live for months completely submerged in water but they will die of they dry out
(Sherman 2003)
httpenwikipediaorgwikiEisenia_foe
tida
Starter stock (two hand-fulls)
Vermiculture
Page 5 of 27
The worms should be harvested every three months or separated from the castings
42 Establishing the worm farm
Your little workers should have proper housing for them to work at their best Expensive containers
are available in the market but w e will only discuss the follow ing groups of worm farming
methods
421 Windrow systems
Windrow systems on concrete or on the ground require the
least capita l inves tm en t but the y are s low an d labo ur
in ten s ive T h is is norm ally used for large-sca le verm i-
composting Bedding is put in long rows with organic matter
on top of it New food are put aside the previous ones because
worms will move towards the fresh foodstuff Castings can
then be removed on one side of the bed while new food are always put on a new row
httpwwwwaterkeeperorg
httpenwikipediaorgwikiVermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 6 of 27
422 Worm bins
For indoor composting you can use plastic storage bins or make one
yourself from wood Plastic bins are light and easy to move They will
hold moisture You will however need to drill holes into them to allow
air for the worms and to drain into a collection tray Plastic bins require
more drainage than wooden ones because they are non-absorbent
The size of the bin depends on how much food waste your household
produces A general rule of thumb is that you will need a square of about
30 cm surface area for each 500 g of waste your household produces
(httpredworms-greenearthcom)
Worm bins can be grouped into three categories (wwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost)
Oslash Non-continuous (an undivided container) A layer of bedding material is placed in the bin
to line the bottom Worms are added on the bedding and a layer of organic matter above the
bedding Another layer is added on top of the organic matter This type of bin is often used and
small and easy to build but harvesting is more difficult
Ugrave Continuous vertical flow ( a series of trays stacked vertically) This type of tray is available
commercially The bottom tray is filled first but is not harvested when it is full Instead a thick
layer of bedding is added on top and the tray above is used for adding organic matter When
worms finish eating the bottom tray they will move to the one above The bottom tray can be
emptied when most of the worms have migrated to the top tray These bins are easier to
harvest
Uacute Continuous horizontal flow (a series of trays lined horizontally) This method also relies on
earthworms to migrate towards a food source This bin is longer than the non-continuous bins
but divided in half usually by a large gauge screen One half is used until it becomes full then
the other half is filled with bedding and organic matter The worms will migrate to the side
with the food and the castings can then be collected This is therefore easier to harvest
Examples of worm bins
Drainage holes in plastic
bin
wwwtimetorecyclecomwwwwormwomancom wwwallthingsorganiccom
Vermiculture
Page 7 of 27
423 Tyre stacks
From experiments by Mr Charl Pienaar over the past five years the best most practical and least
expensive type of housing for your little workers is a tyre stack built from used bakkie or tractor
tyres Your local tyre dealer in town will be too happy to give these to you for free ndash this also helps
to solve a big problem in terms of the disposal of these items (This will be discussed in more detail
in Section 6)
43 Maintaining your worm farm
Your compost worms will need five basic things to survive and be happy a hospitable living
environm ent a food source adequ ate m oisture adequ ate aeration and protection from
temperature extremes (Munroe sa5-11) If you manage your composting system well keeping
these five things in mind you will be successful in the end
Hester with a worm tyre stack
ldquoGrowing worms is part science part green thumb You
need the knowledge but you also need to do it to learn how
to do it wellrdquo
Munroe (sa13)
Vermiculture
Page 8 of 27
431 A hospitable living environment (ldquobeddingrdquo)
ldquoBedding is the living medium for the worms but also a food source It is material high in carbon
a n d m a d e t o m i m i c d r i e d l e a v e s o n t h e f o r e s t f l o o r t h e w o r m s n a t u r a l h a b i t a t rdquo
(wwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost) The selection of bedding material is a key to successful
vermicomposting Bedding should be moist like that of a wrung out sponge When you squeeze
it hard a drop or two of water should drop out
Good bedding mixtures are therefore an essential element in meeting the needs of the worms
Shredded newspaper or cardboard makes an excellent bedding This can be combined with straw
or hay composted sheep cattle horse or abattoir manure (ldquopensmisrdquo) Poultry manure is not
recommended as it is too high in nitrogen and minerals
In hot climates the bins should be placed in the shade or away from direct midday sun Worms are
likely to die if conventional hot composting takes place Only thin layers of uncomposted material
should be added and temperature need to be monitored continuously If the bedding dries out mist
it with water from a spray bottle (wwwredworms-greenearthcom)
432 A food source
Compost worms are big eaters They are able to consume in excess of their body weight each day
although the general rule-of-thumb is that they will eat half of their body weight per day (Munroe
sa7) Their food consists primarily of decomposing organic matter where carbon sources (such
as dried leaves shredded paper cardboard etc) are mixed with nitrogen sources (such as food
scraps grass clippings manure etc) (wwwvermicocom)
Wait at least a day or two after placing the worms on the bedding before
adding the first food A good practice is to first test the suitability of food
for earthworms especially when manure or compost will be used Place
the m ateria l in a sm all conta iner add enough w ater to m oisten it
thoroughly and place a few worms on top Observe their behaviour over
the next few hours If the worms crawl out or die then you will know
that the material is not suitable and should not be fed to the w orm s
(Pienaar 2007)
Add more food when you see the worms beginning to work and when
they have eaten the first layer of food you can add another layer about 25 cm thick If you add too
much food you risk creating anaerobic conditions After you have added a layer of food always
add another layer of bedding material at about 25 cm thick (wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg)
There are two methods of adding food to the bin (wwwanswerscom topicvermicompost)
Testing suitability of food
Vermiculture
Page 9 of 27
Oslash Top feeding Organic matter is placed directly on top of the existing layer of bedding in a bin
and then covered with another layer of bedding This is repeated every time the bin is fed
Ugrave Pocket feeding A top layer of bedding is maintained and food is buried beneath The location
of the food is changed each time and often the bed is fed in more than one location As bedding
runs low more is added Add fruit and vegetable scraps each week Chop up food before
adding and try to feed the worms a mixture of materials Add less food in the first week and
gradually increase the amount over six months It is best to feed your worms weekly If
uneaten food remains then you know you have overfed the worms After feeding the worms
each week cover the food scraps with some compost or soil to avoid attracting fruit flies (Seed
200638)
If you regularly check the areas where you added the food you can soon see what foods your
worms like or dislike
Worms will eat almost any type of vegetable and fruit scraps partly decomposed compost
shredded newspaper small amounts of grass clippings leaves and even damp cardboard pieces
Add crushed eggshells as the worms need the calcium in the shells
The worms further love potato peelings carrots and carrot tops lettuce cabbage celery apple
peelings banana peels orange rinds grapefruit and
watermelon rinds They also like cornmeal oatmeal
coffee grounds with the filter and tea bags
Keep a plastic tub in your refrigerator to hold food
scraps so they will still be nice and fresh when you
feed the w orms Do not let them rot and become
smelly
Do not add onions or garlic or too much acidic food
like citrus pineapples and tomato strong spices and
acid (sour) food such as large amounts of vinegar and
sa lt A v o id m a te r ia ls co n ta m in a ted w ith to x ic
chemicals for example sawdust from treated wood
Do not feed them meat scraps bones oily food and dairy products such as cheese and butter as
these will attract ldquobadrdquo bugs and cause odours Never feed them cat or dog poop
The compost worms are low-maintenance and you can skip two or three weeks without feeding
t h e m b u t a n y l o n g e r t h a n t h a t a n d y o u w i l l h a v e a b i g b o x o f d e a d w o r m s
(wwwseasonsindiacom)
Vegetable and fruit scraps
Vermiculture
Page 10 of 27
433 Adequate moisture
Earthworms breathe through their skins (they do not have lungs) and for that they require
m ois tu re (w ater) A dd w ater every few days or w hen
necessary to prevent the worm farm from drying out You
may need to add more water during hot windy weather It
is important to keep the worm farm moist as the worms may
die if it dries out However the worm farm should not be
soggy either Remember there is also moisture in the food
scraps (Seed 200638)
You should also cover the top of the tyre stack with a suitable material to prevent evaporation of
moisture and to keep unwanted visitors out
434 Adequate aeration
Worms are oxygen-breathers and operate best when ventilation is good and the bedding is relative
porous and well aerated They cannot survive anaerobic conditions which occur when there is an
absence of oxygen Your worm farm will then start having a bad odour If that is the case then you
have added too much food and the worms are finding it difficult to aerate the compost by their
regular movement through it
To rectify the problem you will need to stir the bedding to aerate it add dry shredded newspaper
cover the container and add no more food until the smell has gone To prevent acid conditions you
can sprinkle crushed egg shells into the worm food when building the tyre stack
435 Protection from temperature extremes
Large quantities of fresh uncomposted organic matter will naturally start composting excessive
heat will build up which may kill your little workers
Earthworms like to work in the dark (is that why they multiply so quickly) and very hot or cold
temperatures should be avoided
Remember
The bedding material should feel
like a wrung-out sponge
ldquo M oistu re con ten t o f less th an 5 0 is d an g erou s W ith th e
exception of extreme heat or cold nothing will kill worms faster
than a lack of adequate moisturerdquo
Munroe (sa10)
Vermiculture
Page 11 of 27
436 When the worm bin smells
A healthy worm bin should smell like garden soil A foul odour indicates that something is wrong
The following checklist should help you to prevent or solve odour problems (httpredworms-
greenearthcom)
bull Put plenty of air hols in the bin to ensure that the worms have adequate air to breathe
bull Feed only a vegetarian diet
bull Bury food wastes completely under the bedding
bull Insure adequate drainage for the bin
bull Do not overfeed
44 Harvesting vermicompost
Depending on the original quantity and quality of w orm food the living conditions and the
number of earthworms you started off with the little workers should be finished with their job
three to six months after you started them off in a tyre stack Your little workers would have turned
the organic matter into rich and dark super vermicompost (the so-called ldquoBlack Goldrdquo) ndash filled with
beneficial micro-organisms and concentrated plant foods
Now we need to become a little more technical since it is not so easy to separate the earthworms
from the rich ldquoblack goldrdquo vermicompost that they produced We do not want to hurt or damage
the little ones since who will do the work then Also check for cocoons of young worms They look
like yellowish jelly beans
Hester busy harvesting vermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 12 of 27
441 Using a sieve
Some farmers use a circular sieve to do the trick They load the harvested vermicompost on a
trailer and use gravity to make the compost (and worms) roll down into a circular sieve which is
then being turned by hand The fine compost will fall through the sieve to be collected while the
larger worms and rough clumps of compost would roll through to be collected at the bottom For
this procedure the moisture content of the compost should be just right not too wet and not too
dry
This technique however is a bit too complicated although for large volumes of compost it may
be the best way
442 The ldquodivide and sortrdquo method
This method is used when worms are kept in plastic bins Move all the old bedding to one side of
the bin Add fresh bedding like newspaper to the
other side and bury the new food scraps only to
the new bedding
Within a week or two most of the worms will have
moved (migrated) from the old bedding into the
new bedding Now you can harvest the worm
castings
443 The ldquolighted pilerdquo method
Lay a large strong plastic sheet on the floor Dump the contents of the worm farm onto the plastic
sheet and divide it in piles Shine a light on the top of each pile Since worms are sensitive to light
they will go down into the pile to avoid the light You will need to remove a little bit of the castings
at a time until all you have left is just a pile of worms
5 Uses for Vermicompost
Vermicompost is the highest grade of organic fertiliser available It can be used as growth medium
in the home garden vegetable garden as compost tea and to improve the quality of the soil
A great trick for doing this is to p lace
w a te rm e lon r in d in th e b in w ith th e
new bedding Worms love watermelon
rind they cant get enough of it and will
greedily rush towards it
wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Vermiculture
Page 13 of 27
51 As growth medium
A good idea is to mix super vermicompost half-half with river sand This mixture can then be used
as growth medium for seedlings This mixture gives very good results because it drains very well
yet provides the plants with excellent nutrition from the super vermicompost (Pienaar 2007)
52 In the home garden
The super vermicompost can also be applied as top dressing directly to pot plants and to the
garden on plants such as lavender roses hedges etc Use it sparingly but it will not burn plants
if you use too much (Pienaar 2007)
Mixing it with good topsoil compost vermiculite or perlite in equal amounts creates a good potting
soil (wwwwormdigestorg)
A s p o t t in g m ix o n e th ird v e r m ic o m p o s t c a n b e m ix e d w ith tw o -th ird s p o t t in g s o i l
(httpredworms-greenearthcom) As top dressing apply at a rate of two tablespoons every 30 days
after establishing new pot plants In already established pot plants use four tablespoons for the
first application of vermicompost and then follow up with two tablespoons every 30 days
thereafter (wwwwormwisecom)
53 In the vegetable garden
When transplanting seedlings such as cabbage green pepper tomatoes etc up to one cup of
vermicompost can be put in the hole where the seedling will be planted which is then covered with
a layer of ordinary soil and then planting the seedling on top (Pienaar 2007)
When sowing seeds in furrows make the furrow a little deeper and wider than normal sprinkle
some vermicompost onto the rows cover with about 3-5 cm of soil and then sow the seeds at its
normal depth (Pienaar 2007)
The initial application w ould probably not provide enough nutrition to see the vegetable
crop through and in that case apply vermicompost as a top dressing at the following rates
(httpwormwisecom)
bull In the case of cabbage green pepper tomatoes (etc) a topdressing at the rate of one cup per
plant should be worked into the soil in a diameter around the plant every 30 days
bull In the case of vegetables planted in furrows such as beetroot carrots onions etc apply at a
rate of one cup for every 30 cm of row alongside the row every 30 days
Vermiculture
Page 14 of 27
A liquid application (worm tea) will also give very good results when applying to the soil and to
the plant leaves once or twice a month (See 55)
54 For conventional farming purposes
Obviously for commercial farming purposes a small composting operation like the tyre stack or
compost bins would not be sufficient For soils really poor in organic content an application of 40
to 50 tons of fertiliser per hectare may be needed in the first year of converting to organic (non-
chemical fertiliser) farming methods For this volume of compost a conventional commercial
composting works would be required
You will need a large wood chipper automate compost turner big volumes of garden refuse clay
and animal manure Conventional compost and super vermicompost can be combined for use for
commercial farming operations
55 Making super vermicompost worm tea
Super vermicompost can also be applied in liquid form the so-called ldquoworm teardquo Various recipes
are available on the internet for making liquid fertiliser from super vermicompost The recipe can
be very simple for small operations to large commercial brewing operations
A simple recipe is as follows
bull Take a fairly large drum (44 gallons) and cut open the top
Otherwise use a dirt bin with a lid
bull Add a small tap to the bottom of the drum from where the tea
can be drained
bull Clean the drum properly and fill nearly to the top with clean
good quality water
bull Add about five kilograms of fresh super vermicompost You
can also first place it in a bag made of cheese cloth an old
nylon stocking or old pillowcaseDrum for making
compost tea
Vermiculture
Page 15 of 27
bull Use a small air pump which could typically be purchased from a pet shop and is
normally used to aerate indoor fish tanks
bull Put the outlet of the pump into the water and allow to bubble
air through the worm tea for about 24 hours
bull In this time the beneficial microbes (the good bugs) increase at
a very fast rate in the water
bull After this time the colour of the water would be a rich dark
brown like strong black tea
bull A small quantity of dishwashing liquid can be added to make
the liquid stick to the leaves better
bull Remember to filter the worm tea through a cheese cloth before putting into the sprayer
otherwise the nozzle will keep on blocking
This worm tea can be applied in liquid form around your plants (as fertiliser) or sprayed onto the
plants with a sprayer The inexpensive application of worm tea should be repeated every few
weeks or even more often if disease or insect pressure occurs You can never apply too much
The vermicompost tea contains micro-organisms that will inoculate the soil against harmful
organisms that would feed on plant roots (wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg)
To feed plants well you have to feed the soil they grow in One of the best ways to feed the soil
is to add vermicompost Vermicompost feed the micro-organisms in the soil improve soil structure
and fertility and provide plants with all the nutrients they need to grow and stay healthy
Air pump
ldquoM ix two tablespoons of vermicompost with a litre of w ater
and let it stand for a day shaking it occasionally then sprinkle
under the plants One-litre drinking water bottles make good
sprinklers drill a few small-diameter holes in the lid point and
squeezerdquo
wwwjourneytoforeverorg
Vermiculture
Page 16 of 27
The theory about fighting off the ldquobad bugsrdquo with worm tea is that
you assure that the ldquogood bugsrdquo are present in high numbers which
would help them to chase the ldquobad bugsrdquo away
The good bugs are the beneficial or friendly insects They help control
the insects that damage vegetable crops One must learn to recognise
them as your ldquofriendsrdquo in the garden
Good bugs from left Lacewing Praying mantis frog amp gecko
Furthermore a strong healthy well-fed plant will have improved resistance to fight off the ldquobad
bugsrdquo and diseases by itself (Nell Engelbrecht amp Du Plessis 2007)
56 Building up your soil to invite beneficial insects
To ensure good healthy soil ndash whether you have sandy or clay soil ndash boils down to one important
thing The gardener will have to continuously improve the soil If a gardener does not prepare the
soil properly it will lead to poor growth and he will not harvest good quality vegetables
Adding vermicompost deep into the soil will ensure that there is a balanced supply of air in the
soil Avoid unnecessary stepping on the vegetable beds and never work the soil when it is too wet
This will compact the soil and poor aeration will be the result
Good bugs Ladybird feeding
on aphids
ldquoA real gardener is not a man who cultivates
flowers he is a man who cultivates the soilrdquo
Karel Capek in ldquoThe Gardenerrsquos Yearrdquo
Vermiculture
Page 17 of 27
Maintaining a good soil structure can
bull increase water-holding capacity
bull promote root growth
bull maintain aeration and drainage
bull make cultivation easier
bull help to reduce the risk of erosion and
bull improve fertility
No farmer or gardener will be able to improve the soil com-
p le t e l y i n o n e g r o w in g s e a s o n H is g o a l m u s t b e t o
co n t in u o u s ly im p r o v e th e s o i l b y a d d in g co m p o st o r
vermicompost every time he prepares the bed for a new crop
(Nell Engelbrecht amp Du Plessis 2006)
In soils with high organic content there would naturally be a build-up of beneficial microbes (good
bugs) which will work hard at making nutrients ready to be used by plants And the population
of local earthworms will also increase over time This plays a very important role to produce
accessible food for plants and to aerate the soil
Therefore the farmer-who-cares-for-the-environment should do everything possible to build up
hisher soils and thereby to create and maintain conditions in the soil that would attract and protect
the little workers and their even smaller little friends the micro-organisms
DO work in leaves bark chipped garden refuse and compost into your soil and remember to put
a layer of organic matter (mulch) around the plants to cool down the soil and to maintain moisture
DO NOT turn over the soil often and thereby disturbing the fine balance Be mindful of applying
chemicals that will kill the good bugs and make sure that there is no compaction in the soil that
will prevent roots to penetrate deeply and water reserves to build up in the soil
Soils such as these can be built up with
vermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 18 of 27
6 Vermicomposting in Tyre Stacks
According to Mr Charl Pienaar the best most practical and least expensive type of housing for
earthworms is a tyre stack built from used bakkie or tractor tyres and using ldquopensmisrdquo as food
61 Housing earthworms in tyre stacks
Oslash You can use the used bakkie or tractor tyres as is but we found that cutting open one of the
sides with a strong knife or electric jig saw optimises the inside space and makes harvesting the
super vermicompost that much easier
Ugrave Put a plastic sheet on the ground in a suitable shady spot (under a tree on the south side of
your house against the wall or inside under a roof) and start building the tyre stack on top of
the plastic sheet The plastic sheet is for preventing tree roots from growing into your compost
from the bottom ndash remember all types of plants love super vermicompost
ldquoTo me it is one of Gods finest m iracles to observe how hum ble
earthworms are able to magically convert otherwise useless plant and
animal wastes into rich humus (black gold) for plants to produce
the food that enriches our livesrdquo
ndash Charl Pienaar
Tractor tyreCharl Pienaar cutting open the
side of a tyre
Vermiculture
Page 19 of 27
Uacute Water the inside of each of the tyres well
Ucirc Fill each tyre first with bedding (such as shredded paper) and then a
thick layer of manure
Uuml Water the contents well especially in the round section of the tyre
Yacute Place another layer of shredded paper on top of the layer of manure then place some of the
worms to one side on top of the food in the tyre
THORN Stack the next tyre and continue until you have five or six bakkie tyres stacked and filled with
worm food (no more than two for tractor tyres)
Watering inside of tyreLayer of shredded paper Layer of manure
Placing worms to one sideWater each tyre separately
Vermiculture
Page 20 of 27
szlig Place a sheet of plastic canvass or a layer of newspapers over
the top of the bedding This will hold moisture in and will
help reduce the chance that fruit flies come and lay their eggs
in the food
The tyre stack is now ready to provide a house and shelter for
your new little workers You can of course build as many of these
tyre stacks as you have space and energy for
If your tyre stack dries out the compost will become hard like a
rock their skins will dry out and your little workers will die
Water your tyre stack about once a week by pouring a few cups
of clean water in from the top If water runs out at the bottom
you are over-watering and you should apply less water
52 Feeding the earthworms in the tyre stack
Your little helpers will feed on a whole range of organic food sources but for agricultural purposes
we found pre-composted abattoir manure (ldquopensmisrdquo) and some types of pre-composted animal
manure (ldquokraalmisrdquo) the best
Other types of organic material such as conventional
compost made from leaves chopped scrap wood
animal manure and w ood pulp should also work
well
To test the suitability of different food sources put a
small quantity of moist food in a container (such as an
empty margarine holder) and put a small number of
earthworms on top If they refuse to burrow in after
a few minutes the food is not suitable
Pre-composting of fresh organic material should be
done by placing the organic matter in a drum or container with ventilation holes supplied and
turning the compost every few days by rolling the drum or container a few times
Building tyre stack
Abattoir manure (ldquoPensmisrdquo)
Vermiculture
Page 21 of 27
Or you could start a conventional compost heap and turn the
heap with a fork every few days The micro-organisms will start breaking the organic matter down
heat will build up and oxygen will be used in the process
Within about three weeks the pre-composted matter should be ready to be placed inside the tyre
stacks as described previously
If you have access to ldquooldrdquo organic matter (for instance manure that has been lying in a heap for
a few months) pre-composting should not be necessary
53 Harvesting the tyre stack
The following technique works well and although it is slower it is much easier and less stressful
for the little workers
Oslash Start building a new tyre stack next to the old one and put fresh worm food only in the round
bottom section of the tyre starting with shredded paper then manure (ldquopensmisrdquo)
Ugrave Fill the rest of the tyre with the harvested compost (plus worms) from the old tyre stack and
continue with the next tyre when the bottom one is full And so on until the stack is six tyres
high
Uacute The next step is to disturb the top few layers of vermicompost by stirring with your hands
which causes the worms to take flight downwards
Turning of compost
Conventional compost containers
Vermiculture
Page 22 of 27
Ucirc The clean compost can then be harvested from the top Continue with the harvesting until you
reach the fresh worm food And there you will find all the worms trapped in the round section
of the tyre ready to be scooped out with the fresh worm food
Uuml The little workers embedded in the fresh organic matter could then be scooped out and used
to populate a new tyre stack that was first filled with fresh worm food And so the cycle is
repeated over and over
7 Worming Towards LEISA and Organic Farming
Techniques
In this part we will explain how to utilise the super vermicompost that your little workers so
willingly and cost-effectively prepared for you We will also provide insights on how to build up
your soil so that the local little workers will be able to continue the good work that their brothers
and sisters in the tyre stacks did for you
LEISA is short for Low External Inputs Sustainable Agriculture simply meaning that instead of
looking for expensive external farming inputs (chemical fertilisers chem ical w eed killers
insecticides and pest control chemicals) the clever farmer or vegetable gardener should find items
and materials available locally and inexpensively to do the same or better job as the expensive
external inputs
For instance a flock of geese on the farm could do a great job to keep snails and other insects under
control while at the same time providing a renewable source of meat and eggs to feed the farmers
family As they are good for security too
Using a chicken tractor to work the soil for
y o u i s a l s o s o m e t h i n g t h a t c a n b e
in co rp o ra te d in a v e g e ta b le g a rd en A
chicken tractor is basically a bottomless cage
built from old material It allows the chickens
to scratch and eat off of the ground such
things as grass weeds bugs worms etc
You can drag the chicken tractor around the
garden The chicken manure goes directly
onto th e s o il w here it fe rtilises th e so il
C h ick en tractors are perfect for a sm a ll
number of chickens
A chicken tractor at the experimental site of the Motheo
College in Bloemfontein
Vermiculture
Page 23 of 27
In the same way super vermicompost produced on the farm or at home from waste material and
making use of the free labour provided by the little helpers could go a long way towards replacing
expensive chemical fertilisers Furthermore vermicompost is good for building up the soils
putting carbon sources and essential microbes (good bugs)
back into the place where they belong the place that
Nature prepared for the over the ages
LEISA is therefore about helping to create a positive
ldquobalance of paymentsrdquo for the farm ing enterprise or
vegetable garden ndash more money should flow in to the
project than would otherwise flow out One important
aspect of this positive balance is to purchase as little as
p o s s ib le e x p en s ive ex te rn a l in p u ts fo r fa rm in g o r
vegetable gardening operations
And super vermicompost produced on the farm fits right into the LEISA philosophy
Organic farming techniques go one step further namely to receive certification (proof) that no
harmful substances were used n the farming operations Good quality compost (also certified as
organic) is an essential input for formal organic farming techniques
However for produce to be certified organic could be very expensive especially for a small-scale
farmer Then your pack house cold chain and transport system also needs to be certified organic
adding more complications
ldquoWhat does organic mean
Organic farming is producing food the natural way Organic farmers aim
to produce good healthy tasty food from balanced healthy soil Organic
farm ers cannot grow GM (genetically modified) crops and cannot use
chem ical fertilizers or additives or spray artificial pesticides O rganic
farmers use crop rotation to improve the fertility of their soil Healthy soil
= healthy plant = healthy humanrdquo
Anonymous (Go Farming 2(2)7)
Vermiculture
Page 24 of 27
Therefore the advice for emerging farmers or vegetable growers is to learn their trade through
LEISA techniques and not to attempt to go all the way to being certified organic without having
the skills and experience to make a success of that The Internet is full of very useful tips on how
to farm better with low external inputs type LEISA and vermiculture in a search engine such as
Google and youll be amazed with the information that comes up
8 Some Vermicomposting Stories from All over
the World
Commercial vermicomposting is just beginning in the USA San Diego in California has employed
worms to convert part of its organic waste stream into useable products The castings are in high
demand In Oregon a research and demonstration project has become a thriving business A large
urban hospital in Ontario has been using worms to process some of its waste stream for several
years (Attra 2007)
We read of the ldquoworm womanrdquo Mary Appelhoff No one in this country has done more for the
self-image of worms than Mary Appelhof the undisputed and nationally recognized
Worm Woman (Green Living Magazine)
Worms eat my garbage Theyve been doing it for twenty-seven years I set up my basement worm
bin with shredded newspaper a bit of soil and a few thousand redworms I bury food waste in it
The worms eat it They also eat the bacteria and protozoa and fungi and other microorganisms
which decompose it They grind and mix and secrete and excrete and eventually the food waste
and bedding turns into worm castings which we use in our garden The whole process is truly on-
site recyclingrdquo
Mary Appelhoff published her first book Worms eat my garbage How to set up and maintain a worm
composting system in 1982 Her newest endeavour is t bring a new voice to the vermicomposting
field by publishing a childrens picture book about vermicomposting Compost by gosh Her website
for worm composting resources can be visited at httpwwwwormwomancom
Other countries have been researching and using commercial vermicompost systems for a decade
or more Cuba for instance started their vermicomposting programme in 1986 with two small
boxes of red worms By 1992 172 vermicompost centres were producing 93 000 tons of worm
humus annually (Gersper et al 1993)
Vermiculture
Page 25 of 27
Currently France Germany Italy Japan Hong Kong India Australia and many countries
in South America have research or commercial vermicomposting projects underway (Attra 2007)
One of the largest commercial producers of vermicompost is Vermitech (Pty) Ltd in Australia
This company is dedicated to the beneficial management of organic waste through the use of very
large scale Vermiculture Their website documents considerable research on the use of their
product on various crops (httpwwwvermitechcomhomehtm)
In the past ten years an organisation in India has prompted over 2 000 farmers and institutions to
switch from conventional chemical fertilisers to that of an organic fertiliser namely vermicompost
Vermiculture has been the prim ary focus at M aharashtra Agricultural Bioteks w hich w as
established in 1985 The organisation currently produces 5 000 tons of vermicompost annually In
1991 to 1992 this group promoted the adoption of vermicompost technology in 13 states in India
The organisation has also created a programme which trains housewives and home gardeners to
produce their ow n vermicompost from household garden waste (Dr Henamgee Jambhekar
wwwfadrmsuru)
The Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town added a feature to its list of facilities that is a South African
first A fully-functioning worm farm The hotel has decided to go green by instituting an organic
waste recycling programme where its kitchen waste are turned into worm droppings which
constitute some of the best fertiliser to keep the hotels lawns pot plants and vegetable gardens
flourishing They have thousands of worms housed in plastic crates behind one of the hotels
parking areas They estimate that the farm currently hosts about 33 000 worms (South Africa
Logue)
There are also plans to work on methods to combine conventional composting with super
vermicompost and to put up commercial composting plants at the two new markets for emerging
farmers at Philippi Market Cape Town and Ugu Agricultural Market in Port Shepstone The
conventional compost spiked with super vermicompost will be made available for emerging
farmers near these markets through the subsidised transport linking the markets with the emerging
supply base via a depot system (Charl Pienaar 2007)
Happy Worming
Vermiculture
Page 26 of 27
SOURCES
Anonymous [sa] Organic agriculture What does it all means Go Farming 2(2)6-8
A TTR A (A ppropria te T echnology T ransfer for Rural Areas) 2007 W orms for com posting
(Vermicomposting) National Center for Appropriate Technology
Earthworms as a natural resource httpwwwwormfarmcom
G e r s p e r e t a l 1 9 9 3 C u b a s c o m p o s t in g A g r ic u l t u r e a n d H u m a n V a lu e s X (3 ) 1 6 - 2 3
httpfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art1html
Ja m b h h e k a r H e m a n g e e V e r m ic u l t u r e in I n d i a I n t e rn a t ion a l A g -S iev e 7 (1 ) A r t 3
(httpwwwfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art3html)
Journey to Forever Organic Garden Vermicomposting
httpwwwjourneytoforeverorgcompost_wormhtml
Munro G [sa] Manual of on-farm vermicomposting and vermiculture Organic Agriculture Centre of
Canada
Nell W T Engelbrecht G M amp Du Plessis D M 2006 Growing vegetables A comprehensive guide
on how to establish maintain and manage a vegetable garden Centre for Agricultural Management
University of the Free State Bloemfontein
Organic farming and organic gardening using vermicompost httpwwwhappydranchcom92html
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 1 How to grow super vermicompost Go Farming 1(3)22-
23
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 2 How to use super vermicompost Go Farming 1(4)20-22
Pienaar Charl 2007 Vermiculture short course presented at MUCPP Mangaung Bloemfontein
Supertill cc Paarl
Recycling advocates Vermicomposting httpwwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Seasons India Vermicompost
httpwwwseasonsindiacomlifestylegrdnVermicompost_seahtm
Vermiculture
Page 27 of 27
SEED (Schools Environmental Education and Development) 2006 Improving the soil ndash worm
farms (worksheet 53) Growing the living laboratory Permaculture for environmental education in the
NCS Used with permission from Leigh Brown The complete document is available for download
on the SEED website (httpwwwseedorgza)
Setting up a worm bed httpwwwwormpoopcomWormBedWormBedhtm
Sherman Rhonda 2003 Raising earthworms successfully North Carolina Cooperative Extension
Service Publication no EBAE 103-83 North Carolina State University
South Africa Logue Mount Nelson Hotel creates ldquopermaculturerdquo of excellence with worm farm
httpwwwsouthafricaloguecom
Vermiculture Indoor composting
httpredworms-greenearthcomcgi-binshopplpage=indoorhtml
Vermiculture Canada Earthworm castings as plant growth media
httpwwwvermiculturecaarticlesearthworm_castingshtm
Vermiculture composting httpwwwwormpoopcomCompostingCompostinghtm
Vermicompost httpwwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost
Weisenhorn Julie Vermiculture Promote global warming Sustainable urban landscape information
series University of Minnesota httpwwwsustlandumnedu
What kind of earthworms do we recommend httpwwwvermicocomwormshtm
Wikipedia httpenwikipediaorg wikiVermicompost
Worm Digest Young persons guide to vermicomposting
httpwwwwormdigestorgcontentview152
Worm Farm Free worm farming newsletter ndash Vermiculture
httpwwwwormfarmingsecretscom
Worm Research Centre
httpwwwwormresearchcentrecoukvermicompostinghtml
Wormwise How to use WormWisereg Earthworm Castings
httpwormwisecomid=help
Vermiculture
Page 5 of 27
The worms should be harvested every three months or separated from the castings
42 Establishing the worm farm
Your little workers should have proper housing for them to work at their best Expensive containers
are available in the market but w e will only discuss the follow ing groups of worm farming
methods
421 Windrow systems
Windrow systems on concrete or on the ground require the
least capita l inves tm en t but the y are s low an d labo ur
in ten s ive T h is is norm ally used for large-sca le verm i-
composting Bedding is put in long rows with organic matter
on top of it New food are put aside the previous ones because
worms will move towards the fresh foodstuff Castings can
then be removed on one side of the bed while new food are always put on a new row
httpwwwwaterkeeperorg
httpenwikipediaorgwikiVermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 6 of 27
422 Worm bins
For indoor composting you can use plastic storage bins or make one
yourself from wood Plastic bins are light and easy to move They will
hold moisture You will however need to drill holes into them to allow
air for the worms and to drain into a collection tray Plastic bins require
more drainage than wooden ones because they are non-absorbent
The size of the bin depends on how much food waste your household
produces A general rule of thumb is that you will need a square of about
30 cm surface area for each 500 g of waste your household produces
(httpredworms-greenearthcom)
Worm bins can be grouped into three categories (wwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost)
Oslash Non-continuous (an undivided container) A layer of bedding material is placed in the bin
to line the bottom Worms are added on the bedding and a layer of organic matter above the
bedding Another layer is added on top of the organic matter This type of bin is often used and
small and easy to build but harvesting is more difficult
Ugrave Continuous vertical flow ( a series of trays stacked vertically) This type of tray is available
commercially The bottom tray is filled first but is not harvested when it is full Instead a thick
layer of bedding is added on top and the tray above is used for adding organic matter When
worms finish eating the bottom tray they will move to the one above The bottom tray can be
emptied when most of the worms have migrated to the top tray These bins are easier to
harvest
Uacute Continuous horizontal flow (a series of trays lined horizontally) This method also relies on
earthworms to migrate towards a food source This bin is longer than the non-continuous bins
but divided in half usually by a large gauge screen One half is used until it becomes full then
the other half is filled with bedding and organic matter The worms will migrate to the side
with the food and the castings can then be collected This is therefore easier to harvest
Examples of worm bins
Drainage holes in plastic
bin
wwwtimetorecyclecomwwwwormwomancom wwwallthingsorganiccom
Vermiculture
Page 7 of 27
423 Tyre stacks
From experiments by Mr Charl Pienaar over the past five years the best most practical and least
expensive type of housing for your little workers is a tyre stack built from used bakkie or tractor
tyres Your local tyre dealer in town will be too happy to give these to you for free ndash this also helps
to solve a big problem in terms of the disposal of these items (This will be discussed in more detail
in Section 6)
43 Maintaining your worm farm
Your compost worms will need five basic things to survive and be happy a hospitable living
environm ent a food source adequ ate m oisture adequ ate aeration and protection from
temperature extremes (Munroe sa5-11) If you manage your composting system well keeping
these five things in mind you will be successful in the end
Hester with a worm tyre stack
ldquoGrowing worms is part science part green thumb You
need the knowledge but you also need to do it to learn how
to do it wellrdquo
Munroe (sa13)
Vermiculture
Page 8 of 27
431 A hospitable living environment (ldquobeddingrdquo)
ldquoBedding is the living medium for the worms but also a food source It is material high in carbon
a n d m a d e t o m i m i c d r i e d l e a v e s o n t h e f o r e s t f l o o r t h e w o r m s n a t u r a l h a b i t a t rdquo
(wwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost) The selection of bedding material is a key to successful
vermicomposting Bedding should be moist like that of a wrung out sponge When you squeeze
it hard a drop or two of water should drop out
Good bedding mixtures are therefore an essential element in meeting the needs of the worms
Shredded newspaper or cardboard makes an excellent bedding This can be combined with straw
or hay composted sheep cattle horse or abattoir manure (ldquopensmisrdquo) Poultry manure is not
recommended as it is too high in nitrogen and minerals
In hot climates the bins should be placed in the shade or away from direct midday sun Worms are
likely to die if conventional hot composting takes place Only thin layers of uncomposted material
should be added and temperature need to be monitored continuously If the bedding dries out mist
it with water from a spray bottle (wwwredworms-greenearthcom)
432 A food source
Compost worms are big eaters They are able to consume in excess of their body weight each day
although the general rule-of-thumb is that they will eat half of their body weight per day (Munroe
sa7) Their food consists primarily of decomposing organic matter where carbon sources (such
as dried leaves shredded paper cardboard etc) are mixed with nitrogen sources (such as food
scraps grass clippings manure etc) (wwwvermicocom)
Wait at least a day or two after placing the worms on the bedding before
adding the first food A good practice is to first test the suitability of food
for earthworms especially when manure or compost will be used Place
the m ateria l in a sm all conta iner add enough w ater to m oisten it
thoroughly and place a few worms on top Observe their behaviour over
the next few hours If the worms crawl out or die then you will know
that the material is not suitable and should not be fed to the w orm s
(Pienaar 2007)
Add more food when you see the worms beginning to work and when
they have eaten the first layer of food you can add another layer about 25 cm thick If you add too
much food you risk creating anaerobic conditions After you have added a layer of food always
add another layer of bedding material at about 25 cm thick (wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg)
There are two methods of adding food to the bin (wwwanswerscom topicvermicompost)
Testing suitability of food
Vermiculture
Page 9 of 27
Oslash Top feeding Organic matter is placed directly on top of the existing layer of bedding in a bin
and then covered with another layer of bedding This is repeated every time the bin is fed
Ugrave Pocket feeding A top layer of bedding is maintained and food is buried beneath The location
of the food is changed each time and often the bed is fed in more than one location As bedding
runs low more is added Add fruit and vegetable scraps each week Chop up food before
adding and try to feed the worms a mixture of materials Add less food in the first week and
gradually increase the amount over six months It is best to feed your worms weekly If
uneaten food remains then you know you have overfed the worms After feeding the worms
each week cover the food scraps with some compost or soil to avoid attracting fruit flies (Seed
200638)
If you regularly check the areas where you added the food you can soon see what foods your
worms like or dislike
Worms will eat almost any type of vegetable and fruit scraps partly decomposed compost
shredded newspaper small amounts of grass clippings leaves and even damp cardboard pieces
Add crushed eggshells as the worms need the calcium in the shells
The worms further love potato peelings carrots and carrot tops lettuce cabbage celery apple
peelings banana peels orange rinds grapefruit and
watermelon rinds They also like cornmeal oatmeal
coffee grounds with the filter and tea bags
Keep a plastic tub in your refrigerator to hold food
scraps so they will still be nice and fresh when you
feed the w orms Do not let them rot and become
smelly
Do not add onions or garlic or too much acidic food
like citrus pineapples and tomato strong spices and
acid (sour) food such as large amounts of vinegar and
sa lt A v o id m a te r ia ls co n ta m in a ted w ith to x ic
chemicals for example sawdust from treated wood
Do not feed them meat scraps bones oily food and dairy products such as cheese and butter as
these will attract ldquobadrdquo bugs and cause odours Never feed them cat or dog poop
The compost worms are low-maintenance and you can skip two or three weeks without feeding
t h e m b u t a n y l o n g e r t h a n t h a t a n d y o u w i l l h a v e a b i g b o x o f d e a d w o r m s
(wwwseasonsindiacom)
Vegetable and fruit scraps
Vermiculture
Page 10 of 27
433 Adequate moisture
Earthworms breathe through their skins (they do not have lungs) and for that they require
m ois tu re (w ater) A dd w ater every few days or w hen
necessary to prevent the worm farm from drying out You
may need to add more water during hot windy weather It
is important to keep the worm farm moist as the worms may
die if it dries out However the worm farm should not be
soggy either Remember there is also moisture in the food
scraps (Seed 200638)
You should also cover the top of the tyre stack with a suitable material to prevent evaporation of
moisture and to keep unwanted visitors out
434 Adequate aeration
Worms are oxygen-breathers and operate best when ventilation is good and the bedding is relative
porous and well aerated They cannot survive anaerobic conditions which occur when there is an
absence of oxygen Your worm farm will then start having a bad odour If that is the case then you
have added too much food and the worms are finding it difficult to aerate the compost by their
regular movement through it
To rectify the problem you will need to stir the bedding to aerate it add dry shredded newspaper
cover the container and add no more food until the smell has gone To prevent acid conditions you
can sprinkle crushed egg shells into the worm food when building the tyre stack
435 Protection from temperature extremes
Large quantities of fresh uncomposted organic matter will naturally start composting excessive
heat will build up which may kill your little workers
Earthworms like to work in the dark (is that why they multiply so quickly) and very hot or cold
temperatures should be avoided
Remember
The bedding material should feel
like a wrung-out sponge
ldquo M oistu re con ten t o f less th an 5 0 is d an g erou s W ith th e
exception of extreme heat or cold nothing will kill worms faster
than a lack of adequate moisturerdquo
Munroe (sa10)
Vermiculture
Page 11 of 27
436 When the worm bin smells
A healthy worm bin should smell like garden soil A foul odour indicates that something is wrong
The following checklist should help you to prevent or solve odour problems (httpredworms-
greenearthcom)
bull Put plenty of air hols in the bin to ensure that the worms have adequate air to breathe
bull Feed only a vegetarian diet
bull Bury food wastes completely under the bedding
bull Insure adequate drainage for the bin
bull Do not overfeed
44 Harvesting vermicompost
Depending on the original quantity and quality of w orm food the living conditions and the
number of earthworms you started off with the little workers should be finished with their job
three to six months after you started them off in a tyre stack Your little workers would have turned
the organic matter into rich and dark super vermicompost (the so-called ldquoBlack Goldrdquo) ndash filled with
beneficial micro-organisms and concentrated plant foods
Now we need to become a little more technical since it is not so easy to separate the earthworms
from the rich ldquoblack goldrdquo vermicompost that they produced We do not want to hurt or damage
the little ones since who will do the work then Also check for cocoons of young worms They look
like yellowish jelly beans
Hester busy harvesting vermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 12 of 27
441 Using a sieve
Some farmers use a circular sieve to do the trick They load the harvested vermicompost on a
trailer and use gravity to make the compost (and worms) roll down into a circular sieve which is
then being turned by hand The fine compost will fall through the sieve to be collected while the
larger worms and rough clumps of compost would roll through to be collected at the bottom For
this procedure the moisture content of the compost should be just right not too wet and not too
dry
This technique however is a bit too complicated although for large volumes of compost it may
be the best way
442 The ldquodivide and sortrdquo method
This method is used when worms are kept in plastic bins Move all the old bedding to one side of
the bin Add fresh bedding like newspaper to the
other side and bury the new food scraps only to
the new bedding
Within a week or two most of the worms will have
moved (migrated) from the old bedding into the
new bedding Now you can harvest the worm
castings
443 The ldquolighted pilerdquo method
Lay a large strong plastic sheet on the floor Dump the contents of the worm farm onto the plastic
sheet and divide it in piles Shine a light on the top of each pile Since worms are sensitive to light
they will go down into the pile to avoid the light You will need to remove a little bit of the castings
at a time until all you have left is just a pile of worms
5 Uses for Vermicompost
Vermicompost is the highest grade of organic fertiliser available It can be used as growth medium
in the home garden vegetable garden as compost tea and to improve the quality of the soil
A great trick for doing this is to p lace
w a te rm e lon r in d in th e b in w ith th e
new bedding Worms love watermelon
rind they cant get enough of it and will
greedily rush towards it
wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Vermiculture
Page 13 of 27
51 As growth medium
A good idea is to mix super vermicompost half-half with river sand This mixture can then be used
as growth medium for seedlings This mixture gives very good results because it drains very well
yet provides the plants with excellent nutrition from the super vermicompost (Pienaar 2007)
52 In the home garden
The super vermicompost can also be applied as top dressing directly to pot plants and to the
garden on plants such as lavender roses hedges etc Use it sparingly but it will not burn plants
if you use too much (Pienaar 2007)
Mixing it with good topsoil compost vermiculite or perlite in equal amounts creates a good potting
soil (wwwwormdigestorg)
A s p o t t in g m ix o n e th ird v e r m ic o m p o s t c a n b e m ix e d w ith tw o -th ird s p o t t in g s o i l
(httpredworms-greenearthcom) As top dressing apply at a rate of two tablespoons every 30 days
after establishing new pot plants In already established pot plants use four tablespoons for the
first application of vermicompost and then follow up with two tablespoons every 30 days
thereafter (wwwwormwisecom)
53 In the vegetable garden
When transplanting seedlings such as cabbage green pepper tomatoes etc up to one cup of
vermicompost can be put in the hole where the seedling will be planted which is then covered with
a layer of ordinary soil and then planting the seedling on top (Pienaar 2007)
When sowing seeds in furrows make the furrow a little deeper and wider than normal sprinkle
some vermicompost onto the rows cover with about 3-5 cm of soil and then sow the seeds at its
normal depth (Pienaar 2007)
The initial application w ould probably not provide enough nutrition to see the vegetable
crop through and in that case apply vermicompost as a top dressing at the following rates
(httpwormwisecom)
bull In the case of cabbage green pepper tomatoes (etc) a topdressing at the rate of one cup per
plant should be worked into the soil in a diameter around the plant every 30 days
bull In the case of vegetables planted in furrows such as beetroot carrots onions etc apply at a
rate of one cup for every 30 cm of row alongside the row every 30 days
Vermiculture
Page 14 of 27
A liquid application (worm tea) will also give very good results when applying to the soil and to
the plant leaves once or twice a month (See 55)
54 For conventional farming purposes
Obviously for commercial farming purposes a small composting operation like the tyre stack or
compost bins would not be sufficient For soils really poor in organic content an application of 40
to 50 tons of fertiliser per hectare may be needed in the first year of converting to organic (non-
chemical fertiliser) farming methods For this volume of compost a conventional commercial
composting works would be required
You will need a large wood chipper automate compost turner big volumes of garden refuse clay
and animal manure Conventional compost and super vermicompost can be combined for use for
commercial farming operations
55 Making super vermicompost worm tea
Super vermicompost can also be applied in liquid form the so-called ldquoworm teardquo Various recipes
are available on the internet for making liquid fertiliser from super vermicompost The recipe can
be very simple for small operations to large commercial brewing operations
A simple recipe is as follows
bull Take a fairly large drum (44 gallons) and cut open the top
Otherwise use a dirt bin with a lid
bull Add a small tap to the bottom of the drum from where the tea
can be drained
bull Clean the drum properly and fill nearly to the top with clean
good quality water
bull Add about five kilograms of fresh super vermicompost You
can also first place it in a bag made of cheese cloth an old
nylon stocking or old pillowcaseDrum for making
compost tea
Vermiculture
Page 15 of 27
bull Use a small air pump which could typically be purchased from a pet shop and is
normally used to aerate indoor fish tanks
bull Put the outlet of the pump into the water and allow to bubble
air through the worm tea for about 24 hours
bull In this time the beneficial microbes (the good bugs) increase at
a very fast rate in the water
bull After this time the colour of the water would be a rich dark
brown like strong black tea
bull A small quantity of dishwashing liquid can be added to make
the liquid stick to the leaves better
bull Remember to filter the worm tea through a cheese cloth before putting into the sprayer
otherwise the nozzle will keep on blocking
This worm tea can be applied in liquid form around your plants (as fertiliser) or sprayed onto the
plants with a sprayer The inexpensive application of worm tea should be repeated every few
weeks or even more often if disease or insect pressure occurs You can never apply too much
The vermicompost tea contains micro-organisms that will inoculate the soil against harmful
organisms that would feed on plant roots (wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg)
To feed plants well you have to feed the soil they grow in One of the best ways to feed the soil
is to add vermicompost Vermicompost feed the micro-organisms in the soil improve soil structure
and fertility and provide plants with all the nutrients they need to grow and stay healthy
Air pump
ldquoM ix two tablespoons of vermicompost with a litre of w ater
and let it stand for a day shaking it occasionally then sprinkle
under the plants One-litre drinking water bottles make good
sprinklers drill a few small-diameter holes in the lid point and
squeezerdquo
wwwjourneytoforeverorg
Vermiculture
Page 16 of 27
The theory about fighting off the ldquobad bugsrdquo with worm tea is that
you assure that the ldquogood bugsrdquo are present in high numbers which
would help them to chase the ldquobad bugsrdquo away
The good bugs are the beneficial or friendly insects They help control
the insects that damage vegetable crops One must learn to recognise
them as your ldquofriendsrdquo in the garden
Good bugs from left Lacewing Praying mantis frog amp gecko
Furthermore a strong healthy well-fed plant will have improved resistance to fight off the ldquobad
bugsrdquo and diseases by itself (Nell Engelbrecht amp Du Plessis 2007)
56 Building up your soil to invite beneficial insects
To ensure good healthy soil ndash whether you have sandy or clay soil ndash boils down to one important
thing The gardener will have to continuously improve the soil If a gardener does not prepare the
soil properly it will lead to poor growth and he will not harvest good quality vegetables
Adding vermicompost deep into the soil will ensure that there is a balanced supply of air in the
soil Avoid unnecessary stepping on the vegetable beds and never work the soil when it is too wet
This will compact the soil and poor aeration will be the result
Good bugs Ladybird feeding
on aphids
ldquoA real gardener is not a man who cultivates
flowers he is a man who cultivates the soilrdquo
Karel Capek in ldquoThe Gardenerrsquos Yearrdquo
Vermiculture
Page 17 of 27
Maintaining a good soil structure can
bull increase water-holding capacity
bull promote root growth
bull maintain aeration and drainage
bull make cultivation easier
bull help to reduce the risk of erosion and
bull improve fertility
No farmer or gardener will be able to improve the soil com-
p le t e l y i n o n e g r o w in g s e a s o n H is g o a l m u s t b e t o
co n t in u o u s ly im p r o v e th e s o i l b y a d d in g co m p o st o r
vermicompost every time he prepares the bed for a new crop
(Nell Engelbrecht amp Du Plessis 2006)
In soils with high organic content there would naturally be a build-up of beneficial microbes (good
bugs) which will work hard at making nutrients ready to be used by plants And the population
of local earthworms will also increase over time This plays a very important role to produce
accessible food for plants and to aerate the soil
Therefore the farmer-who-cares-for-the-environment should do everything possible to build up
hisher soils and thereby to create and maintain conditions in the soil that would attract and protect
the little workers and their even smaller little friends the micro-organisms
DO work in leaves bark chipped garden refuse and compost into your soil and remember to put
a layer of organic matter (mulch) around the plants to cool down the soil and to maintain moisture
DO NOT turn over the soil often and thereby disturbing the fine balance Be mindful of applying
chemicals that will kill the good bugs and make sure that there is no compaction in the soil that
will prevent roots to penetrate deeply and water reserves to build up in the soil
Soils such as these can be built up with
vermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 18 of 27
6 Vermicomposting in Tyre Stacks
According to Mr Charl Pienaar the best most practical and least expensive type of housing for
earthworms is a tyre stack built from used bakkie or tractor tyres and using ldquopensmisrdquo as food
61 Housing earthworms in tyre stacks
Oslash You can use the used bakkie or tractor tyres as is but we found that cutting open one of the
sides with a strong knife or electric jig saw optimises the inside space and makes harvesting the
super vermicompost that much easier
Ugrave Put a plastic sheet on the ground in a suitable shady spot (under a tree on the south side of
your house against the wall or inside under a roof) and start building the tyre stack on top of
the plastic sheet The plastic sheet is for preventing tree roots from growing into your compost
from the bottom ndash remember all types of plants love super vermicompost
ldquoTo me it is one of Gods finest m iracles to observe how hum ble
earthworms are able to magically convert otherwise useless plant and
animal wastes into rich humus (black gold) for plants to produce
the food that enriches our livesrdquo
ndash Charl Pienaar
Tractor tyreCharl Pienaar cutting open the
side of a tyre
Vermiculture
Page 19 of 27
Uacute Water the inside of each of the tyres well
Ucirc Fill each tyre first with bedding (such as shredded paper) and then a
thick layer of manure
Uuml Water the contents well especially in the round section of the tyre
Yacute Place another layer of shredded paper on top of the layer of manure then place some of the
worms to one side on top of the food in the tyre
THORN Stack the next tyre and continue until you have five or six bakkie tyres stacked and filled with
worm food (no more than two for tractor tyres)
Watering inside of tyreLayer of shredded paper Layer of manure
Placing worms to one sideWater each tyre separately
Vermiculture
Page 20 of 27
szlig Place a sheet of plastic canvass or a layer of newspapers over
the top of the bedding This will hold moisture in and will
help reduce the chance that fruit flies come and lay their eggs
in the food
The tyre stack is now ready to provide a house and shelter for
your new little workers You can of course build as many of these
tyre stacks as you have space and energy for
If your tyre stack dries out the compost will become hard like a
rock their skins will dry out and your little workers will die
Water your tyre stack about once a week by pouring a few cups
of clean water in from the top If water runs out at the bottom
you are over-watering and you should apply less water
52 Feeding the earthworms in the tyre stack
Your little helpers will feed on a whole range of organic food sources but for agricultural purposes
we found pre-composted abattoir manure (ldquopensmisrdquo) and some types of pre-composted animal
manure (ldquokraalmisrdquo) the best
Other types of organic material such as conventional
compost made from leaves chopped scrap wood
animal manure and w ood pulp should also work
well
To test the suitability of different food sources put a
small quantity of moist food in a container (such as an
empty margarine holder) and put a small number of
earthworms on top If they refuse to burrow in after
a few minutes the food is not suitable
Pre-composting of fresh organic material should be
done by placing the organic matter in a drum or container with ventilation holes supplied and
turning the compost every few days by rolling the drum or container a few times
Building tyre stack
Abattoir manure (ldquoPensmisrdquo)
Vermiculture
Page 21 of 27
Or you could start a conventional compost heap and turn the
heap with a fork every few days The micro-organisms will start breaking the organic matter down
heat will build up and oxygen will be used in the process
Within about three weeks the pre-composted matter should be ready to be placed inside the tyre
stacks as described previously
If you have access to ldquooldrdquo organic matter (for instance manure that has been lying in a heap for
a few months) pre-composting should not be necessary
53 Harvesting the tyre stack
The following technique works well and although it is slower it is much easier and less stressful
for the little workers
Oslash Start building a new tyre stack next to the old one and put fresh worm food only in the round
bottom section of the tyre starting with shredded paper then manure (ldquopensmisrdquo)
Ugrave Fill the rest of the tyre with the harvested compost (plus worms) from the old tyre stack and
continue with the next tyre when the bottom one is full And so on until the stack is six tyres
high
Uacute The next step is to disturb the top few layers of vermicompost by stirring with your hands
which causes the worms to take flight downwards
Turning of compost
Conventional compost containers
Vermiculture
Page 22 of 27
Ucirc The clean compost can then be harvested from the top Continue with the harvesting until you
reach the fresh worm food And there you will find all the worms trapped in the round section
of the tyre ready to be scooped out with the fresh worm food
Uuml The little workers embedded in the fresh organic matter could then be scooped out and used
to populate a new tyre stack that was first filled with fresh worm food And so the cycle is
repeated over and over
7 Worming Towards LEISA and Organic Farming
Techniques
In this part we will explain how to utilise the super vermicompost that your little workers so
willingly and cost-effectively prepared for you We will also provide insights on how to build up
your soil so that the local little workers will be able to continue the good work that their brothers
and sisters in the tyre stacks did for you
LEISA is short for Low External Inputs Sustainable Agriculture simply meaning that instead of
looking for expensive external farming inputs (chemical fertilisers chem ical w eed killers
insecticides and pest control chemicals) the clever farmer or vegetable gardener should find items
and materials available locally and inexpensively to do the same or better job as the expensive
external inputs
For instance a flock of geese on the farm could do a great job to keep snails and other insects under
control while at the same time providing a renewable source of meat and eggs to feed the farmers
family As they are good for security too
Using a chicken tractor to work the soil for
y o u i s a l s o s o m e t h i n g t h a t c a n b e
in co rp o ra te d in a v e g e ta b le g a rd en A
chicken tractor is basically a bottomless cage
built from old material It allows the chickens
to scratch and eat off of the ground such
things as grass weeds bugs worms etc
You can drag the chicken tractor around the
garden The chicken manure goes directly
onto th e s o il w here it fe rtilises th e so il
C h ick en tractors are perfect for a sm a ll
number of chickens
A chicken tractor at the experimental site of the Motheo
College in Bloemfontein
Vermiculture
Page 23 of 27
In the same way super vermicompost produced on the farm or at home from waste material and
making use of the free labour provided by the little helpers could go a long way towards replacing
expensive chemical fertilisers Furthermore vermicompost is good for building up the soils
putting carbon sources and essential microbes (good bugs)
back into the place where they belong the place that
Nature prepared for the over the ages
LEISA is therefore about helping to create a positive
ldquobalance of paymentsrdquo for the farm ing enterprise or
vegetable garden ndash more money should flow in to the
project than would otherwise flow out One important
aspect of this positive balance is to purchase as little as
p o s s ib le e x p en s ive ex te rn a l in p u ts fo r fa rm in g o r
vegetable gardening operations
And super vermicompost produced on the farm fits right into the LEISA philosophy
Organic farming techniques go one step further namely to receive certification (proof) that no
harmful substances were used n the farming operations Good quality compost (also certified as
organic) is an essential input for formal organic farming techniques
However for produce to be certified organic could be very expensive especially for a small-scale
farmer Then your pack house cold chain and transport system also needs to be certified organic
adding more complications
ldquoWhat does organic mean
Organic farming is producing food the natural way Organic farmers aim
to produce good healthy tasty food from balanced healthy soil Organic
farm ers cannot grow GM (genetically modified) crops and cannot use
chem ical fertilizers or additives or spray artificial pesticides O rganic
farmers use crop rotation to improve the fertility of their soil Healthy soil
= healthy plant = healthy humanrdquo
Anonymous (Go Farming 2(2)7)
Vermiculture
Page 24 of 27
Therefore the advice for emerging farmers or vegetable growers is to learn their trade through
LEISA techniques and not to attempt to go all the way to being certified organic without having
the skills and experience to make a success of that The Internet is full of very useful tips on how
to farm better with low external inputs type LEISA and vermiculture in a search engine such as
Google and youll be amazed with the information that comes up
8 Some Vermicomposting Stories from All over
the World
Commercial vermicomposting is just beginning in the USA San Diego in California has employed
worms to convert part of its organic waste stream into useable products The castings are in high
demand In Oregon a research and demonstration project has become a thriving business A large
urban hospital in Ontario has been using worms to process some of its waste stream for several
years (Attra 2007)
We read of the ldquoworm womanrdquo Mary Appelhoff No one in this country has done more for the
self-image of worms than Mary Appelhof the undisputed and nationally recognized
Worm Woman (Green Living Magazine)
Worms eat my garbage Theyve been doing it for twenty-seven years I set up my basement worm
bin with shredded newspaper a bit of soil and a few thousand redworms I bury food waste in it
The worms eat it They also eat the bacteria and protozoa and fungi and other microorganisms
which decompose it They grind and mix and secrete and excrete and eventually the food waste
and bedding turns into worm castings which we use in our garden The whole process is truly on-
site recyclingrdquo
Mary Appelhoff published her first book Worms eat my garbage How to set up and maintain a worm
composting system in 1982 Her newest endeavour is t bring a new voice to the vermicomposting
field by publishing a childrens picture book about vermicomposting Compost by gosh Her website
for worm composting resources can be visited at httpwwwwormwomancom
Other countries have been researching and using commercial vermicompost systems for a decade
or more Cuba for instance started their vermicomposting programme in 1986 with two small
boxes of red worms By 1992 172 vermicompost centres were producing 93 000 tons of worm
humus annually (Gersper et al 1993)
Vermiculture
Page 25 of 27
Currently France Germany Italy Japan Hong Kong India Australia and many countries
in South America have research or commercial vermicomposting projects underway (Attra 2007)
One of the largest commercial producers of vermicompost is Vermitech (Pty) Ltd in Australia
This company is dedicated to the beneficial management of organic waste through the use of very
large scale Vermiculture Their website documents considerable research on the use of their
product on various crops (httpwwwvermitechcomhomehtm)
In the past ten years an organisation in India has prompted over 2 000 farmers and institutions to
switch from conventional chemical fertilisers to that of an organic fertiliser namely vermicompost
Vermiculture has been the prim ary focus at M aharashtra Agricultural Bioteks w hich w as
established in 1985 The organisation currently produces 5 000 tons of vermicompost annually In
1991 to 1992 this group promoted the adoption of vermicompost technology in 13 states in India
The organisation has also created a programme which trains housewives and home gardeners to
produce their ow n vermicompost from household garden waste (Dr Henamgee Jambhekar
wwwfadrmsuru)
The Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town added a feature to its list of facilities that is a South African
first A fully-functioning worm farm The hotel has decided to go green by instituting an organic
waste recycling programme where its kitchen waste are turned into worm droppings which
constitute some of the best fertiliser to keep the hotels lawns pot plants and vegetable gardens
flourishing They have thousands of worms housed in plastic crates behind one of the hotels
parking areas They estimate that the farm currently hosts about 33 000 worms (South Africa
Logue)
There are also plans to work on methods to combine conventional composting with super
vermicompost and to put up commercial composting plants at the two new markets for emerging
farmers at Philippi Market Cape Town and Ugu Agricultural Market in Port Shepstone The
conventional compost spiked with super vermicompost will be made available for emerging
farmers near these markets through the subsidised transport linking the markets with the emerging
supply base via a depot system (Charl Pienaar 2007)
Happy Worming
Vermiculture
Page 26 of 27
SOURCES
Anonymous [sa] Organic agriculture What does it all means Go Farming 2(2)6-8
A TTR A (A ppropria te T echnology T ransfer for Rural Areas) 2007 W orms for com posting
(Vermicomposting) National Center for Appropriate Technology
Earthworms as a natural resource httpwwwwormfarmcom
G e r s p e r e t a l 1 9 9 3 C u b a s c o m p o s t in g A g r ic u l t u r e a n d H u m a n V a lu e s X (3 ) 1 6 - 2 3
httpfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art1html
Ja m b h h e k a r H e m a n g e e V e r m ic u l t u r e in I n d i a I n t e rn a t ion a l A g -S iev e 7 (1 ) A r t 3
(httpwwwfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art3html)
Journey to Forever Organic Garden Vermicomposting
httpwwwjourneytoforeverorgcompost_wormhtml
Munro G [sa] Manual of on-farm vermicomposting and vermiculture Organic Agriculture Centre of
Canada
Nell W T Engelbrecht G M amp Du Plessis D M 2006 Growing vegetables A comprehensive guide
on how to establish maintain and manage a vegetable garden Centre for Agricultural Management
University of the Free State Bloemfontein
Organic farming and organic gardening using vermicompost httpwwwhappydranchcom92html
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 1 How to grow super vermicompost Go Farming 1(3)22-
23
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 2 How to use super vermicompost Go Farming 1(4)20-22
Pienaar Charl 2007 Vermiculture short course presented at MUCPP Mangaung Bloemfontein
Supertill cc Paarl
Recycling advocates Vermicomposting httpwwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Seasons India Vermicompost
httpwwwseasonsindiacomlifestylegrdnVermicompost_seahtm
Vermiculture
Page 27 of 27
SEED (Schools Environmental Education and Development) 2006 Improving the soil ndash worm
farms (worksheet 53) Growing the living laboratory Permaculture for environmental education in the
NCS Used with permission from Leigh Brown The complete document is available for download
on the SEED website (httpwwwseedorgza)
Setting up a worm bed httpwwwwormpoopcomWormBedWormBedhtm
Sherman Rhonda 2003 Raising earthworms successfully North Carolina Cooperative Extension
Service Publication no EBAE 103-83 North Carolina State University
South Africa Logue Mount Nelson Hotel creates ldquopermaculturerdquo of excellence with worm farm
httpwwwsouthafricaloguecom
Vermiculture Indoor composting
httpredworms-greenearthcomcgi-binshopplpage=indoorhtml
Vermiculture Canada Earthworm castings as plant growth media
httpwwwvermiculturecaarticlesearthworm_castingshtm
Vermiculture composting httpwwwwormpoopcomCompostingCompostinghtm
Vermicompost httpwwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost
Weisenhorn Julie Vermiculture Promote global warming Sustainable urban landscape information
series University of Minnesota httpwwwsustlandumnedu
What kind of earthworms do we recommend httpwwwvermicocomwormshtm
Wikipedia httpenwikipediaorg wikiVermicompost
Worm Digest Young persons guide to vermicomposting
httpwwwwormdigestorgcontentview152
Worm Farm Free worm farming newsletter ndash Vermiculture
httpwwwwormfarmingsecretscom
Worm Research Centre
httpwwwwormresearchcentrecoukvermicompostinghtml
Wormwise How to use WormWisereg Earthworm Castings
httpwormwisecomid=help
Vermiculture
Page 6 of 27
422 Worm bins
For indoor composting you can use plastic storage bins or make one
yourself from wood Plastic bins are light and easy to move They will
hold moisture You will however need to drill holes into them to allow
air for the worms and to drain into a collection tray Plastic bins require
more drainage than wooden ones because they are non-absorbent
The size of the bin depends on how much food waste your household
produces A general rule of thumb is that you will need a square of about
30 cm surface area for each 500 g of waste your household produces
(httpredworms-greenearthcom)
Worm bins can be grouped into three categories (wwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost)
Oslash Non-continuous (an undivided container) A layer of bedding material is placed in the bin
to line the bottom Worms are added on the bedding and a layer of organic matter above the
bedding Another layer is added on top of the organic matter This type of bin is often used and
small and easy to build but harvesting is more difficult
Ugrave Continuous vertical flow ( a series of trays stacked vertically) This type of tray is available
commercially The bottom tray is filled first but is not harvested when it is full Instead a thick
layer of bedding is added on top and the tray above is used for adding organic matter When
worms finish eating the bottom tray they will move to the one above The bottom tray can be
emptied when most of the worms have migrated to the top tray These bins are easier to
harvest
Uacute Continuous horizontal flow (a series of trays lined horizontally) This method also relies on
earthworms to migrate towards a food source This bin is longer than the non-continuous bins
but divided in half usually by a large gauge screen One half is used until it becomes full then
the other half is filled with bedding and organic matter The worms will migrate to the side
with the food and the castings can then be collected This is therefore easier to harvest
Examples of worm bins
Drainage holes in plastic
bin
wwwtimetorecyclecomwwwwormwomancom wwwallthingsorganiccom
Vermiculture
Page 7 of 27
423 Tyre stacks
From experiments by Mr Charl Pienaar over the past five years the best most practical and least
expensive type of housing for your little workers is a tyre stack built from used bakkie or tractor
tyres Your local tyre dealer in town will be too happy to give these to you for free ndash this also helps
to solve a big problem in terms of the disposal of these items (This will be discussed in more detail
in Section 6)
43 Maintaining your worm farm
Your compost worms will need five basic things to survive and be happy a hospitable living
environm ent a food source adequ ate m oisture adequ ate aeration and protection from
temperature extremes (Munroe sa5-11) If you manage your composting system well keeping
these five things in mind you will be successful in the end
Hester with a worm tyre stack
ldquoGrowing worms is part science part green thumb You
need the knowledge but you also need to do it to learn how
to do it wellrdquo
Munroe (sa13)
Vermiculture
Page 8 of 27
431 A hospitable living environment (ldquobeddingrdquo)
ldquoBedding is the living medium for the worms but also a food source It is material high in carbon
a n d m a d e t o m i m i c d r i e d l e a v e s o n t h e f o r e s t f l o o r t h e w o r m s n a t u r a l h a b i t a t rdquo
(wwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost) The selection of bedding material is a key to successful
vermicomposting Bedding should be moist like that of a wrung out sponge When you squeeze
it hard a drop or two of water should drop out
Good bedding mixtures are therefore an essential element in meeting the needs of the worms
Shredded newspaper or cardboard makes an excellent bedding This can be combined with straw
or hay composted sheep cattle horse or abattoir manure (ldquopensmisrdquo) Poultry manure is not
recommended as it is too high in nitrogen and minerals
In hot climates the bins should be placed in the shade or away from direct midday sun Worms are
likely to die if conventional hot composting takes place Only thin layers of uncomposted material
should be added and temperature need to be monitored continuously If the bedding dries out mist
it with water from a spray bottle (wwwredworms-greenearthcom)
432 A food source
Compost worms are big eaters They are able to consume in excess of their body weight each day
although the general rule-of-thumb is that they will eat half of their body weight per day (Munroe
sa7) Their food consists primarily of decomposing organic matter where carbon sources (such
as dried leaves shredded paper cardboard etc) are mixed with nitrogen sources (such as food
scraps grass clippings manure etc) (wwwvermicocom)
Wait at least a day or two after placing the worms on the bedding before
adding the first food A good practice is to first test the suitability of food
for earthworms especially when manure or compost will be used Place
the m ateria l in a sm all conta iner add enough w ater to m oisten it
thoroughly and place a few worms on top Observe their behaviour over
the next few hours If the worms crawl out or die then you will know
that the material is not suitable and should not be fed to the w orm s
(Pienaar 2007)
Add more food when you see the worms beginning to work and when
they have eaten the first layer of food you can add another layer about 25 cm thick If you add too
much food you risk creating anaerobic conditions After you have added a layer of food always
add another layer of bedding material at about 25 cm thick (wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg)
There are two methods of adding food to the bin (wwwanswerscom topicvermicompost)
Testing suitability of food
Vermiculture
Page 9 of 27
Oslash Top feeding Organic matter is placed directly on top of the existing layer of bedding in a bin
and then covered with another layer of bedding This is repeated every time the bin is fed
Ugrave Pocket feeding A top layer of bedding is maintained and food is buried beneath The location
of the food is changed each time and often the bed is fed in more than one location As bedding
runs low more is added Add fruit and vegetable scraps each week Chop up food before
adding and try to feed the worms a mixture of materials Add less food in the first week and
gradually increase the amount over six months It is best to feed your worms weekly If
uneaten food remains then you know you have overfed the worms After feeding the worms
each week cover the food scraps with some compost or soil to avoid attracting fruit flies (Seed
200638)
If you regularly check the areas where you added the food you can soon see what foods your
worms like or dislike
Worms will eat almost any type of vegetable and fruit scraps partly decomposed compost
shredded newspaper small amounts of grass clippings leaves and even damp cardboard pieces
Add crushed eggshells as the worms need the calcium in the shells
The worms further love potato peelings carrots and carrot tops lettuce cabbage celery apple
peelings banana peels orange rinds grapefruit and
watermelon rinds They also like cornmeal oatmeal
coffee grounds with the filter and tea bags
Keep a plastic tub in your refrigerator to hold food
scraps so they will still be nice and fresh when you
feed the w orms Do not let them rot and become
smelly
Do not add onions or garlic or too much acidic food
like citrus pineapples and tomato strong spices and
acid (sour) food such as large amounts of vinegar and
sa lt A v o id m a te r ia ls co n ta m in a ted w ith to x ic
chemicals for example sawdust from treated wood
Do not feed them meat scraps bones oily food and dairy products such as cheese and butter as
these will attract ldquobadrdquo bugs and cause odours Never feed them cat or dog poop
The compost worms are low-maintenance and you can skip two or three weeks without feeding
t h e m b u t a n y l o n g e r t h a n t h a t a n d y o u w i l l h a v e a b i g b o x o f d e a d w o r m s
(wwwseasonsindiacom)
Vegetable and fruit scraps
Vermiculture
Page 10 of 27
433 Adequate moisture
Earthworms breathe through their skins (they do not have lungs) and for that they require
m ois tu re (w ater) A dd w ater every few days or w hen
necessary to prevent the worm farm from drying out You
may need to add more water during hot windy weather It
is important to keep the worm farm moist as the worms may
die if it dries out However the worm farm should not be
soggy either Remember there is also moisture in the food
scraps (Seed 200638)
You should also cover the top of the tyre stack with a suitable material to prevent evaporation of
moisture and to keep unwanted visitors out
434 Adequate aeration
Worms are oxygen-breathers and operate best when ventilation is good and the bedding is relative
porous and well aerated They cannot survive anaerobic conditions which occur when there is an
absence of oxygen Your worm farm will then start having a bad odour If that is the case then you
have added too much food and the worms are finding it difficult to aerate the compost by their
regular movement through it
To rectify the problem you will need to stir the bedding to aerate it add dry shredded newspaper
cover the container and add no more food until the smell has gone To prevent acid conditions you
can sprinkle crushed egg shells into the worm food when building the tyre stack
435 Protection from temperature extremes
Large quantities of fresh uncomposted organic matter will naturally start composting excessive
heat will build up which may kill your little workers
Earthworms like to work in the dark (is that why they multiply so quickly) and very hot or cold
temperatures should be avoided
Remember
The bedding material should feel
like a wrung-out sponge
ldquo M oistu re con ten t o f less th an 5 0 is d an g erou s W ith th e
exception of extreme heat or cold nothing will kill worms faster
than a lack of adequate moisturerdquo
Munroe (sa10)
Vermiculture
Page 11 of 27
436 When the worm bin smells
A healthy worm bin should smell like garden soil A foul odour indicates that something is wrong
The following checklist should help you to prevent or solve odour problems (httpredworms-
greenearthcom)
bull Put plenty of air hols in the bin to ensure that the worms have adequate air to breathe
bull Feed only a vegetarian diet
bull Bury food wastes completely under the bedding
bull Insure adequate drainage for the bin
bull Do not overfeed
44 Harvesting vermicompost
Depending on the original quantity and quality of w orm food the living conditions and the
number of earthworms you started off with the little workers should be finished with their job
three to six months after you started them off in a tyre stack Your little workers would have turned
the organic matter into rich and dark super vermicompost (the so-called ldquoBlack Goldrdquo) ndash filled with
beneficial micro-organisms and concentrated plant foods
Now we need to become a little more technical since it is not so easy to separate the earthworms
from the rich ldquoblack goldrdquo vermicompost that they produced We do not want to hurt or damage
the little ones since who will do the work then Also check for cocoons of young worms They look
like yellowish jelly beans
Hester busy harvesting vermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 12 of 27
441 Using a sieve
Some farmers use a circular sieve to do the trick They load the harvested vermicompost on a
trailer and use gravity to make the compost (and worms) roll down into a circular sieve which is
then being turned by hand The fine compost will fall through the sieve to be collected while the
larger worms and rough clumps of compost would roll through to be collected at the bottom For
this procedure the moisture content of the compost should be just right not too wet and not too
dry
This technique however is a bit too complicated although for large volumes of compost it may
be the best way
442 The ldquodivide and sortrdquo method
This method is used when worms are kept in plastic bins Move all the old bedding to one side of
the bin Add fresh bedding like newspaper to the
other side and bury the new food scraps only to
the new bedding
Within a week or two most of the worms will have
moved (migrated) from the old bedding into the
new bedding Now you can harvest the worm
castings
443 The ldquolighted pilerdquo method
Lay a large strong plastic sheet on the floor Dump the contents of the worm farm onto the plastic
sheet and divide it in piles Shine a light on the top of each pile Since worms are sensitive to light
they will go down into the pile to avoid the light You will need to remove a little bit of the castings
at a time until all you have left is just a pile of worms
5 Uses for Vermicompost
Vermicompost is the highest grade of organic fertiliser available It can be used as growth medium
in the home garden vegetable garden as compost tea and to improve the quality of the soil
A great trick for doing this is to p lace
w a te rm e lon r in d in th e b in w ith th e
new bedding Worms love watermelon
rind they cant get enough of it and will
greedily rush towards it
wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Vermiculture
Page 13 of 27
51 As growth medium
A good idea is to mix super vermicompost half-half with river sand This mixture can then be used
as growth medium for seedlings This mixture gives very good results because it drains very well
yet provides the plants with excellent nutrition from the super vermicompost (Pienaar 2007)
52 In the home garden
The super vermicompost can also be applied as top dressing directly to pot plants and to the
garden on plants such as lavender roses hedges etc Use it sparingly but it will not burn plants
if you use too much (Pienaar 2007)
Mixing it with good topsoil compost vermiculite or perlite in equal amounts creates a good potting
soil (wwwwormdigestorg)
A s p o t t in g m ix o n e th ird v e r m ic o m p o s t c a n b e m ix e d w ith tw o -th ird s p o t t in g s o i l
(httpredworms-greenearthcom) As top dressing apply at a rate of two tablespoons every 30 days
after establishing new pot plants In already established pot plants use four tablespoons for the
first application of vermicompost and then follow up with two tablespoons every 30 days
thereafter (wwwwormwisecom)
53 In the vegetable garden
When transplanting seedlings such as cabbage green pepper tomatoes etc up to one cup of
vermicompost can be put in the hole where the seedling will be planted which is then covered with
a layer of ordinary soil and then planting the seedling on top (Pienaar 2007)
When sowing seeds in furrows make the furrow a little deeper and wider than normal sprinkle
some vermicompost onto the rows cover with about 3-5 cm of soil and then sow the seeds at its
normal depth (Pienaar 2007)
The initial application w ould probably not provide enough nutrition to see the vegetable
crop through and in that case apply vermicompost as a top dressing at the following rates
(httpwormwisecom)
bull In the case of cabbage green pepper tomatoes (etc) a topdressing at the rate of one cup per
plant should be worked into the soil in a diameter around the plant every 30 days
bull In the case of vegetables planted in furrows such as beetroot carrots onions etc apply at a
rate of one cup for every 30 cm of row alongside the row every 30 days
Vermiculture
Page 14 of 27
A liquid application (worm tea) will also give very good results when applying to the soil and to
the plant leaves once or twice a month (See 55)
54 For conventional farming purposes
Obviously for commercial farming purposes a small composting operation like the tyre stack or
compost bins would not be sufficient For soils really poor in organic content an application of 40
to 50 tons of fertiliser per hectare may be needed in the first year of converting to organic (non-
chemical fertiliser) farming methods For this volume of compost a conventional commercial
composting works would be required
You will need a large wood chipper automate compost turner big volumes of garden refuse clay
and animal manure Conventional compost and super vermicompost can be combined for use for
commercial farming operations
55 Making super vermicompost worm tea
Super vermicompost can also be applied in liquid form the so-called ldquoworm teardquo Various recipes
are available on the internet for making liquid fertiliser from super vermicompost The recipe can
be very simple for small operations to large commercial brewing operations
A simple recipe is as follows
bull Take a fairly large drum (44 gallons) and cut open the top
Otherwise use a dirt bin with a lid
bull Add a small tap to the bottom of the drum from where the tea
can be drained
bull Clean the drum properly and fill nearly to the top with clean
good quality water
bull Add about five kilograms of fresh super vermicompost You
can also first place it in a bag made of cheese cloth an old
nylon stocking or old pillowcaseDrum for making
compost tea
Vermiculture
Page 15 of 27
bull Use a small air pump which could typically be purchased from a pet shop and is
normally used to aerate indoor fish tanks
bull Put the outlet of the pump into the water and allow to bubble
air through the worm tea for about 24 hours
bull In this time the beneficial microbes (the good bugs) increase at
a very fast rate in the water
bull After this time the colour of the water would be a rich dark
brown like strong black tea
bull A small quantity of dishwashing liquid can be added to make
the liquid stick to the leaves better
bull Remember to filter the worm tea through a cheese cloth before putting into the sprayer
otherwise the nozzle will keep on blocking
This worm tea can be applied in liquid form around your plants (as fertiliser) or sprayed onto the
plants with a sprayer The inexpensive application of worm tea should be repeated every few
weeks or even more often if disease or insect pressure occurs You can never apply too much
The vermicompost tea contains micro-organisms that will inoculate the soil against harmful
organisms that would feed on plant roots (wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg)
To feed plants well you have to feed the soil they grow in One of the best ways to feed the soil
is to add vermicompost Vermicompost feed the micro-organisms in the soil improve soil structure
and fertility and provide plants with all the nutrients they need to grow and stay healthy
Air pump
ldquoM ix two tablespoons of vermicompost with a litre of w ater
and let it stand for a day shaking it occasionally then sprinkle
under the plants One-litre drinking water bottles make good
sprinklers drill a few small-diameter holes in the lid point and
squeezerdquo
wwwjourneytoforeverorg
Vermiculture
Page 16 of 27
The theory about fighting off the ldquobad bugsrdquo with worm tea is that
you assure that the ldquogood bugsrdquo are present in high numbers which
would help them to chase the ldquobad bugsrdquo away
The good bugs are the beneficial or friendly insects They help control
the insects that damage vegetable crops One must learn to recognise
them as your ldquofriendsrdquo in the garden
Good bugs from left Lacewing Praying mantis frog amp gecko
Furthermore a strong healthy well-fed plant will have improved resistance to fight off the ldquobad
bugsrdquo and diseases by itself (Nell Engelbrecht amp Du Plessis 2007)
56 Building up your soil to invite beneficial insects
To ensure good healthy soil ndash whether you have sandy or clay soil ndash boils down to one important
thing The gardener will have to continuously improve the soil If a gardener does not prepare the
soil properly it will lead to poor growth and he will not harvest good quality vegetables
Adding vermicompost deep into the soil will ensure that there is a balanced supply of air in the
soil Avoid unnecessary stepping on the vegetable beds and never work the soil when it is too wet
This will compact the soil and poor aeration will be the result
Good bugs Ladybird feeding
on aphids
ldquoA real gardener is not a man who cultivates
flowers he is a man who cultivates the soilrdquo
Karel Capek in ldquoThe Gardenerrsquos Yearrdquo
Vermiculture
Page 17 of 27
Maintaining a good soil structure can
bull increase water-holding capacity
bull promote root growth
bull maintain aeration and drainage
bull make cultivation easier
bull help to reduce the risk of erosion and
bull improve fertility
No farmer or gardener will be able to improve the soil com-
p le t e l y i n o n e g r o w in g s e a s o n H is g o a l m u s t b e t o
co n t in u o u s ly im p r o v e th e s o i l b y a d d in g co m p o st o r
vermicompost every time he prepares the bed for a new crop
(Nell Engelbrecht amp Du Plessis 2006)
In soils with high organic content there would naturally be a build-up of beneficial microbes (good
bugs) which will work hard at making nutrients ready to be used by plants And the population
of local earthworms will also increase over time This plays a very important role to produce
accessible food for plants and to aerate the soil
Therefore the farmer-who-cares-for-the-environment should do everything possible to build up
hisher soils and thereby to create and maintain conditions in the soil that would attract and protect
the little workers and their even smaller little friends the micro-organisms
DO work in leaves bark chipped garden refuse and compost into your soil and remember to put
a layer of organic matter (mulch) around the plants to cool down the soil and to maintain moisture
DO NOT turn over the soil often and thereby disturbing the fine balance Be mindful of applying
chemicals that will kill the good bugs and make sure that there is no compaction in the soil that
will prevent roots to penetrate deeply and water reserves to build up in the soil
Soils such as these can be built up with
vermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 18 of 27
6 Vermicomposting in Tyre Stacks
According to Mr Charl Pienaar the best most practical and least expensive type of housing for
earthworms is a tyre stack built from used bakkie or tractor tyres and using ldquopensmisrdquo as food
61 Housing earthworms in tyre stacks
Oslash You can use the used bakkie or tractor tyres as is but we found that cutting open one of the
sides with a strong knife or electric jig saw optimises the inside space and makes harvesting the
super vermicompost that much easier
Ugrave Put a plastic sheet on the ground in a suitable shady spot (under a tree on the south side of
your house against the wall or inside under a roof) and start building the tyre stack on top of
the plastic sheet The plastic sheet is for preventing tree roots from growing into your compost
from the bottom ndash remember all types of plants love super vermicompost
ldquoTo me it is one of Gods finest m iracles to observe how hum ble
earthworms are able to magically convert otherwise useless plant and
animal wastes into rich humus (black gold) for plants to produce
the food that enriches our livesrdquo
ndash Charl Pienaar
Tractor tyreCharl Pienaar cutting open the
side of a tyre
Vermiculture
Page 19 of 27
Uacute Water the inside of each of the tyres well
Ucirc Fill each tyre first with bedding (such as shredded paper) and then a
thick layer of manure
Uuml Water the contents well especially in the round section of the tyre
Yacute Place another layer of shredded paper on top of the layer of manure then place some of the
worms to one side on top of the food in the tyre
THORN Stack the next tyre and continue until you have five or six bakkie tyres stacked and filled with
worm food (no more than two for tractor tyres)
Watering inside of tyreLayer of shredded paper Layer of manure
Placing worms to one sideWater each tyre separately
Vermiculture
Page 20 of 27
szlig Place a sheet of plastic canvass or a layer of newspapers over
the top of the bedding This will hold moisture in and will
help reduce the chance that fruit flies come and lay their eggs
in the food
The tyre stack is now ready to provide a house and shelter for
your new little workers You can of course build as many of these
tyre stacks as you have space and energy for
If your tyre stack dries out the compost will become hard like a
rock their skins will dry out and your little workers will die
Water your tyre stack about once a week by pouring a few cups
of clean water in from the top If water runs out at the bottom
you are over-watering and you should apply less water
52 Feeding the earthworms in the tyre stack
Your little helpers will feed on a whole range of organic food sources but for agricultural purposes
we found pre-composted abattoir manure (ldquopensmisrdquo) and some types of pre-composted animal
manure (ldquokraalmisrdquo) the best
Other types of organic material such as conventional
compost made from leaves chopped scrap wood
animal manure and w ood pulp should also work
well
To test the suitability of different food sources put a
small quantity of moist food in a container (such as an
empty margarine holder) and put a small number of
earthworms on top If they refuse to burrow in after
a few minutes the food is not suitable
Pre-composting of fresh organic material should be
done by placing the organic matter in a drum or container with ventilation holes supplied and
turning the compost every few days by rolling the drum or container a few times
Building tyre stack
Abattoir manure (ldquoPensmisrdquo)
Vermiculture
Page 21 of 27
Or you could start a conventional compost heap and turn the
heap with a fork every few days The micro-organisms will start breaking the organic matter down
heat will build up and oxygen will be used in the process
Within about three weeks the pre-composted matter should be ready to be placed inside the tyre
stacks as described previously
If you have access to ldquooldrdquo organic matter (for instance manure that has been lying in a heap for
a few months) pre-composting should not be necessary
53 Harvesting the tyre stack
The following technique works well and although it is slower it is much easier and less stressful
for the little workers
Oslash Start building a new tyre stack next to the old one and put fresh worm food only in the round
bottom section of the tyre starting with shredded paper then manure (ldquopensmisrdquo)
Ugrave Fill the rest of the tyre with the harvested compost (plus worms) from the old tyre stack and
continue with the next tyre when the bottom one is full And so on until the stack is six tyres
high
Uacute The next step is to disturb the top few layers of vermicompost by stirring with your hands
which causes the worms to take flight downwards
Turning of compost
Conventional compost containers
Vermiculture
Page 22 of 27
Ucirc The clean compost can then be harvested from the top Continue with the harvesting until you
reach the fresh worm food And there you will find all the worms trapped in the round section
of the tyre ready to be scooped out with the fresh worm food
Uuml The little workers embedded in the fresh organic matter could then be scooped out and used
to populate a new tyre stack that was first filled with fresh worm food And so the cycle is
repeated over and over
7 Worming Towards LEISA and Organic Farming
Techniques
In this part we will explain how to utilise the super vermicompost that your little workers so
willingly and cost-effectively prepared for you We will also provide insights on how to build up
your soil so that the local little workers will be able to continue the good work that their brothers
and sisters in the tyre stacks did for you
LEISA is short for Low External Inputs Sustainable Agriculture simply meaning that instead of
looking for expensive external farming inputs (chemical fertilisers chem ical w eed killers
insecticides and pest control chemicals) the clever farmer or vegetable gardener should find items
and materials available locally and inexpensively to do the same or better job as the expensive
external inputs
For instance a flock of geese on the farm could do a great job to keep snails and other insects under
control while at the same time providing a renewable source of meat and eggs to feed the farmers
family As they are good for security too
Using a chicken tractor to work the soil for
y o u i s a l s o s o m e t h i n g t h a t c a n b e
in co rp o ra te d in a v e g e ta b le g a rd en A
chicken tractor is basically a bottomless cage
built from old material It allows the chickens
to scratch and eat off of the ground such
things as grass weeds bugs worms etc
You can drag the chicken tractor around the
garden The chicken manure goes directly
onto th e s o il w here it fe rtilises th e so il
C h ick en tractors are perfect for a sm a ll
number of chickens
A chicken tractor at the experimental site of the Motheo
College in Bloemfontein
Vermiculture
Page 23 of 27
In the same way super vermicompost produced on the farm or at home from waste material and
making use of the free labour provided by the little helpers could go a long way towards replacing
expensive chemical fertilisers Furthermore vermicompost is good for building up the soils
putting carbon sources and essential microbes (good bugs)
back into the place where they belong the place that
Nature prepared for the over the ages
LEISA is therefore about helping to create a positive
ldquobalance of paymentsrdquo for the farm ing enterprise or
vegetable garden ndash more money should flow in to the
project than would otherwise flow out One important
aspect of this positive balance is to purchase as little as
p o s s ib le e x p en s ive ex te rn a l in p u ts fo r fa rm in g o r
vegetable gardening operations
And super vermicompost produced on the farm fits right into the LEISA philosophy
Organic farming techniques go one step further namely to receive certification (proof) that no
harmful substances were used n the farming operations Good quality compost (also certified as
organic) is an essential input for formal organic farming techniques
However for produce to be certified organic could be very expensive especially for a small-scale
farmer Then your pack house cold chain and transport system also needs to be certified organic
adding more complications
ldquoWhat does organic mean
Organic farming is producing food the natural way Organic farmers aim
to produce good healthy tasty food from balanced healthy soil Organic
farm ers cannot grow GM (genetically modified) crops and cannot use
chem ical fertilizers or additives or spray artificial pesticides O rganic
farmers use crop rotation to improve the fertility of their soil Healthy soil
= healthy plant = healthy humanrdquo
Anonymous (Go Farming 2(2)7)
Vermiculture
Page 24 of 27
Therefore the advice for emerging farmers or vegetable growers is to learn their trade through
LEISA techniques and not to attempt to go all the way to being certified organic without having
the skills and experience to make a success of that The Internet is full of very useful tips on how
to farm better with low external inputs type LEISA and vermiculture in a search engine such as
Google and youll be amazed with the information that comes up
8 Some Vermicomposting Stories from All over
the World
Commercial vermicomposting is just beginning in the USA San Diego in California has employed
worms to convert part of its organic waste stream into useable products The castings are in high
demand In Oregon a research and demonstration project has become a thriving business A large
urban hospital in Ontario has been using worms to process some of its waste stream for several
years (Attra 2007)
We read of the ldquoworm womanrdquo Mary Appelhoff No one in this country has done more for the
self-image of worms than Mary Appelhof the undisputed and nationally recognized
Worm Woman (Green Living Magazine)
Worms eat my garbage Theyve been doing it for twenty-seven years I set up my basement worm
bin with shredded newspaper a bit of soil and a few thousand redworms I bury food waste in it
The worms eat it They also eat the bacteria and protozoa and fungi and other microorganisms
which decompose it They grind and mix and secrete and excrete and eventually the food waste
and bedding turns into worm castings which we use in our garden The whole process is truly on-
site recyclingrdquo
Mary Appelhoff published her first book Worms eat my garbage How to set up and maintain a worm
composting system in 1982 Her newest endeavour is t bring a new voice to the vermicomposting
field by publishing a childrens picture book about vermicomposting Compost by gosh Her website
for worm composting resources can be visited at httpwwwwormwomancom
Other countries have been researching and using commercial vermicompost systems for a decade
or more Cuba for instance started their vermicomposting programme in 1986 with two small
boxes of red worms By 1992 172 vermicompost centres were producing 93 000 tons of worm
humus annually (Gersper et al 1993)
Vermiculture
Page 25 of 27
Currently France Germany Italy Japan Hong Kong India Australia and many countries
in South America have research or commercial vermicomposting projects underway (Attra 2007)
One of the largest commercial producers of vermicompost is Vermitech (Pty) Ltd in Australia
This company is dedicated to the beneficial management of organic waste through the use of very
large scale Vermiculture Their website documents considerable research on the use of their
product on various crops (httpwwwvermitechcomhomehtm)
In the past ten years an organisation in India has prompted over 2 000 farmers and institutions to
switch from conventional chemical fertilisers to that of an organic fertiliser namely vermicompost
Vermiculture has been the prim ary focus at M aharashtra Agricultural Bioteks w hich w as
established in 1985 The organisation currently produces 5 000 tons of vermicompost annually In
1991 to 1992 this group promoted the adoption of vermicompost technology in 13 states in India
The organisation has also created a programme which trains housewives and home gardeners to
produce their ow n vermicompost from household garden waste (Dr Henamgee Jambhekar
wwwfadrmsuru)
The Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town added a feature to its list of facilities that is a South African
first A fully-functioning worm farm The hotel has decided to go green by instituting an organic
waste recycling programme where its kitchen waste are turned into worm droppings which
constitute some of the best fertiliser to keep the hotels lawns pot plants and vegetable gardens
flourishing They have thousands of worms housed in plastic crates behind one of the hotels
parking areas They estimate that the farm currently hosts about 33 000 worms (South Africa
Logue)
There are also plans to work on methods to combine conventional composting with super
vermicompost and to put up commercial composting plants at the two new markets for emerging
farmers at Philippi Market Cape Town and Ugu Agricultural Market in Port Shepstone The
conventional compost spiked with super vermicompost will be made available for emerging
farmers near these markets through the subsidised transport linking the markets with the emerging
supply base via a depot system (Charl Pienaar 2007)
Happy Worming
Vermiculture
Page 26 of 27
SOURCES
Anonymous [sa] Organic agriculture What does it all means Go Farming 2(2)6-8
A TTR A (A ppropria te T echnology T ransfer for Rural Areas) 2007 W orms for com posting
(Vermicomposting) National Center for Appropriate Technology
Earthworms as a natural resource httpwwwwormfarmcom
G e r s p e r e t a l 1 9 9 3 C u b a s c o m p o s t in g A g r ic u l t u r e a n d H u m a n V a lu e s X (3 ) 1 6 - 2 3
httpfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art1html
Ja m b h h e k a r H e m a n g e e V e r m ic u l t u r e in I n d i a I n t e rn a t ion a l A g -S iev e 7 (1 ) A r t 3
(httpwwwfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art3html)
Journey to Forever Organic Garden Vermicomposting
httpwwwjourneytoforeverorgcompost_wormhtml
Munro G [sa] Manual of on-farm vermicomposting and vermiculture Organic Agriculture Centre of
Canada
Nell W T Engelbrecht G M amp Du Plessis D M 2006 Growing vegetables A comprehensive guide
on how to establish maintain and manage a vegetable garden Centre for Agricultural Management
University of the Free State Bloemfontein
Organic farming and organic gardening using vermicompost httpwwwhappydranchcom92html
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 1 How to grow super vermicompost Go Farming 1(3)22-
23
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 2 How to use super vermicompost Go Farming 1(4)20-22
Pienaar Charl 2007 Vermiculture short course presented at MUCPP Mangaung Bloemfontein
Supertill cc Paarl
Recycling advocates Vermicomposting httpwwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Seasons India Vermicompost
httpwwwseasonsindiacomlifestylegrdnVermicompost_seahtm
Vermiculture
Page 27 of 27
SEED (Schools Environmental Education and Development) 2006 Improving the soil ndash worm
farms (worksheet 53) Growing the living laboratory Permaculture for environmental education in the
NCS Used with permission from Leigh Brown The complete document is available for download
on the SEED website (httpwwwseedorgza)
Setting up a worm bed httpwwwwormpoopcomWormBedWormBedhtm
Sherman Rhonda 2003 Raising earthworms successfully North Carolina Cooperative Extension
Service Publication no EBAE 103-83 North Carolina State University
South Africa Logue Mount Nelson Hotel creates ldquopermaculturerdquo of excellence with worm farm
httpwwwsouthafricaloguecom
Vermiculture Indoor composting
httpredworms-greenearthcomcgi-binshopplpage=indoorhtml
Vermiculture Canada Earthworm castings as plant growth media
httpwwwvermiculturecaarticlesearthworm_castingshtm
Vermiculture composting httpwwwwormpoopcomCompostingCompostinghtm
Vermicompost httpwwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost
Weisenhorn Julie Vermiculture Promote global warming Sustainable urban landscape information
series University of Minnesota httpwwwsustlandumnedu
What kind of earthworms do we recommend httpwwwvermicocomwormshtm
Wikipedia httpenwikipediaorg wikiVermicompost
Worm Digest Young persons guide to vermicomposting
httpwwwwormdigestorgcontentview152
Worm Farm Free worm farming newsletter ndash Vermiculture
httpwwwwormfarmingsecretscom
Worm Research Centre
httpwwwwormresearchcentrecoukvermicompostinghtml
Wormwise How to use WormWisereg Earthworm Castings
httpwormwisecomid=help
Vermiculture
Page 7 of 27
423 Tyre stacks
From experiments by Mr Charl Pienaar over the past five years the best most practical and least
expensive type of housing for your little workers is a tyre stack built from used bakkie or tractor
tyres Your local tyre dealer in town will be too happy to give these to you for free ndash this also helps
to solve a big problem in terms of the disposal of these items (This will be discussed in more detail
in Section 6)
43 Maintaining your worm farm
Your compost worms will need five basic things to survive and be happy a hospitable living
environm ent a food source adequ ate m oisture adequ ate aeration and protection from
temperature extremes (Munroe sa5-11) If you manage your composting system well keeping
these five things in mind you will be successful in the end
Hester with a worm tyre stack
ldquoGrowing worms is part science part green thumb You
need the knowledge but you also need to do it to learn how
to do it wellrdquo
Munroe (sa13)
Vermiculture
Page 8 of 27
431 A hospitable living environment (ldquobeddingrdquo)
ldquoBedding is the living medium for the worms but also a food source It is material high in carbon
a n d m a d e t o m i m i c d r i e d l e a v e s o n t h e f o r e s t f l o o r t h e w o r m s n a t u r a l h a b i t a t rdquo
(wwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost) The selection of bedding material is a key to successful
vermicomposting Bedding should be moist like that of a wrung out sponge When you squeeze
it hard a drop or two of water should drop out
Good bedding mixtures are therefore an essential element in meeting the needs of the worms
Shredded newspaper or cardboard makes an excellent bedding This can be combined with straw
or hay composted sheep cattle horse or abattoir manure (ldquopensmisrdquo) Poultry manure is not
recommended as it is too high in nitrogen and minerals
In hot climates the bins should be placed in the shade or away from direct midday sun Worms are
likely to die if conventional hot composting takes place Only thin layers of uncomposted material
should be added and temperature need to be monitored continuously If the bedding dries out mist
it with water from a spray bottle (wwwredworms-greenearthcom)
432 A food source
Compost worms are big eaters They are able to consume in excess of their body weight each day
although the general rule-of-thumb is that they will eat half of their body weight per day (Munroe
sa7) Their food consists primarily of decomposing organic matter where carbon sources (such
as dried leaves shredded paper cardboard etc) are mixed with nitrogen sources (such as food
scraps grass clippings manure etc) (wwwvermicocom)
Wait at least a day or two after placing the worms on the bedding before
adding the first food A good practice is to first test the suitability of food
for earthworms especially when manure or compost will be used Place
the m ateria l in a sm all conta iner add enough w ater to m oisten it
thoroughly and place a few worms on top Observe their behaviour over
the next few hours If the worms crawl out or die then you will know
that the material is not suitable and should not be fed to the w orm s
(Pienaar 2007)
Add more food when you see the worms beginning to work and when
they have eaten the first layer of food you can add another layer about 25 cm thick If you add too
much food you risk creating anaerobic conditions After you have added a layer of food always
add another layer of bedding material at about 25 cm thick (wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg)
There are two methods of adding food to the bin (wwwanswerscom topicvermicompost)
Testing suitability of food
Vermiculture
Page 9 of 27
Oslash Top feeding Organic matter is placed directly on top of the existing layer of bedding in a bin
and then covered with another layer of bedding This is repeated every time the bin is fed
Ugrave Pocket feeding A top layer of bedding is maintained and food is buried beneath The location
of the food is changed each time and often the bed is fed in more than one location As bedding
runs low more is added Add fruit and vegetable scraps each week Chop up food before
adding and try to feed the worms a mixture of materials Add less food in the first week and
gradually increase the amount over six months It is best to feed your worms weekly If
uneaten food remains then you know you have overfed the worms After feeding the worms
each week cover the food scraps with some compost or soil to avoid attracting fruit flies (Seed
200638)
If you regularly check the areas where you added the food you can soon see what foods your
worms like or dislike
Worms will eat almost any type of vegetable and fruit scraps partly decomposed compost
shredded newspaper small amounts of grass clippings leaves and even damp cardboard pieces
Add crushed eggshells as the worms need the calcium in the shells
The worms further love potato peelings carrots and carrot tops lettuce cabbage celery apple
peelings banana peels orange rinds grapefruit and
watermelon rinds They also like cornmeal oatmeal
coffee grounds with the filter and tea bags
Keep a plastic tub in your refrigerator to hold food
scraps so they will still be nice and fresh when you
feed the w orms Do not let them rot and become
smelly
Do not add onions or garlic or too much acidic food
like citrus pineapples and tomato strong spices and
acid (sour) food such as large amounts of vinegar and
sa lt A v o id m a te r ia ls co n ta m in a ted w ith to x ic
chemicals for example sawdust from treated wood
Do not feed them meat scraps bones oily food and dairy products such as cheese and butter as
these will attract ldquobadrdquo bugs and cause odours Never feed them cat or dog poop
The compost worms are low-maintenance and you can skip two or three weeks without feeding
t h e m b u t a n y l o n g e r t h a n t h a t a n d y o u w i l l h a v e a b i g b o x o f d e a d w o r m s
(wwwseasonsindiacom)
Vegetable and fruit scraps
Vermiculture
Page 10 of 27
433 Adequate moisture
Earthworms breathe through their skins (they do not have lungs) and for that they require
m ois tu re (w ater) A dd w ater every few days or w hen
necessary to prevent the worm farm from drying out You
may need to add more water during hot windy weather It
is important to keep the worm farm moist as the worms may
die if it dries out However the worm farm should not be
soggy either Remember there is also moisture in the food
scraps (Seed 200638)
You should also cover the top of the tyre stack with a suitable material to prevent evaporation of
moisture and to keep unwanted visitors out
434 Adequate aeration
Worms are oxygen-breathers and operate best when ventilation is good and the bedding is relative
porous and well aerated They cannot survive anaerobic conditions which occur when there is an
absence of oxygen Your worm farm will then start having a bad odour If that is the case then you
have added too much food and the worms are finding it difficult to aerate the compost by their
regular movement through it
To rectify the problem you will need to stir the bedding to aerate it add dry shredded newspaper
cover the container and add no more food until the smell has gone To prevent acid conditions you
can sprinkle crushed egg shells into the worm food when building the tyre stack
435 Protection from temperature extremes
Large quantities of fresh uncomposted organic matter will naturally start composting excessive
heat will build up which may kill your little workers
Earthworms like to work in the dark (is that why they multiply so quickly) and very hot or cold
temperatures should be avoided
Remember
The bedding material should feel
like a wrung-out sponge
ldquo M oistu re con ten t o f less th an 5 0 is d an g erou s W ith th e
exception of extreme heat or cold nothing will kill worms faster
than a lack of adequate moisturerdquo
Munroe (sa10)
Vermiculture
Page 11 of 27
436 When the worm bin smells
A healthy worm bin should smell like garden soil A foul odour indicates that something is wrong
The following checklist should help you to prevent or solve odour problems (httpredworms-
greenearthcom)
bull Put plenty of air hols in the bin to ensure that the worms have adequate air to breathe
bull Feed only a vegetarian diet
bull Bury food wastes completely under the bedding
bull Insure adequate drainage for the bin
bull Do not overfeed
44 Harvesting vermicompost
Depending on the original quantity and quality of w orm food the living conditions and the
number of earthworms you started off with the little workers should be finished with their job
three to six months after you started them off in a tyre stack Your little workers would have turned
the organic matter into rich and dark super vermicompost (the so-called ldquoBlack Goldrdquo) ndash filled with
beneficial micro-organisms and concentrated plant foods
Now we need to become a little more technical since it is not so easy to separate the earthworms
from the rich ldquoblack goldrdquo vermicompost that they produced We do not want to hurt or damage
the little ones since who will do the work then Also check for cocoons of young worms They look
like yellowish jelly beans
Hester busy harvesting vermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 12 of 27
441 Using a sieve
Some farmers use a circular sieve to do the trick They load the harvested vermicompost on a
trailer and use gravity to make the compost (and worms) roll down into a circular sieve which is
then being turned by hand The fine compost will fall through the sieve to be collected while the
larger worms and rough clumps of compost would roll through to be collected at the bottom For
this procedure the moisture content of the compost should be just right not too wet and not too
dry
This technique however is a bit too complicated although for large volumes of compost it may
be the best way
442 The ldquodivide and sortrdquo method
This method is used when worms are kept in plastic bins Move all the old bedding to one side of
the bin Add fresh bedding like newspaper to the
other side and bury the new food scraps only to
the new bedding
Within a week or two most of the worms will have
moved (migrated) from the old bedding into the
new bedding Now you can harvest the worm
castings
443 The ldquolighted pilerdquo method
Lay a large strong plastic sheet on the floor Dump the contents of the worm farm onto the plastic
sheet and divide it in piles Shine a light on the top of each pile Since worms are sensitive to light
they will go down into the pile to avoid the light You will need to remove a little bit of the castings
at a time until all you have left is just a pile of worms
5 Uses for Vermicompost
Vermicompost is the highest grade of organic fertiliser available It can be used as growth medium
in the home garden vegetable garden as compost tea and to improve the quality of the soil
A great trick for doing this is to p lace
w a te rm e lon r in d in th e b in w ith th e
new bedding Worms love watermelon
rind they cant get enough of it and will
greedily rush towards it
wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Vermiculture
Page 13 of 27
51 As growth medium
A good idea is to mix super vermicompost half-half with river sand This mixture can then be used
as growth medium for seedlings This mixture gives very good results because it drains very well
yet provides the plants with excellent nutrition from the super vermicompost (Pienaar 2007)
52 In the home garden
The super vermicompost can also be applied as top dressing directly to pot plants and to the
garden on plants such as lavender roses hedges etc Use it sparingly but it will not burn plants
if you use too much (Pienaar 2007)
Mixing it with good topsoil compost vermiculite or perlite in equal amounts creates a good potting
soil (wwwwormdigestorg)
A s p o t t in g m ix o n e th ird v e r m ic o m p o s t c a n b e m ix e d w ith tw o -th ird s p o t t in g s o i l
(httpredworms-greenearthcom) As top dressing apply at a rate of two tablespoons every 30 days
after establishing new pot plants In already established pot plants use four tablespoons for the
first application of vermicompost and then follow up with two tablespoons every 30 days
thereafter (wwwwormwisecom)
53 In the vegetable garden
When transplanting seedlings such as cabbage green pepper tomatoes etc up to one cup of
vermicompost can be put in the hole where the seedling will be planted which is then covered with
a layer of ordinary soil and then planting the seedling on top (Pienaar 2007)
When sowing seeds in furrows make the furrow a little deeper and wider than normal sprinkle
some vermicompost onto the rows cover with about 3-5 cm of soil and then sow the seeds at its
normal depth (Pienaar 2007)
The initial application w ould probably not provide enough nutrition to see the vegetable
crop through and in that case apply vermicompost as a top dressing at the following rates
(httpwormwisecom)
bull In the case of cabbage green pepper tomatoes (etc) a topdressing at the rate of one cup per
plant should be worked into the soil in a diameter around the plant every 30 days
bull In the case of vegetables planted in furrows such as beetroot carrots onions etc apply at a
rate of one cup for every 30 cm of row alongside the row every 30 days
Vermiculture
Page 14 of 27
A liquid application (worm tea) will also give very good results when applying to the soil and to
the plant leaves once or twice a month (See 55)
54 For conventional farming purposes
Obviously for commercial farming purposes a small composting operation like the tyre stack or
compost bins would not be sufficient For soils really poor in organic content an application of 40
to 50 tons of fertiliser per hectare may be needed in the first year of converting to organic (non-
chemical fertiliser) farming methods For this volume of compost a conventional commercial
composting works would be required
You will need a large wood chipper automate compost turner big volumes of garden refuse clay
and animal manure Conventional compost and super vermicompost can be combined for use for
commercial farming operations
55 Making super vermicompost worm tea
Super vermicompost can also be applied in liquid form the so-called ldquoworm teardquo Various recipes
are available on the internet for making liquid fertiliser from super vermicompost The recipe can
be very simple for small operations to large commercial brewing operations
A simple recipe is as follows
bull Take a fairly large drum (44 gallons) and cut open the top
Otherwise use a dirt bin with a lid
bull Add a small tap to the bottom of the drum from where the tea
can be drained
bull Clean the drum properly and fill nearly to the top with clean
good quality water
bull Add about five kilograms of fresh super vermicompost You
can also first place it in a bag made of cheese cloth an old
nylon stocking or old pillowcaseDrum for making
compost tea
Vermiculture
Page 15 of 27
bull Use a small air pump which could typically be purchased from a pet shop and is
normally used to aerate indoor fish tanks
bull Put the outlet of the pump into the water and allow to bubble
air through the worm tea for about 24 hours
bull In this time the beneficial microbes (the good bugs) increase at
a very fast rate in the water
bull After this time the colour of the water would be a rich dark
brown like strong black tea
bull A small quantity of dishwashing liquid can be added to make
the liquid stick to the leaves better
bull Remember to filter the worm tea through a cheese cloth before putting into the sprayer
otherwise the nozzle will keep on blocking
This worm tea can be applied in liquid form around your plants (as fertiliser) or sprayed onto the
plants with a sprayer The inexpensive application of worm tea should be repeated every few
weeks or even more often if disease or insect pressure occurs You can never apply too much
The vermicompost tea contains micro-organisms that will inoculate the soil against harmful
organisms that would feed on plant roots (wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg)
To feed plants well you have to feed the soil they grow in One of the best ways to feed the soil
is to add vermicompost Vermicompost feed the micro-organisms in the soil improve soil structure
and fertility and provide plants with all the nutrients they need to grow and stay healthy
Air pump
ldquoM ix two tablespoons of vermicompost with a litre of w ater
and let it stand for a day shaking it occasionally then sprinkle
under the plants One-litre drinking water bottles make good
sprinklers drill a few small-diameter holes in the lid point and
squeezerdquo
wwwjourneytoforeverorg
Vermiculture
Page 16 of 27
The theory about fighting off the ldquobad bugsrdquo with worm tea is that
you assure that the ldquogood bugsrdquo are present in high numbers which
would help them to chase the ldquobad bugsrdquo away
The good bugs are the beneficial or friendly insects They help control
the insects that damage vegetable crops One must learn to recognise
them as your ldquofriendsrdquo in the garden
Good bugs from left Lacewing Praying mantis frog amp gecko
Furthermore a strong healthy well-fed plant will have improved resistance to fight off the ldquobad
bugsrdquo and diseases by itself (Nell Engelbrecht amp Du Plessis 2007)
56 Building up your soil to invite beneficial insects
To ensure good healthy soil ndash whether you have sandy or clay soil ndash boils down to one important
thing The gardener will have to continuously improve the soil If a gardener does not prepare the
soil properly it will lead to poor growth and he will not harvest good quality vegetables
Adding vermicompost deep into the soil will ensure that there is a balanced supply of air in the
soil Avoid unnecessary stepping on the vegetable beds and never work the soil when it is too wet
This will compact the soil and poor aeration will be the result
Good bugs Ladybird feeding
on aphids
ldquoA real gardener is not a man who cultivates
flowers he is a man who cultivates the soilrdquo
Karel Capek in ldquoThe Gardenerrsquos Yearrdquo
Vermiculture
Page 17 of 27
Maintaining a good soil structure can
bull increase water-holding capacity
bull promote root growth
bull maintain aeration and drainage
bull make cultivation easier
bull help to reduce the risk of erosion and
bull improve fertility
No farmer or gardener will be able to improve the soil com-
p le t e l y i n o n e g r o w in g s e a s o n H is g o a l m u s t b e t o
co n t in u o u s ly im p r o v e th e s o i l b y a d d in g co m p o st o r
vermicompost every time he prepares the bed for a new crop
(Nell Engelbrecht amp Du Plessis 2006)
In soils with high organic content there would naturally be a build-up of beneficial microbes (good
bugs) which will work hard at making nutrients ready to be used by plants And the population
of local earthworms will also increase over time This plays a very important role to produce
accessible food for plants and to aerate the soil
Therefore the farmer-who-cares-for-the-environment should do everything possible to build up
hisher soils and thereby to create and maintain conditions in the soil that would attract and protect
the little workers and their even smaller little friends the micro-organisms
DO work in leaves bark chipped garden refuse and compost into your soil and remember to put
a layer of organic matter (mulch) around the plants to cool down the soil and to maintain moisture
DO NOT turn over the soil often and thereby disturbing the fine balance Be mindful of applying
chemicals that will kill the good bugs and make sure that there is no compaction in the soil that
will prevent roots to penetrate deeply and water reserves to build up in the soil
Soils such as these can be built up with
vermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 18 of 27
6 Vermicomposting in Tyre Stacks
According to Mr Charl Pienaar the best most practical and least expensive type of housing for
earthworms is a tyre stack built from used bakkie or tractor tyres and using ldquopensmisrdquo as food
61 Housing earthworms in tyre stacks
Oslash You can use the used bakkie or tractor tyres as is but we found that cutting open one of the
sides with a strong knife or electric jig saw optimises the inside space and makes harvesting the
super vermicompost that much easier
Ugrave Put a plastic sheet on the ground in a suitable shady spot (under a tree on the south side of
your house against the wall or inside under a roof) and start building the tyre stack on top of
the plastic sheet The plastic sheet is for preventing tree roots from growing into your compost
from the bottom ndash remember all types of plants love super vermicompost
ldquoTo me it is one of Gods finest m iracles to observe how hum ble
earthworms are able to magically convert otherwise useless plant and
animal wastes into rich humus (black gold) for plants to produce
the food that enriches our livesrdquo
ndash Charl Pienaar
Tractor tyreCharl Pienaar cutting open the
side of a tyre
Vermiculture
Page 19 of 27
Uacute Water the inside of each of the tyres well
Ucirc Fill each tyre first with bedding (such as shredded paper) and then a
thick layer of manure
Uuml Water the contents well especially in the round section of the tyre
Yacute Place another layer of shredded paper on top of the layer of manure then place some of the
worms to one side on top of the food in the tyre
THORN Stack the next tyre and continue until you have five or six bakkie tyres stacked and filled with
worm food (no more than two for tractor tyres)
Watering inside of tyreLayer of shredded paper Layer of manure
Placing worms to one sideWater each tyre separately
Vermiculture
Page 20 of 27
szlig Place a sheet of plastic canvass or a layer of newspapers over
the top of the bedding This will hold moisture in and will
help reduce the chance that fruit flies come and lay their eggs
in the food
The tyre stack is now ready to provide a house and shelter for
your new little workers You can of course build as many of these
tyre stacks as you have space and energy for
If your tyre stack dries out the compost will become hard like a
rock their skins will dry out and your little workers will die
Water your tyre stack about once a week by pouring a few cups
of clean water in from the top If water runs out at the bottom
you are over-watering and you should apply less water
52 Feeding the earthworms in the tyre stack
Your little helpers will feed on a whole range of organic food sources but for agricultural purposes
we found pre-composted abattoir manure (ldquopensmisrdquo) and some types of pre-composted animal
manure (ldquokraalmisrdquo) the best
Other types of organic material such as conventional
compost made from leaves chopped scrap wood
animal manure and w ood pulp should also work
well
To test the suitability of different food sources put a
small quantity of moist food in a container (such as an
empty margarine holder) and put a small number of
earthworms on top If they refuse to burrow in after
a few minutes the food is not suitable
Pre-composting of fresh organic material should be
done by placing the organic matter in a drum or container with ventilation holes supplied and
turning the compost every few days by rolling the drum or container a few times
Building tyre stack
Abattoir manure (ldquoPensmisrdquo)
Vermiculture
Page 21 of 27
Or you could start a conventional compost heap and turn the
heap with a fork every few days The micro-organisms will start breaking the organic matter down
heat will build up and oxygen will be used in the process
Within about three weeks the pre-composted matter should be ready to be placed inside the tyre
stacks as described previously
If you have access to ldquooldrdquo organic matter (for instance manure that has been lying in a heap for
a few months) pre-composting should not be necessary
53 Harvesting the tyre stack
The following technique works well and although it is slower it is much easier and less stressful
for the little workers
Oslash Start building a new tyre stack next to the old one and put fresh worm food only in the round
bottom section of the tyre starting with shredded paper then manure (ldquopensmisrdquo)
Ugrave Fill the rest of the tyre with the harvested compost (plus worms) from the old tyre stack and
continue with the next tyre when the bottom one is full And so on until the stack is six tyres
high
Uacute The next step is to disturb the top few layers of vermicompost by stirring with your hands
which causes the worms to take flight downwards
Turning of compost
Conventional compost containers
Vermiculture
Page 22 of 27
Ucirc The clean compost can then be harvested from the top Continue with the harvesting until you
reach the fresh worm food And there you will find all the worms trapped in the round section
of the tyre ready to be scooped out with the fresh worm food
Uuml The little workers embedded in the fresh organic matter could then be scooped out and used
to populate a new tyre stack that was first filled with fresh worm food And so the cycle is
repeated over and over
7 Worming Towards LEISA and Organic Farming
Techniques
In this part we will explain how to utilise the super vermicompost that your little workers so
willingly and cost-effectively prepared for you We will also provide insights on how to build up
your soil so that the local little workers will be able to continue the good work that their brothers
and sisters in the tyre stacks did for you
LEISA is short for Low External Inputs Sustainable Agriculture simply meaning that instead of
looking for expensive external farming inputs (chemical fertilisers chem ical w eed killers
insecticides and pest control chemicals) the clever farmer or vegetable gardener should find items
and materials available locally and inexpensively to do the same or better job as the expensive
external inputs
For instance a flock of geese on the farm could do a great job to keep snails and other insects under
control while at the same time providing a renewable source of meat and eggs to feed the farmers
family As they are good for security too
Using a chicken tractor to work the soil for
y o u i s a l s o s o m e t h i n g t h a t c a n b e
in co rp o ra te d in a v e g e ta b le g a rd en A
chicken tractor is basically a bottomless cage
built from old material It allows the chickens
to scratch and eat off of the ground such
things as grass weeds bugs worms etc
You can drag the chicken tractor around the
garden The chicken manure goes directly
onto th e s o il w here it fe rtilises th e so il
C h ick en tractors are perfect for a sm a ll
number of chickens
A chicken tractor at the experimental site of the Motheo
College in Bloemfontein
Vermiculture
Page 23 of 27
In the same way super vermicompost produced on the farm or at home from waste material and
making use of the free labour provided by the little helpers could go a long way towards replacing
expensive chemical fertilisers Furthermore vermicompost is good for building up the soils
putting carbon sources and essential microbes (good bugs)
back into the place where they belong the place that
Nature prepared for the over the ages
LEISA is therefore about helping to create a positive
ldquobalance of paymentsrdquo for the farm ing enterprise or
vegetable garden ndash more money should flow in to the
project than would otherwise flow out One important
aspect of this positive balance is to purchase as little as
p o s s ib le e x p en s ive ex te rn a l in p u ts fo r fa rm in g o r
vegetable gardening operations
And super vermicompost produced on the farm fits right into the LEISA philosophy
Organic farming techniques go one step further namely to receive certification (proof) that no
harmful substances were used n the farming operations Good quality compost (also certified as
organic) is an essential input for formal organic farming techniques
However for produce to be certified organic could be very expensive especially for a small-scale
farmer Then your pack house cold chain and transport system also needs to be certified organic
adding more complications
ldquoWhat does organic mean
Organic farming is producing food the natural way Organic farmers aim
to produce good healthy tasty food from balanced healthy soil Organic
farm ers cannot grow GM (genetically modified) crops and cannot use
chem ical fertilizers or additives or spray artificial pesticides O rganic
farmers use crop rotation to improve the fertility of their soil Healthy soil
= healthy plant = healthy humanrdquo
Anonymous (Go Farming 2(2)7)
Vermiculture
Page 24 of 27
Therefore the advice for emerging farmers or vegetable growers is to learn their trade through
LEISA techniques and not to attempt to go all the way to being certified organic without having
the skills and experience to make a success of that The Internet is full of very useful tips on how
to farm better with low external inputs type LEISA and vermiculture in a search engine such as
Google and youll be amazed with the information that comes up
8 Some Vermicomposting Stories from All over
the World
Commercial vermicomposting is just beginning in the USA San Diego in California has employed
worms to convert part of its organic waste stream into useable products The castings are in high
demand In Oregon a research and demonstration project has become a thriving business A large
urban hospital in Ontario has been using worms to process some of its waste stream for several
years (Attra 2007)
We read of the ldquoworm womanrdquo Mary Appelhoff No one in this country has done more for the
self-image of worms than Mary Appelhof the undisputed and nationally recognized
Worm Woman (Green Living Magazine)
Worms eat my garbage Theyve been doing it for twenty-seven years I set up my basement worm
bin with shredded newspaper a bit of soil and a few thousand redworms I bury food waste in it
The worms eat it They also eat the bacteria and protozoa and fungi and other microorganisms
which decompose it They grind and mix and secrete and excrete and eventually the food waste
and bedding turns into worm castings which we use in our garden The whole process is truly on-
site recyclingrdquo
Mary Appelhoff published her first book Worms eat my garbage How to set up and maintain a worm
composting system in 1982 Her newest endeavour is t bring a new voice to the vermicomposting
field by publishing a childrens picture book about vermicomposting Compost by gosh Her website
for worm composting resources can be visited at httpwwwwormwomancom
Other countries have been researching and using commercial vermicompost systems for a decade
or more Cuba for instance started their vermicomposting programme in 1986 with two small
boxes of red worms By 1992 172 vermicompost centres were producing 93 000 tons of worm
humus annually (Gersper et al 1993)
Vermiculture
Page 25 of 27
Currently France Germany Italy Japan Hong Kong India Australia and many countries
in South America have research or commercial vermicomposting projects underway (Attra 2007)
One of the largest commercial producers of vermicompost is Vermitech (Pty) Ltd in Australia
This company is dedicated to the beneficial management of organic waste through the use of very
large scale Vermiculture Their website documents considerable research on the use of their
product on various crops (httpwwwvermitechcomhomehtm)
In the past ten years an organisation in India has prompted over 2 000 farmers and institutions to
switch from conventional chemical fertilisers to that of an organic fertiliser namely vermicompost
Vermiculture has been the prim ary focus at M aharashtra Agricultural Bioteks w hich w as
established in 1985 The organisation currently produces 5 000 tons of vermicompost annually In
1991 to 1992 this group promoted the adoption of vermicompost technology in 13 states in India
The organisation has also created a programme which trains housewives and home gardeners to
produce their ow n vermicompost from household garden waste (Dr Henamgee Jambhekar
wwwfadrmsuru)
The Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town added a feature to its list of facilities that is a South African
first A fully-functioning worm farm The hotel has decided to go green by instituting an organic
waste recycling programme where its kitchen waste are turned into worm droppings which
constitute some of the best fertiliser to keep the hotels lawns pot plants and vegetable gardens
flourishing They have thousands of worms housed in plastic crates behind one of the hotels
parking areas They estimate that the farm currently hosts about 33 000 worms (South Africa
Logue)
There are also plans to work on methods to combine conventional composting with super
vermicompost and to put up commercial composting plants at the two new markets for emerging
farmers at Philippi Market Cape Town and Ugu Agricultural Market in Port Shepstone The
conventional compost spiked with super vermicompost will be made available for emerging
farmers near these markets through the subsidised transport linking the markets with the emerging
supply base via a depot system (Charl Pienaar 2007)
Happy Worming
Vermiculture
Page 26 of 27
SOURCES
Anonymous [sa] Organic agriculture What does it all means Go Farming 2(2)6-8
A TTR A (A ppropria te T echnology T ransfer for Rural Areas) 2007 W orms for com posting
(Vermicomposting) National Center for Appropriate Technology
Earthworms as a natural resource httpwwwwormfarmcom
G e r s p e r e t a l 1 9 9 3 C u b a s c o m p o s t in g A g r ic u l t u r e a n d H u m a n V a lu e s X (3 ) 1 6 - 2 3
httpfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art1html
Ja m b h h e k a r H e m a n g e e V e r m ic u l t u r e in I n d i a I n t e rn a t ion a l A g -S iev e 7 (1 ) A r t 3
(httpwwwfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art3html)
Journey to Forever Organic Garden Vermicomposting
httpwwwjourneytoforeverorgcompost_wormhtml
Munro G [sa] Manual of on-farm vermicomposting and vermiculture Organic Agriculture Centre of
Canada
Nell W T Engelbrecht G M amp Du Plessis D M 2006 Growing vegetables A comprehensive guide
on how to establish maintain and manage a vegetable garden Centre for Agricultural Management
University of the Free State Bloemfontein
Organic farming and organic gardening using vermicompost httpwwwhappydranchcom92html
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 1 How to grow super vermicompost Go Farming 1(3)22-
23
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 2 How to use super vermicompost Go Farming 1(4)20-22
Pienaar Charl 2007 Vermiculture short course presented at MUCPP Mangaung Bloemfontein
Supertill cc Paarl
Recycling advocates Vermicomposting httpwwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Seasons India Vermicompost
httpwwwseasonsindiacomlifestylegrdnVermicompost_seahtm
Vermiculture
Page 27 of 27
SEED (Schools Environmental Education and Development) 2006 Improving the soil ndash worm
farms (worksheet 53) Growing the living laboratory Permaculture for environmental education in the
NCS Used with permission from Leigh Brown The complete document is available for download
on the SEED website (httpwwwseedorgza)
Setting up a worm bed httpwwwwormpoopcomWormBedWormBedhtm
Sherman Rhonda 2003 Raising earthworms successfully North Carolina Cooperative Extension
Service Publication no EBAE 103-83 North Carolina State University
South Africa Logue Mount Nelson Hotel creates ldquopermaculturerdquo of excellence with worm farm
httpwwwsouthafricaloguecom
Vermiculture Indoor composting
httpredworms-greenearthcomcgi-binshopplpage=indoorhtml
Vermiculture Canada Earthworm castings as plant growth media
httpwwwvermiculturecaarticlesearthworm_castingshtm
Vermiculture composting httpwwwwormpoopcomCompostingCompostinghtm
Vermicompost httpwwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost
Weisenhorn Julie Vermiculture Promote global warming Sustainable urban landscape information
series University of Minnesota httpwwwsustlandumnedu
What kind of earthworms do we recommend httpwwwvermicocomwormshtm
Wikipedia httpenwikipediaorg wikiVermicompost
Worm Digest Young persons guide to vermicomposting
httpwwwwormdigestorgcontentview152
Worm Farm Free worm farming newsletter ndash Vermiculture
httpwwwwormfarmingsecretscom
Worm Research Centre
httpwwwwormresearchcentrecoukvermicompostinghtml
Wormwise How to use WormWisereg Earthworm Castings
httpwormwisecomid=help
Vermiculture
Page 8 of 27
431 A hospitable living environment (ldquobeddingrdquo)
ldquoBedding is the living medium for the worms but also a food source It is material high in carbon
a n d m a d e t o m i m i c d r i e d l e a v e s o n t h e f o r e s t f l o o r t h e w o r m s n a t u r a l h a b i t a t rdquo
(wwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost) The selection of bedding material is a key to successful
vermicomposting Bedding should be moist like that of a wrung out sponge When you squeeze
it hard a drop or two of water should drop out
Good bedding mixtures are therefore an essential element in meeting the needs of the worms
Shredded newspaper or cardboard makes an excellent bedding This can be combined with straw
or hay composted sheep cattle horse or abattoir manure (ldquopensmisrdquo) Poultry manure is not
recommended as it is too high in nitrogen and minerals
In hot climates the bins should be placed in the shade or away from direct midday sun Worms are
likely to die if conventional hot composting takes place Only thin layers of uncomposted material
should be added and temperature need to be monitored continuously If the bedding dries out mist
it with water from a spray bottle (wwwredworms-greenearthcom)
432 A food source
Compost worms are big eaters They are able to consume in excess of their body weight each day
although the general rule-of-thumb is that they will eat half of their body weight per day (Munroe
sa7) Their food consists primarily of decomposing organic matter where carbon sources (such
as dried leaves shredded paper cardboard etc) are mixed with nitrogen sources (such as food
scraps grass clippings manure etc) (wwwvermicocom)
Wait at least a day or two after placing the worms on the bedding before
adding the first food A good practice is to first test the suitability of food
for earthworms especially when manure or compost will be used Place
the m ateria l in a sm all conta iner add enough w ater to m oisten it
thoroughly and place a few worms on top Observe their behaviour over
the next few hours If the worms crawl out or die then you will know
that the material is not suitable and should not be fed to the w orm s
(Pienaar 2007)
Add more food when you see the worms beginning to work and when
they have eaten the first layer of food you can add another layer about 25 cm thick If you add too
much food you risk creating anaerobic conditions After you have added a layer of food always
add another layer of bedding material at about 25 cm thick (wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg)
There are two methods of adding food to the bin (wwwanswerscom topicvermicompost)
Testing suitability of food
Vermiculture
Page 9 of 27
Oslash Top feeding Organic matter is placed directly on top of the existing layer of bedding in a bin
and then covered with another layer of bedding This is repeated every time the bin is fed
Ugrave Pocket feeding A top layer of bedding is maintained and food is buried beneath The location
of the food is changed each time and often the bed is fed in more than one location As bedding
runs low more is added Add fruit and vegetable scraps each week Chop up food before
adding and try to feed the worms a mixture of materials Add less food in the first week and
gradually increase the amount over six months It is best to feed your worms weekly If
uneaten food remains then you know you have overfed the worms After feeding the worms
each week cover the food scraps with some compost or soil to avoid attracting fruit flies (Seed
200638)
If you regularly check the areas where you added the food you can soon see what foods your
worms like or dislike
Worms will eat almost any type of vegetable and fruit scraps partly decomposed compost
shredded newspaper small amounts of grass clippings leaves and even damp cardboard pieces
Add crushed eggshells as the worms need the calcium in the shells
The worms further love potato peelings carrots and carrot tops lettuce cabbage celery apple
peelings banana peels orange rinds grapefruit and
watermelon rinds They also like cornmeal oatmeal
coffee grounds with the filter and tea bags
Keep a plastic tub in your refrigerator to hold food
scraps so they will still be nice and fresh when you
feed the w orms Do not let them rot and become
smelly
Do not add onions or garlic or too much acidic food
like citrus pineapples and tomato strong spices and
acid (sour) food such as large amounts of vinegar and
sa lt A v o id m a te r ia ls co n ta m in a ted w ith to x ic
chemicals for example sawdust from treated wood
Do not feed them meat scraps bones oily food and dairy products such as cheese and butter as
these will attract ldquobadrdquo bugs and cause odours Never feed them cat or dog poop
The compost worms are low-maintenance and you can skip two or three weeks without feeding
t h e m b u t a n y l o n g e r t h a n t h a t a n d y o u w i l l h a v e a b i g b o x o f d e a d w o r m s
(wwwseasonsindiacom)
Vegetable and fruit scraps
Vermiculture
Page 10 of 27
433 Adequate moisture
Earthworms breathe through their skins (they do not have lungs) and for that they require
m ois tu re (w ater) A dd w ater every few days or w hen
necessary to prevent the worm farm from drying out You
may need to add more water during hot windy weather It
is important to keep the worm farm moist as the worms may
die if it dries out However the worm farm should not be
soggy either Remember there is also moisture in the food
scraps (Seed 200638)
You should also cover the top of the tyre stack with a suitable material to prevent evaporation of
moisture and to keep unwanted visitors out
434 Adequate aeration
Worms are oxygen-breathers and operate best when ventilation is good and the bedding is relative
porous and well aerated They cannot survive anaerobic conditions which occur when there is an
absence of oxygen Your worm farm will then start having a bad odour If that is the case then you
have added too much food and the worms are finding it difficult to aerate the compost by their
regular movement through it
To rectify the problem you will need to stir the bedding to aerate it add dry shredded newspaper
cover the container and add no more food until the smell has gone To prevent acid conditions you
can sprinkle crushed egg shells into the worm food when building the tyre stack
435 Protection from temperature extremes
Large quantities of fresh uncomposted organic matter will naturally start composting excessive
heat will build up which may kill your little workers
Earthworms like to work in the dark (is that why they multiply so quickly) and very hot or cold
temperatures should be avoided
Remember
The bedding material should feel
like a wrung-out sponge
ldquo M oistu re con ten t o f less th an 5 0 is d an g erou s W ith th e
exception of extreme heat or cold nothing will kill worms faster
than a lack of adequate moisturerdquo
Munroe (sa10)
Vermiculture
Page 11 of 27
436 When the worm bin smells
A healthy worm bin should smell like garden soil A foul odour indicates that something is wrong
The following checklist should help you to prevent or solve odour problems (httpredworms-
greenearthcom)
bull Put plenty of air hols in the bin to ensure that the worms have adequate air to breathe
bull Feed only a vegetarian diet
bull Bury food wastes completely under the bedding
bull Insure adequate drainage for the bin
bull Do not overfeed
44 Harvesting vermicompost
Depending on the original quantity and quality of w orm food the living conditions and the
number of earthworms you started off with the little workers should be finished with their job
three to six months after you started them off in a tyre stack Your little workers would have turned
the organic matter into rich and dark super vermicompost (the so-called ldquoBlack Goldrdquo) ndash filled with
beneficial micro-organisms and concentrated plant foods
Now we need to become a little more technical since it is not so easy to separate the earthworms
from the rich ldquoblack goldrdquo vermicompost that they produced We do not want to hurt or damage
the little ones since who will do the work then Also check for cocoons of young worms They look
like yellowish jelly beans
Hester busy harvesting vermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 12 of 27
441 Using a sieve
Some farmers use a circular sieve to do the trick They load the harvested vermicompost on a
trailer and use gravity to make the compost (and worms) roll down into a circular sieve which is
then being turned by hand The fine compost will fall through the sieve to be collected while the
larger worms and rough clumps of compost would roll through to be collected at the bottom For
this procedure the moisture content of the compost should be just right not too wet and not too
dry
This technique however is a bit too complicated although for large volumes of compost it may
be the best way
442 The ldquodivide and sortrdquo method
This method is used when worms are kept in plastic bins Move all the old bedding to one side of
the bin Add fresh bedding like newspaper to the
other side and bury the new food scraps only to
the new bedding
Within a week or two most of the worms will have
moved (migrated) from the old bedding into the
new bedding Now you can harvest the worm
castings
443 The ldquolighted pilerdquo method
Lay a large strong plastic sheet on the floor Dump the contents of the worm farm onto the plastic
sheet and divide it in piles Shine a light on the top of each pile Since worms are sensitive to light
they will go down into the pile to avoid the light You will need to remove a little bit of the castings
at a time until all you have left is just a pile of worms
5 Uses for Vermicompost
Vermicompost is the highest grade of organic fertiliser available It can be used as growth medium
in the home garden vegetable garden as compost tea and to improve the quality of the soil
A great trick for doing this is to p lace
w a te rm e lon r in d in th e b in w ith th e
new bedding Worms love watermelon
rind they cant get enough of it and will
greedily rush towards it
wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Vermiculture
Page 13 of 27
51 As growth medium
A good idea is to mix super vermicompost half-half with river sand This mixture can then be used
as growth medium for seedlings This mixture gives very good results because it drains very well
yet provides the plants with excellent nutrition from the super vermicompost (Pienaar 2007)
52 In the home garden
The super vermicompost can also be applied as top dressing directly to pot plants and to the
garden on plants such as lavender roses hedges etc Use it sparingly but it will not burn plants
if you use too much (Pienaar 2007)
Mixing it with good topsoil compost vermiculite or perlite in equal amounts creates a good potting
soil (wwwwormdigestorg)
A s p o t t in g m ix o n e th ird v e r m ic o m p o s t c a n b e m ix e d w ith tw o -th ird s p o t t in g s o i l
(httpredworms-greenearthcom) As top dressing apply at a rate of two tablespoons every 30 days
after establishing new pot plants In already established pot plants use four tablespoons for the
first application of vermicompost and then follow up with two tablespoons every 30 days
thereafter (wwwwormwisecom)
53 In the vegetable garden
When transplanting seedlings such as cabbage green pepper tomatoes etc up to one cup of
vermicompost can be put in the hole where the seedling will be planted which is then covered with
a layer of ordinary soil and then planting the seedling on top (Pienaar 2007)
When sowing seeds in furrows make the furrow a little deeper and wider than normal sprinkle
some vermicompost onto the rows cover with about 3-5 cm of soil and then sow the seeds at its
normal depth (Pienaar 2007)
The initial application w ould probably not provide enough nutrition to see the vegetable
crop through and in that case apply vermicompost as a top dressing at the following rates
(httpwormwisecom)
bull In the case of cabbage green pepper tomatoes (etc) a topdressing at the rate of one cup per
plant should be worked into the soil in a diameter around the plant every 30 days
bull In the case of vegetables planted in furrows such as beetroot carrots onions etc apply at a
rate of one cup for every 30 cm of row alongside the row every 30 days
Vermiculture
Page 14 of 27
A liquid application (worm tea) will also give very good results when applying to the soil and to
the plant leaves once or twice a month (See 55)
54 For conventional farming purposes
Obviously for commercial farming purposes a small composting operation like the tyre stack or
compost bins would not be sufficient For soils really poor in organic content an application of 40
to 50 tons of fertiliser per hectare may be needed in the first year of converting to organic (non-
chemical fertiliser) farming methods For this volume of compost a conventional commercial
composting works would be required
You will need a large wood chipper automate compost turner big volumes of garden refuse clay
and animal manure Conventional compost and super vermicompost can be combined for use for
commercial farming operations
55 Making super vermicompost worm tea
Super vermicompost can also be applied in liquid form the so-called ldquoworm teardquo Various recipes
are available on the internet for making liquid fertiliser from super vermicompost The recipe can
be very simple for small operations to large commercial brewing operations
A simple recipe is as follows
bull Take a fairly large drum (44 gallons) and cut open the top
Otherwise use a dirt bin with a lid
bull Add a small tap to the bottom of the drum from where the tea
can be drained
bull Clean the drum properly and fill nearly to the top with clean
good quality water
bull Add about five kilograms of fresh super vermicompost You
can also first place it in a bag made of cheese cloth an old
nylon stocking or old pillowcaseDrum for making
compost tea
Vermiculture
Page 15 of 27
bull Use a small air pump which could typically be purchased from a pet shop and is
normally used to aerate indoor fish tanks
bull Put the outlet of the pump into the water and allow to bubble
air through the worm tea for about 24 hours
bull In this time the beneficial microbes (the good bugs) increase at
a very fast rate in the water
bull After this time the colour of the water would be a rich dark
brown like strong black tea
bull A small quantity of dishwashing liquid can be added to make
the liquid stick to the leaves better
bull Remember to filter the worm tea through a cheese cloth before putting into the sprayer
otherwise the nozzle will keep on blocking
This worm tea can be applied in liquid form around your plants (as fertiliser) or sprayed onto the
plants with a sprayer The inexpensive application of worm tea should be repeated every few
weeks or even more often if disease or insect pressure occurs You can never apply too much
The vermicompost tea contains micro-organisms that will inoculate the soil against harmful
organisms that would feed on plant roots (wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg)
To feed plants well you have to feed the soil they grow in One of the best ways to feed the soil
is to add vermicompost Vermicompost feed the micro-organisms in the soil improve soil structure
and fertility and provide plants with all the nutrients they need to grow and stay healthy
Air pump
ldquoM ix two tablespoons of vermicompost with a litre of w ater
and let it stand for a day shaking it occasionally then sprinkle
under the plants One-litre drinking water bottles make good
sprinklers drill a few small-diameter holes in the lid point and
squeezerdquo
wwwjourneytoforeverorg
Vermiculture
Page 16 of 27
The theory about fighting off the ldquobad bugsrdquo with worm tea is that
you assure that the ldquogood bugsrdquo are present in high numbers which
would help them to chase the ldquobad bugsrdquo away
The good bugs are the beneficial or friendly insects They help control
the insects that damage vegetable crops One must learn to recognise
them as your ldquofriendsrdquo in the garden
Good bugs from left Lacewing Praying mantis frog amp gecko
Furthermore a strong healthy well-fed plant will have improved resistance to fight off the ldquobad
bugsrdquo and diseases by itself (Nell Engelbrecht amp Du Plessis 2007)
56 Building up your soil to invite beneficial insects
To ensure good healthy soil ndash whether you have sandy or clay soil ndash boils down to one important
thing The gardener will have to continuously improve the soil If a gardener does not prepare the
soil properly it will lead to poor growth and he will not harvest good quality vegetables
Adding vermicompost deep into the soil will ensure that there is a balanced supply of air in the
soil Avoid unnecessary stepping on the vegetable beds and never work the soil when it is too wet
This will compact the soil and poor aeration will be the result
Good bugs Ladybird feeding
on aphids
ldquoA real gardener is not a man who cultivates
flowers he is a man who cultivates the soilrdquo
Karel Capek in ldquoThe Gardenerrsquos Yearrdquo
Vermiculture
Page 17 of 27
Maintaining a good soil structure can
bull increase water-holding capacity
bull promote root growth
bull maintain aeration and drainage
bull make cultivation easier
bull help to reduce the risk of erosion and
bull improve fertility
No farmer or gardener will be able to improve the soil com-
p le t e l y i n o n e g r o w in g s e a s o n H is g o a l m u s t b e t o
co n t in u o u s ly im p r o v e th e s o i l b y a d d in g co m p o st o r
vermicompost every time he prepares the bed for a new crop
(Nell Engelbrecht amp Du Plessis 2006)
In soils with high organic content there would naturally be a build-up of beneficial microbes (good
bugs) which will work hard at making nutrients ready to be used by plants And the population
of local earthworms will also increase over time This plays a very important role to produce
accessible food for plants and to aerate the soil
Therefore the farmer-who-cares-for-the-environment should do everything possible to build up
hisher soils and thereby to create and maintain conditions in the soil that would attract and protect
the little workers and their even smaller little friends the micro-organisms
DO work in leaves bark chipped garden refuse and compost into your soil and remember to put
a layer of organic matter (mulch) around the plants to cool down the soil and to maintain moisture
DO NOT turn over the soil often and thereby disturbing the fine balance Be mindful of applying
chemicals that will kill the good bugs and make sure that there is no compaction in the soil that
will prevent roots to penetrate deeply and water reserves to build up in the soil
Soils such as these can be built up with
vermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 18 of 27
6 Vermicomposting in Tyre Stacks
According to Mr Charl Pienaar the best most practical and least expensive type of housing for
earthworms is a tyre stack built from used bakkie or tractor tyres and using ldquopensmisrdquo as food
61 Housing earthworms in tyre stacks
Oslash You can use the used bakkie or tractor tyres as is but we found that cutting open one of the
sides with a strong knife or electric jig saw optimises the inside space and makes harvesting the
super vermicompost that much easier
Ugrave Put a plastic sheet on the ground in a suitable shady spot (under a tree on the south side of
your house against the wall or inside under a roof) and start building the tyre stack on top of
the plastic sheet The plastic sheet is for preventing tree roots from growing into your compost
from the bottom ndash remember all types of plants love super vermicompost
ldquoTo me it is one of Gods finest m iracles to observe how hum ble
earthworms are able to magically convert otherwise useless plant and
animal wastes into rich humus (black gold) for plants to produce
the food that enriches our livesrdquo
ndash Charl Pienaar
Tractor tyreCharl Pienaar cutting open the
side of a tyre
Vermiculture
Page 19 of 27
Uacute Water the inside of each of the tyres well
Ucirc Fill each tyre first with bedding (such as shredded paper) and then a
thick layer of manure
Uuml Water the contents well especially in the round section of the tyre
Yacute Place another layer of shredded paper on top of the layer of manure then place some of the
worms to one side on top of the food in the tyre
THORN Stack the next tyre and continue until you have five or six bakkie tyres stacked and filled with
worm food (no more than two for tractor tyres)
Watering inside of tyreLayer of shredded paper Layer of manure
Placing worms to one sideWater each tyre separately
Vermiculture
Page 20 of 27
szlig Place a sheet of plastic canvass or a layer of newspapers over
the top of the bedding This will hold moisture in and will
help reduce the chance that fruit flies come and lay their eggs
in the food
The tyre stack is now ready to provide a house and shelter for
your new little workers You can of course build as many of these
tyre stacks as you have space and energy for
If your tyre stack dries out the compost will become hard like a
rock their skins will dry out and your little workers will die
Water your tyre stack about once a week by pouring a few cups
of clean water in from the top If water runs out at the bottom
you are over-watering and you should apply less water
52 Feeding the earthworms in the tyre stack
Your little helpers will feed on a whole range of organic food sources but for agricultural purposes
we found pre-composted abattoir manure (ldquopensmisrdquo) and some types of pre-composted animal
manure (ldquokraalmisrdquo) the best
Other types of organic material such as conventional
compost made from leaves chopped scrap wood
animal manure and w ood pulp should also work
well
To test the suitability of different food sources put a
small quantity of moist food in a container (such as an
empty margarine holder) and put a small number of
earthworms on top If they refuse to burrow in after
a few minutes the food is not suitable
Pre-composting of fresh organic material should be
done by placing the organic matter in a drum or container with ventilation holes supplied and
turning the compost every few days by rolling the drum or container a few times
Building tyre stack
Abattoir manure (ldquoPensmisrdquo)
Vermiculture
Page 21 of 27
Or you could start a conventional compost heap and turn the
heap with a fork every few days The micro-organisms will start breaking the organic matter down
heat will build up and oxygen will be used in the process
Within about three weeks the pre-composted matter should be ready to be placed inside the tyre
stacks as described previously
If you have access to ldquooldrdquo organic matter (for instance manure that has been lying in a heap for
a few months) pre-composting should not be necessary
53 Harvesting the tyre stack
The following technique works well and although it is slower it is much easier and less stressful
for the little workers
Oslash Start building a new tyre stack next to the old one and put fresh worm food only in the round
bottom section of the tyre starting with shredded paper then manure (ldquopensmisrdquo)
Ugrave Fill the rest of the tyre with the harvested compost (plus worms) from the old tyre stack and
continue with the next tyre when the bottom one is full And so on until the stack is six tyres
high
Uacute The next step is to disturb the top few layers of vermicompost by stirring with your hands
which causes the worms to take flight downwards
Turning of compost
Conventional compost containers
Vermiculture
Page 22 of 27
Ucirc The clean compost can then be harvested from the top Continue with the harvesting until you
reach the fresh worm food And there you will find all the worms trapped in the round section
of the tyre ready to be scooped out with the fresh worm food
Uuml The little workers embedded in the fresh organic matter could then be scooped out and used
to populate a new tyre stack that was first filled with fresh worm food And so the cycle is
repeated over and over
7 Worming Towards LEISA and Organic Farming
Techniques
In this part we will explain how to utilise the super vermicompost that your little workers so
willingly and cost-effectively prepared for you We will also provide insights on how to build up
your soil so that the local little workers will be able to continue the good work that their brothers
and sisters in the tyre stacks did for you
LEISA is short for Low External Inputs Sustainable Agriculture simply meaning that instead of
looking for expensive external farming inputs (chemical fertilisers chem ical w eed killers
insecticides and pest control chemicals) the clever farmer or vegetable gardener should find items
and materials available locally and inexpensively to do the same or better job as the expensive
external inputs
For instance a flock of geese on the farm could do a great job to keep snails and other insects under
control while at the same time providing a renewable source of meat and eggs to feed the farmers
family As they are good for security too
Using a chicken tractor to work the soil for
y o u i s a l s o s o m e t h i n g t h a t c a n b e
in co rp o ra te d in a v e g e ta b le g a rd en A
chicken tractor is basically a bottomless cage
built from old material It allows the chickens
to scratch and eat off of the ground such
things as grass weeds bugs worms etc
You can drag the chicken tractor around the
garden The chicken manure goes directly
onto th e s o il w here it fe rtilises th e so il
C h ick en tractors are perfect for a sm a ll
number of chickens
A chicken tractor at the experimental site of the Motheo
College in Bloemfontein
Vermiculture
Page 23 of 27
In the same way super vermicompost produced on the farm or at home from waste material and
making use of the free labour provided by the little helpers could go a long way towards replacing
expensive chemical fertilisers Furthermore vermicompost is good for building up the soils
putting carbon sources and essential microbes (good bugs)
back into the place where they belong the place that
Nature prepared for the over the ages
LEISA is therefore about helping to create a positive
ldquobalance of paymentsrdquo for the farm ing enterprise or
vegetable garden ndash more money should flow in to the
project than would otherwise flow out One important
aspect of this positive balance is to purchase as little as
p o s s ib le e x p en s ive ex te rn a l in p u ts fo r fa rm in g o r
vegetable gardening operations
And super vermicompost produced on the farm fits right into the LEISA philosophy
Organic farming techniques go one step further namely to receive certification (proof) that no
harmful substances were used n the farming operations Good quality compost (also certified as
organic) is an essential input for formal organic farming techniques
However for produce to be certified organic could be very expensive especially for a small-scale
farmer Then your pack house cold chain and transport system also needs to be certified organic
adding more complications
ldquoWhat does organic mean
Organic farming is producing food the natural way Organic farmers aim
to produce good healthy tasty food from balanced healthy soil Organic
farm ers cannot grow GM (genetically modified) crops and cannot use
chem ical fertilizers or additives or spray artificial pesticides O rganic
farmers use crop rotation to improve the fertility of their soil Healthy soil
= healthy plant = healthy humanrdquo
Anonymous (Go Farming 2(2)7)
Vermiculture
Page 24 of 27
Therefore the advice for emerging farmers or vegetable growers is to learn their trade through
LEISA techniques and not to attempt to go all the way to being certified organic without having
the skills and experience to make a success of that The Internet is full of very useful tips on how
to farm better with low external inputs type LEISA and vermiculture in a search engine such as
Google and youll be amazed with the information that comes up
8 Some Vermicomposting Stories from All over
the World
Commercial vermicomposting is just beginning in the USA San Diego in California has employed
worms to convert part of its organic waste stream into useable products The castings are in high
demand In Oregon a research and demonstration project has become a thriving business A large
urban hospital in Ontario has been using worms to process some of its waste stream for several
years (Attra 2007)
We read of the ldquoworm womanrdquo Mary Appelhoff No one in this country has done more for the
self-image of worms than Mary Appelhof the undisputed and nationally recognized
Worm Woman (Green Living Magazine)
Worms eat my garbage Theyve been doing it for twenty-seven years I set up my basement worm
bin with shredded newspaper a bit of soil and a few thousand redworms I bury food waste in it
The worms eat it They also eat the bacteria and protozoa and fungi and other microorganisms
which decompose it They grind and mix and secrete and excrete and eventually the food waste
and bedding turns into worm castings which we use in our garden The whole process is truly on-
site recyclingrdquo
Mary Appelhoff published her first book Worms eat my garbage How to set up and maintain a worm
composting system in 1982 Her newest endeavour is t bring a new voice to the vermicomposting
field by publishing a childrens picture book about vermicomposting Compost by gosh Her website
for worm composting resources can be visited at httpwwwwormwomancom
Other countries have been researching and using commercial vermicompost systems for a decade
or more Cuba for instance started their vermicomposting programme in 1986 with two small
boxes of red worms By 1992 172 vermicompost centres were producing 93 000 tons of worm
humus annually (Gersper et al 1993)
Vermiculture
Page 25 of 27
Currently France Germany Italy Japan Hong Kong India Australia and many countries
in South America have research or commercial vermicomposting projects underway (Attra 2007)
One of the largest commercial producers of vermicompost is Vermitech (Pty) Ltd in Australia
This company is dedicated to the beneficial management of organic waste through the use of very
large scale Vermiculture Their website documents considerable research on the use of their
product on various crops (httpwwwvermitechcomhomehtm)
In the past ten years an organisation in India has prompted over 2 000 farmers and institutions to
switch from conventional chemical fertilisers to that of an organic fertiliser namely vermicompost
Vermiculture has been the prim ary focus at M aharashtra Agricultural Bioteks w hich w as
established in 1985 The organisation currently produces 5 000 tons of vermicompost annually In
1991 to 1992 this group promoted the adoption of vermicompost technology in 13 states in India
The organisation has also created a programme which trains housewives and home gardeners to
produce their ow n vermicompost from household garden waste (Dr Henamgee Jambhekar
wwwfadrmsuru)
The Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town added a feature to its list of facilities that is a South African
first A fully-functioning worm farm The hotel has decided to go green by instituting an organic
waste recycling programme where its kitchen waste are turned into worm droppings which
constitute some of the best fertiliser to keep the hotels lawns pot plants and vegetable gardens
flourishing They have thousands of worms housed in plastic crates behind one of the hotels
parking areas They estimate that the farm currently hosts about 33 000 worms (South Africa
Logue)
There are also plans to work on methods to combine conventional composting with super
vermicompost and to put up commercial composting plants at the two new markets for emerging
farmers at Philippi Market Cape Town and Ugu Agricultural Market in Port Shepstone The
conventional compost spiked with super vermicompost will be made available for emerging
farmers near these markets through the subsidised transport linking the markets with the emerging
supply base via a depot system (Charl Pienaar 2007)
Happy Worming
Vermiculture
Page 26 of 27
SOURCES
Anonymous [sa] Organic agriculture What does it all means Go Farming 2(2)6-8
A TTR A (A ppropria te T echnology T ransfer for Rural Areas) 2007 W orms for com posting
(Vermicomposting) National Center for Appropriate Technology
Earthworms as a natural resource httpwwwwormfarmcom
G e r s p e r e t a l 1 9 9 3 C u b a s c o m p o s t in g A g r ic u l t u r e a n d H u m a n V a lu e s X (3 ) 1 6 - 2 3
httpfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art1html
Ja m b h h e k a r H e m a n g e e V e r m ic u l t u r e in I n d i a I n t e rn a t ion a l A g -S iev e 7 (1 ) A r t 3
(httpwwwfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art3html)
Journey to Forever Organic Garden Vermicomposting
httpwwwjourneytoforeverorgcompost_wormhtml
Munro G [sa] Manual of on-farm vermicomposting and vermiculture Organic Agriculture Centre of
Canada
Nell W T Engelbrecht G M amp Du Plessis D M 2006 Growing vegetables A comprehensive guide
on how to establish maintain and manage a vegetable garden Centre for Agricultural Management
University of the Free State Bloemfontein
Organic farming and organic gardening using vermicompost httpwwwhappydranchcom92html
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 1 How to grow super vermicompost Go Farming 1(3)22-
23
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 2 How to use super vermicompost Go Farming 1(4)20-22
Pienaar Charl 2007 Vermiculture short course presented at MUCPP Mangaung Bloemfontein
Supertill cc Paarl
Recycling advocates Vermicomposting httpwwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Seasons India Vermicompost
httpwwwseasonsindiacomlifestylegrdnVermicompost_seahtm
Vermiculture
Page 27 of 27
SEED (Schools Environmental Education and Development) 2006 Improving the soil ndash worm
farms (worksheet 53) Growing the living laboratory Permaculture for environmental education in the
NCS Used with permission from Leigh Brown The complete document is available for download
on the SEED website (httpwwwseedorgza)
Setting up a worm bed httpwwwwormpoopcomWormBedWormBedhtm
Sherman Rhonda 2003 Raising earthworms successfully North Carolina Cooperative Extension
Service Publication no EBAE 103-83 North Carolina State University
South Africa Logue Mount Nelson Hotel creates ldquopermaculturerdquo of excellence with worm farm
httpwwwsouthafricaloguecom
Vermiculture Indoor composting
httpredworms-greenearthcomcgi-binshopplpage=indoorhtml
Vermiculture Canada Earthworm castings as plant growth media
httpwwwvermiculturecaarticlesearthworm_castingshtm
Vermiculture composting httpwwwwormpoopcomCompostingCompostinghtm
Vermicompost httpwwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost
Weisenhorn Julie Vermiculture Promote global warming Sustainable urban landscape information
series University of Minnesota httpwwwsustlandumnedu
What kind of earthworms do we recommend httpwwwvermicocomwormshtm
Wikipedia httpenwikipediaorg wikiVermicompost
Worm Digest Young persons guide to vermicomposting
httpwwwwormdigestorgcontentview152
Worm Farm Free worm farming newsletter ndash Vermiculture
httpwwwwormfarmingsecretscom
Worm Research Centre
httpwwwwormresearchcentrecoukvermicompostinghtml
Wormwise How to use WormWisereg Earthworm Castings
httpwormwisecomid=help
Vermiculture
Page 9 of 27
Oslash Top feeding Organic matter is placed directly on top of the existing layer of bedding in a bin
and then covered with another layer of bedding This is repeated every time the bin is fed
Ugrave Pocket feeding A top layer of bedding is maintained and food is buried beneath The location
of the food is changed each time and often the bed is fed in more than one location As bedding
runs low more is added Add fruit and vegetable scraps each week Chop up food before
adding and try to feed the worms a mixture of materials Add less food in the first week and
gradually increase the amount over six months It is best to feed your worms weekly If
uneaten food remains then you know you have overfed the worms After feeding the worms
each week cover the food scraps with some compost or soil to avoid attracting fruit flies (Seed
200638)
If you regularly check the areas where you added the food you can soon see what foods your
worms like or dislike
Worms will eat almost any type of vegetable and fruit scraps partly decomposed compost
shredded newspaper small amounts of grass clippings leaves and even damp cardboard pieces
Add crushed eggshells as the worms need the calcium in the shells
The worms further love potato peelings carrots and carrot tops lettuce cabbage celery apple
peelings banana peels orange rinds grapefruit and
watermelon rinds They also like cornmeal oatmeal
coffee grounds with the filter and tea bags
Keep a plastic tub in your refrigerator to hold food
scraps so they will still be nice and fresh when you
feed the w orms Do not let them rot and become
smelly
Do not add onions or garlic or too much acidic food
like citrus pineapples and tomato strong spices and
acid (sour) food such as large amounts of vinegar and
sa lt A v o id m a te r ia ls co n ta m in a ted w ith to x ic
chemicals for example sawdust from treated wood
Do not feed them meat scraps bones oily food and dairy products such as cheese and butter as
these will attract ldquobadrdquo bugs and cause odours Never feed them cat or dog poop
The compost worms are low-maintenance and you can skip two or three weeks without feeding
t h e m b u t a n y l o n g e r t h a n t h a t a n d y o u w i l l h a v e a b i g b o x o f d e a d w o r m s
(wwwseasonsindiacom)
Vegetable and fruit scraps
Vermiculture
Page 10 of 27
433 Adequate moisture
Earthworms breathe through their skins (they do not have lungs) and for that they require
m ois tu re (w ater) A dd w ater every few days or w hen
necessary to prevent the worm farm from drying out You
may need to add more water during hot windy weather It
is important to keep the worm farm moist as the worms may
die if it dries out However the worm farm should not be
soggy either Remember there is also moisture in the food
scraps (Seed 200638)
You should also cover the top of the tyre stack with a suitable material to prevent evaporation of
moisture and to keep unwanted visitors out
434 Adequate aeration
Worms are oxygen-breathers and operate best when ventilation is good and the bedding is relative
porous and well aerated They cannot survive anaerobic conditions which occur when there is an
absence of oxygen Your worm farm will then start having a bad odour If that is the case then you
have added too much food and the worms are finding it difficult to aerate the compost by their
regular movement through it
To rectify the problem you will need to stir the bedding to aerate it add dry shredded newspaper
cover the container and add no more food until the smell has gone To prevent acid conditions you
can sprinkle crushed egg shells into the worm food when building the tyre stack
435 Protection from temperature extremes
Large quantities of fresh uncomposted organic matter will naturally start composting excessive
heat will build up which may kill your little workers
Earthworms like to work in the dark (is that why they multiply so quickly) and very hot or cold
temperatures should be avoided
Remember
The bedding material should feel
like a wrung-out sponge
ldquo M oistu re con ten t o f less th an 5 0 is d an g erou s W ith th e
exception of extreme heat or cold nothing will kill worms faster
than a lack of adequate moisturerdquo
Munroe (sa10)
Vermiculture
Page 11 of 27
436 When the worm bin smells
A healthy worm bin should smell like garden soil A foul odour indicates that something is wrong
The following checklist should help you to prevent or solve odour problems (httpredworms-
greenearthcom)
bull Put plenty of air hols in the bin to ensure that the worms have adequate air to breathe
bull Feed only a vegetarian diet
bull Bury food wastes completely under the bedding
bull Insure adequate drainage for the bin
bull Do not overfeed
44 Harvesting vermicompost
Depending on the original quantity and quality of w orm food the living conditions and the
number of earthworms you started off with the little workers should be finished with their job
three to six months after you started them off in a tyre stack Your little workers would have turned
the organic matter into rich and dark super vermicompost (the so-called ldquoBlack Goldrdquo) ndash filled with
beneficial micro-organisms and concentrated plant foods
Now we need to become a little more technical since it is not so easy to separate the earthworms
from the rich ldquoblack goldrdquo vermicompost that they produced We do not want to hurt or damage
the little ones since who will do the work then Also check for cocoons of young worms They look
like yellowish jelly beans
Hester busy harvesting vermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 12 of 27
441 Using a sieve
Some farmers use a circular sieve to do the trick They load the harvested vermicompost on a
trailer and use gravity to make the compost (and worms) roll down into a circular sieve which is
then being turned by hand The fine compost will fall through the sieve to be collected while the
larger worms and rough clumps of compost would roll through to be collected at the bottom For
this procedure the moisture content of the compost should be just right not too wet and not too
dry
This technique however is a bit too complicated although for large volumes of compost it may
be the best way
442 The ldquodivide and sortrdquo method
This method is used when worms are kept in plastic bins Move all the old bedding to one side of
the bin Add fresh bedding like newspaper to the
other side and bury the new food scraps only to
the new bedding
Within a week or two most of the worms will have
moved (migrated) from the old bedding into the
new bedding Now you can harvest the worm
castings
443 The ldquolighted pilerdquo method
Lay a large strong plastic sheet on the floor Dump the contents of the worm farm onto the plastic
sheet and divide it in piles Shine a light on the top of each pile Since worms are sensitive to light
they will go down into the pile to avoid the light You will need to remove a little bit of the castings
at a time until all you have left is just a pile of worms
5 Uses for Vermicompost
Vermicompost is the highest grade of organic fertiliser available It can be used as growth medium
in the home garden vegetable garden as compost tea and to improve the quality of the soil
A great trick for doing this is to p lace
w a te rm e lon r in d in th e b in w ith th e
new bedding Worms love watermelon
rind they cant get enough of it and will
greedily rush towards it
wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Vermiculture
Page 13 of 27
51 As growth medium
A good idea is to mix super vermicompost half-half with river sand This mixture can then be used
as growth medium for seedlings This mixture gives very good results because it drains very well
yet provides the plants with excellent nutrition from the super vermicompost (Pienaar 2007)
52 In the home garden
The super vermicompost can also be applied as top dressing directly to pot plants and to the
garden on plants such as lavender roses hedges etc Use it sparingly but it will not burn plants
if you use too much (Pienaar 2007)
Mixing it with good topsoil compost vermiculite or perlite in equal amounts creates a good potting
soil (wwwwormdigestorg)
A s p o t t in g m ix o n e th ird v e r m ic o m p o s t c a n b e m ix e d w ith tw o -th ird s p o t t in g s o i l
(httpredworms-greenearthcom) As top dressing apply at a rate of two tablespoons every 30 days
after establishing new pot plants In already established pot plants use four tablespoons for the
first application of vermicompost and then follow up with two tablespoons every 30 days
thereafter (wwwwormwisecom)
53 In the vegetable garden
When transplanting seedlings such as cabbage green pepper tomatoes etc up to one cup of
vermicompost can be put in the hole where the seedling will be planted which is then covered with
a layer of ordinary soil and then planting the seedling on top (Pienaar 2007)
When sowing seeds in furrows make the furrow a little deeper and wider than normal sprinkle
some vermicompost onto the rows cover with about 3-5 cm of soil and then sow the seeds at its
normal depth (Pienaar 2007)
The initial application w ould probably not provide enough nutrition to see the vegetable
crop through and in that case apply vermicompost as a top dressing at the following rates
(httpwormwisecom)
bull In the case of cabbage green pepper tomatoes (etc) a topdressing at the rate of one cup per
plant should be worked into the soil in a diameter around the plant every 30 days
bull In the case of vegetables planted in furrows such as beetroot carrots onions etc apply at a
rate of one cup for every 30 cm of row alongside the row every 30 days
Vermiculture
Page 14 of 27
A liquid application (worm tea) will also give very good results when applying to the soil and to
the plant leaves once or twice a month (See 55)
54 For conventional farming purposes
Obviously for commercial farming purposes a small composting operation like the tyre stack or
compost bins would not be sufficient For soils really poor in organic content an application of 40
to 50 tons of fertiliser per hectare may be needed in the first year of converting to organic (non-
chemical fertiliser) farming methods For this volume of compost a conventional commercial
composting works would be required
You will need a large wood chipper automate compost turner big volumes of garden refuse clay
and animal manure Conventional compost and super vermicompost can be combined for use for
commercial farming operations
55 Making super vermicompost worm tea
Super vermicompost can also be applied in liquid form the so-called ldquoworm teardquo Various recipes
are available on the internet for making liquid fertiliser from super vermicompost The recipe can
be very simple for small operations to large commercial brewing operations
A simple recipe is as follows
bull Take a fairly large drum (44 gallons) and cut open the top
Otherwise use a dirt bin with a lid
bull Add a small tap to the bottom of the drum from where the tea
can be drained
bull Clean the drum properly and fill nearly to the top with clean
good quality water
bull Add about five kilograms of fresh super vermicompost You
can also first place it in a bag made of cheese cloth an old
nylon stocking or old pillowcaseDrum for making
compost tea
Vermiculture
Page 15 of 27
bull Use a small air pump which could typically be purchased from a pet shop and is
normally used to aerate indoor fish tanks
bull Put the outlet of the pump into the water and allow to bubble
air through the worm tea for about 24 hours
bull In this time the beneficial microbes (the good bugs) increase at
a very fast rate in the water
bull After this time the colour of the water would be a rich dark
brown like strong black tea
bull A small quantity of dishwashing liquid can be added to make
the liquid stick to the leaves better
bull Remember to filter the worm tea through a cheese cloth before putting into the sprayer
otherwise the nozzle will keep on blocking
This worm tea can be applied in liquid form around your plants (as fertiliser) or sprayed onto the
plants with a sprayer The inexpensive application of worm tea should be repeated every few
weeks or even more often if disease or insect pressure occurs You can never apply too much
The vermicompost tea contains micro-organisms that will inoculate the soil against harmful
organisms that would feed on plant roots (wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg)
To feed plants well you have to feed the soil they grow in One of the best ways to feed the soil
is to add vermicompost Vermicompost feed the micro-organisms in the soil improve soil structure
and fertility and provide plants with all the nutrients they need to grow and stay healthy
Air pump
ldquoM ix two tablespoons of vermicompost with a litre of w ater
and let it stand for a day shaking it occasionally then sprinkle
under the plants One-litre drinking water bottles make good
sprinklers drill a few small-diameter holes in the lid point and
squeezerdquo
wwwjourneytoforeverorg
Vermiculture
Page 16 of 27
The theory about fighting off the ldquobad bugsrdquo with worm tea is that
you assure that the ldquogood bugsrdquo are present in high numbers which
would help them to chase the ldquobad bugsrdquo away
The good bugs are the beneficial or friendly insects They help control
the insects that damage vegetable crops One must learn to recognise
them as your ldquofriendsrdquo in the garden
Good bugs from left Lacewing Praying mantis frog amp gecko
Furthermore a strong healthy well-fed plant will have improved resistance to fight off the ldquobad
bugsrdquo and diseases by itself (Nell Engelbrecht amp Du Plessis 2007)
56 Building up your soil to invite beneficial insects
To ensure good healthy soil ndash whether you have sandy or clay soil ndash boils down to one important
thing The gardener will have to continuously improve the soil If a gardener does not prepare the
soil properly it will lead to poor growth and he will not harvest good quality vegetables
Adding vermicompost deep into the soil will ensure that there is a balanced supply of air in the
soil Avoid unnecessary stepping on the vegetable beds and never work the soil when it is too wet
This will compact the soil and poor aeration will be the result
Good bugs Ladybird feeding
on aphids
ldquoA real gardener is not a man who cultivates
flowers he is a man who cultivates the soilrdquo
Karel Capek in ldquoThe Gardenerrsquos Yearrdquo
Vermiculture
Page 17 of 27
Maintaining a good soil structure can
bull increase water-holding capacity
bull promote root growth
bull maintain aeration and drainage
bull make cultivation easier
bull help to reduce the risk of erosion and
bull improve fertility
No farmer or gardener will be able to improve the soil com-
p le t e l y i n o n e g r o w in g s e a s o n H is g o a l m u s t b e t o
co n t in u o u s ly im p r o v e th e s o i l b y a d d in g co m p o st o r
vermicompost every time he prepares the bed for a new crop
(Nell Engelbrecht amp Du Plessis 2006)
In soils with high organic content there would naturally be a build-up of beneficial microbes (good
bugs) which will work hard at making nutrients ready to be used by plants And the population
of local earthworms will also increase over time This plays a very important role to produce
accessible food for plants and to aerate the soil
Therefore the farmer-who-cares-for-the-environment should do everything possible to build up
hisher soils and thereby to create and maintain conditions in the soil that would attract and protect
the little workers and their even smaller little friends the micro-organisms
DO work in leaves bark chipped garden refuse and compost into your soil and remember to put
a layer of organic matter (mulch) around the plants to cool down the soil and to maintain moisture
DO NOT turn over the soil often and thereby disturbing the fine balance Be mindful of applying
chemicals that will kill the good bugs and make sure that there is no compaction in the soil that
will prevent roots to penetrate deeply and water reserves to build up in the soil
Soils such as these can be built up with
vermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 18 of 27
6 Vermicomposting in Tyre Stacks
According to Mr Charl Pienaar the best most practical and least expensive type of housing for
earthworms is a tyre stack built from used bakkie or tractor tyres and using ldquopensmisrdquo as food
61 Housing earthworms in tyre stacks
Oslash You can use the used bakkie or tractor tyres as is but we found that cutting open one of the
sides with a strong knife or electric jig saw optimises the inside space and makes harvesting the
super vermicompost that much easier
Ugrave Put a plastic sheet on the ground in a suitable shady spot (under a tree on the south side of
your house against the wall or inside under a roof) and start building the tyre stack on top of
the plastic sheet The plastic sheet is for preventing tree roots from growing into your compost
from the bottom ndash remember all types of plants love super vermicompost
ldquoTo me it is one of Gods finest m iracles to observe how hum ble
earthworms are able to magically convert otherwise useless plant and
animal wastes into rich humus (black gold) for plants to produce
the food that enriches our livesrdquo
ndash Charl Pienaar
Tractor tyreCharl Pienaar cutting open the
side of a tyre
Vermiculture
Page 19 of 27
Uacute Water the inside of each of the tyres well
Ucirc Fill each tyre first with bedding (such as shredded paper) and then a
thick layer of manure
Uuml Water the contents well especially in the round section of the tyre
Yacute Place another layer of shredded paper on top of the layer of manure then place some of the
worms to one side on top of the food in the tyre
THORN Stack the next tyre and continue until you have five or six bakkie tyres stacked and filled with
worm food (no more than two for tractor tyres)
Watering inside of tyreLayer of shredded paper Layer of manure
Placing worms to one sideWater each tyre separately
Vermiculture
Page 20 of 27
szlig Place a sheet of plastic canvass or a layer of newspapers over
the top of the bedding This will hold moisture in and will
help reduce the chance that fruit flies come and lay their eggs
in the food
The tyre stack is now ready to provide a house and shelter for
your new little workers You can of course build as many of these
tyre stacks as you have space and energy for
If your tyre stack dries out the compost will become hard like a
rock their skins will dry out and your little workers will die
Water your tyre stack about once a week by pouring a few cups
of clean water in from the top If water runs out at the bottom
you are over-watering and you should apply less water
52 Feeding the earthworms in the tyre stack
Your little helpers will feed on a whole range of organic food sources but for agricultural purposes
we found pre-composted abattoir manure (ldquopensmisrdquo) and some types of pre-composted animal
manure (ldquokraalmisrdquo) the best
Other types of organic material such as conventional
compost made from leaves chopped scrap wood
animal manure and w ood pulp should also work
well
To test the suitability of different food sources put a
small quantity of moist food in a container (such as an
empty margarine holder) and put a small number of
earthworms on top If they refuse to burrow in after
a few minutes the food is not suitable
Pre-composting of fresh organic material should be
done by placing the organic matter in a drum or container with ventilation holes supplied and
turning the compost every few days by rolling the drum or container a few times
Building tyre stack
Abattoir manure (ldquoPensmisrdquo)
Vermiculture
Page 21 of 27
Or you could start a conventional compost heap and turn the
heap with a fork every few days The micro-organisms will start breaking the organic matter down
heat will build up and oxygen will be used in the process
Within about three weeks the pre-composted matter should be ready to be placed inside the tyre
stacks as described previously
If you have access to ldquooldrdquo organic matter (for instance manure that has been lying in a heap for
a few months) pre-composting should not be necessary
53 Harvesting the tyre stack
The following technique works well and although it is slower it is much easier and less stressful
for the little workers
Oslash Start building a new tyre stack next to the old one and put fresh worm food only in the round
bottom section of the tyre starting with shredded paper then manure (ldquopensmisrdquo)
Ugrave Fill the rest of the tyre with the harvested compost (plus worms) from the old tyre stack and
continue with the next tyre when the bottom one is full And so on until the stack is six tyres
high
Uacute The next step is to disturb the top few layers of vermicompost by stirring with your hands
which causes the worms to take flight downwards
Turning of compost
Conventional compost containers
Vermiculture
Page 22 of 27
Ucirc The clean compost can then be harvested from the top Continue with the harvesting until you
reach the fresh worm food And there you will find all the worms trapped in the round section
of the tyre ready to be scooped out with the fresh worm food
Uuml The little workers embedded in the fresh organic matter could then be scooped out and used
to populate a new tyre stack that was first filled with fresh worm food And so the cycle is
repeated over and over
7 Worming Towards LEISA and Organic Farming
Techniques
In this part we will explain how to utilise the super vermicompost that your little workers so
willingly and cost-effectively prepared for you We will also provide insights on how to build up
your soil so that the local little workers will be able to continue the good work that their brothers
and sisters in the tyre stacks did for you
LEISA is short for Low External Inputs Sustainable Agriculture simply meaning that instead of
looking for expensive external farming inputs (chemical fertilisers chem ical w eed killers
insecticides and pest control chemicals) the clever farmer or vegetable gardener should find items
and materials available locally and inexpensively to do the same or better job as the expensive
external inputs
For instance a flock of geese on the farm could do a great job to keep snails and other insects under
control while at the same time providing a renewable source of meat and eggs to feed the farmers
family As they are good for security too
Using a chicken tractor to work the soil for
y o u i s a l s o s o m e t h i n g t h a t c a n b e
in co rp o ra te d in a v e g e ta b le g a rd en A
chicken tractor is basically a bottomless cage
built from old material It allows the chickens
to scratch and eat off of the ground such
things as grass weeds bugs worms etc
You can drag the chicken tractor around the
garden The chicken manure goes directly
onto th e s o il w here it fe rtilises th e so il
C h ick en tractors are perfect for a sm a ll
number of chickens
A chicken tractor at the experimental site of the Motheo
College in Bloemfontein
Vermiculture
Page 23 of 27
In the same way super vermicompost produced on the farm or at home from waste material and
making use of the free labour provided by the little helpers could go a long way towards replacing
expensive chemical fertilisers Furthermore vermicompost is good for building up the soils
putting carbon sources and essential microbes (good bugs)
back into the place where they belong the place that
Nature prepared for the over the ages
LEISA is therefore about helping to create a positive
ldquobalance of paymentsrdquo for the farm ing enterprise or
vegetable garden ndash more money should flow in to the
project than would otherwise flow out One important
aspect of this positive balance is to purchase as little as
p o s s ib le e x p en s ive ex te rn a l in p u ts fo r fa rm in g o r
vegetable gardening operations
And super vermicompost produced on the farm fits right into the LEISA philosophy
Organic farming techniques go one step further namely to receive certification (proof) that no
harmful substances were used n the farming operations Good quality compost (also certified as
organic) is an essential input for formal organic farming techniques
However for produce to be certified organic could be very expensive especially for a small-scale
farmer Then your pack house cold chain and transport system also needs to be certified organic
adding more complications
ldquoWhat does organic mean
Organic farming is producing food the natural way Organic farmers aim
to produce good healthy tasty food from balanced healthy soil Organic
farm ers cannot grow GM (genetically modified) crops and cannot use
chem ical fertilizers or additives or spray artificial pesticides O rganic
farmers use crop rotation to improve the fertility of their soil Healthy soil
= healthy plant = healthy humanrdquo
Anonymous (Go Farming 2(2)7)
Vermiculture
Page 24 of 27
Therefore the advice for emerging farmers or vegetable growers is to learn their trade through
LEISA techniques and not to attempt to go all the way to being certified organic without having
the skills and experience to make a success of that The Internet is full of very useful tips on how
to farm better with low external inputs type LEISA and vermiculture in a search engine such as
Google and youll be amazed with the information that comes up
8 Some Vermicomposting Stories from All over
the World
Commercial vermicomposting is just beginning in the USA San Diego in California has employed
worms to convert part of its organic waste stream into useable products The castings are in high
demand In Oregon a research and demonstration project has become a thriving business A large
urban hospital in Ontario has been using worms to process some of its waste stream for several
years (Attra 2007)
We read of the ldquoworm womanrdquo Mary Appelhoff No one in this country has done more for the
self-image of worms than Mary Appelhof the undisputed and nationally recognized
Worm Woman (Green Living Magazine)
Worms eat my garbage Theyve been doing it for twenty-seven years I set up my basement worm
bin with shredded newspaper a bit of soil and a few thousand redworms I bury food waste in it
The worms eat it They also eat the bacteria and protozoa and fungi and other microorganisms
which decompose it They grind and mix and secrete and excrete and eventually the food waste
and bedding turns into worm castings which we use in our garden The whole process is truly on-
site recyclingrdquo
Mary Appelhoff published her first book Worms eat my garbage How to set up and maintain a worm
composting system in 1982 Her newest endeavour is t bring a new voice to the vermicomposting
field by publishing a childrens picture book about vermicomposting Compost by gosh Her website
for worm composting resources can be visited at httpwwwwormwomancom
Other countries have been researching and using commercial vermicompost systems for a decade
or more Cuba for instance started their vermicomposting programme in 1986 with two small
boxes of red worms By 1992 172 vermicompost centres were producing 93 000 tons of worm
humus annually (Gersper et al 1993)
Vermiculture
Page 25 of 27
Currently France Germany Italy Japan Hong Kong India Australia and many countries
in South America have research or commercial vermicomposting projects underway (Attra 2007)
One of the largest commercial producers of vermicompost is Vermitech (Pty) Ltd in Australia
This company is dedicated to the beneficial management of organic waste through the use of very
large scale Vermiculture Their website documents considerable research on the use of their
product on various crops (httpwwwvermitechcomhomehtm)
In the past ten years an organisation in India has prompted over 2 000 farmers and institutions to
switch from conventional chemical fertilisers to that of an organic fertiliser namely vermicompost
Vermiculture has been the prim ary focus at M aharashtra Agricultural Bioteks w hich w as
established in 1985 The organisation currently produces 5 000 tons of vermicompost annually In
1991 to 1992 this group promoted the adoption of vermicompost technology in 13 states in India
The organisation has also created a programme which trains housewives and home gardeners to
produce their ow n vermicompost from household garden waste (Dr Henamgee Jambhekar
wwwfadrmsuru)
The Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town added a feature to its list of facilities that is a South African
first A fully-functioning worm farm The hotel has decided to go green by instituting an organic
waste recycling programme where its kitchen waste are turned into worm droppings which
constitute some of the best fertiliser to keep the hotels lawns pot plants and vegetable gardens
flourishing They have thousands of worms housed in plastic crates behind one of the hotels
parking areas They estimate that the farm currently hosts about 33 000 worms (South Africa
Logue)
There are also plans to work on methods to combine conventional composting with super
vermicompost and to put up commercial composting plants at the two new markets for emerging
farmers at Philippi Market Cape Town and Ugu Agricultural Market in Port Shepstone The
conventional compost spiked with super vermicompost will be made available for emerging
farmers near these markets through the subsidised transport linking the markets with the emerging
supply base via a depot system (Charl Pienaar 2007)
Happy Worming
Vermiculture
Page 26 of 27
SOURCES
Anonymous [sa] Organic agriculture What does it all means Go Farming 2(2)6-8
A TTR A (A ppropria te T echnology T ransfer for Rural Areas) 2007 W orms for com posting
(Vermicomposting) National Center for Appropriate Technology
Earthworms as a natural resource httpwwwwormfarmcom
G e r s p e r e t a l 1 9 9 3 C u b a s c o m p o s t in g A g r ic u l t u r e a n d H u m a n V a lu e s X (3 ) 1 6 - 2 3
httpfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art1html
Ja m b h h e k a r H e m a n g e e V e r m ic u l t u r e in I n d i a I n t e rn a t ion a l A g -S iev e 7 (1 ) A r t 3
(httpwwwfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art3html)
Journey to Forever Organic Garden Vermicomposting
httpwwwjourneytoforeverorgcompost_wormhtml
Munro G [sa] Manual of on-farm vermicomposting and vermiculture Organic Agriculture Centre of
Canada
Nell W T Engelbrecht G M amp Du Plessis D M 2006 Growing vegetables A comprehensive guide
on how to establish maintain and manage a vegetable garden Centre for Agricultural Management
University of the Free State Bloemfontein
Organic farming and organic gardening using vermicompost httpwwwhappydranchcom92html
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 1 How to grow super vermicompost Go Farming 1(3)22-
23
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 2 How to use super vermicompost Go Farming 1(4)20-22
Pienaar Charl 2007 Vermiculture short course presented at MUCPP Mangaung Bloemfontein
Supertill cc Paarl
Recycling advocates Vermicomposting httpwwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Seasons India Vermicompost
httpwwwseasonsindiacomlifestylegrdnVermicompost_seahtm
Vermiculture
Page 27 of 27
SEED (Schools Environmental Education and Development) 2006 Improving the soil ndash worm
farms (worksheet 53) Growing the living laboratory Permaculture for environmental education in the
NCS Used with permission from Leigh Brown The complete document is available for download
on the SEED website (httpwwwseedorgza)
Setting up a worm bed httpwwwwormpoopcomWormBedWormBedhtm
Sherman Rhonda 2003 Raising earthworms successfully North Carolina Cooperative Extension
Service Publication no EBAE 103-83 North Carolina State University
South Africa Logue Mount Nelson Hotel creates ldquopermaculturerdquo of excellence with worm farm
httpwwwsouthafricaloguecom
Vermiculture Indoor composting
httpredworms-greenearthcomcgi-binshopplpage=indoorhtml
Vermiculture Canada Earthworm castings as plant growth media
httpwwwvermiculturecaarticlesearthworm_castingshtm
Vermiculture composting httpwwwwormpoopcomCompostingCompostinghtm
Vermicompost httpwwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost
Weisenhorn Julie Vermiculture Promote global warming Sustainable urban landscape information
series University of Minnesota httpwwwsustlandumnedu
What kind of earthworms do we recommend httpwwwvermicocomwormshtm
Wikipedia httpenwikipediaorg wikiVermicompost
Worm Digest Young persons guide to vermicomposting
httpwwwwormdigestorgcontentview152
Worm Farm Free worm farming newsletter ndash Vermiculture
httpwwwwormfarmingsecretscom
Worm Research Centre
httpwwwwormresearchcentrecoukvermicompostinghtml
Wormwise How to use WormWisereg Earthworm Castings
httpwormwisecomid=help
Vermiculture
Page 10 of 27
433 Adequate moisture
Earthworms breathe through their skins (they do not have lungs) and for that they require
m ois tu re (w ater) A dd w ater every few days or w hen
necessary to prevent the worm farm from drying out You
may need to add more water during hot windy weather It
is important to keep the worm farm moist as the worms may
die if it dries out However the worm farm should not be
soggy either Remember there is also moisture in the food
scraps (Seed 200638)
You should also cover the top of the tyre stack with a suitable material to prevent evaporation of
moisture and to keep unwanted visitors out
434 Adequate aeration
Worms are oxygen-breathers and operate best when ventilation is good and the bedding is relative
porous and well aerated They cannot survive anaerobic conditions which occur when there is an
absence of oxygen Your worm farm will then start having a bad odour If that is the case then you
have added too much food and the worms are finding it difficult to aerate the compost by their
regular movement through it
To rectify the problem you will need to stir the bedding to aerate it add dry shredded newspaper
cover the container and add no more food until the smell has gone To prevent acid conditions you
can sprinkle crushed egg shells into the worm food when building the tyre stack
435 Protection from temperature extremes
Large quantities of fresh uncomposted organic matter will naturally start composting excessive
heat will build up which may kill your little workers
Earthworms like to work in the dark (is that why they multiply so quickly) and very hot or cold
temperatures should be avoided
Remember
The bedding material should feel
like a wrung-out sponge
ldquo M oistu re con ten t o f less th an 5 0 is d an g erou s W ith th e
exception of extreme heat or cold nothing will kill worms faster
than a lack of adequate moisturerdquo
Munroe (sa10)
Vermiculture
Page 11 of 27
436 When the worm bin smells
A healthy worm bin should smell like garden soil A foul odour indicates that something is wrong
The following checklist should help you to prevent or solve odour problems (httpredworms-
greenearthcom)
bull Put plenty of air hols in the bin to ensure that the worms have adequate air to breathe
bull Feed only a vegetarian diet
bull Bury food wastes completely under the bedding
bull Insure adequate drainage for the bin
bull Do not overfeed
44 Harvesting vermicompost
Depending on the original quantity and quality of w orm food the living conditions and the
number of earthworms you started off with the little workers should be finished with their job
three to six months after you started them off in a tyre stack Your little workers would have turned
the organic matter into rich and dark super vermicompost (the so-called ldquoBlack Goldrdquo) ndash filled with
beneficial micro-organisms and concentrated plant foods
Now we need to become a little more technical since it is not so easy to separate the earthworms
from the rich ldquoblack goldrdquo vermicompost that they produced We do not want to hurt or damage
the little ones since who will do the work then Also check for cocoons of young worms They look
like yellowish jelly beans
Hester busy harvesting vermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 12 of 27
441 Using a sieve
Some farmers use a circular sieve to do the trick They load the harvested vermicompost on a
trailer and use gravity to make the compost (and worms) roll down into a circular sieve which is
then being turned by hand The fine compost will fall through the sieve to be collected while the
larger worms and rough clumps of compost would roll through to be collected at the bottom For
this procedure the moisture content of the compost should be just right not too wet and not too
dry
This technique however is a bit too complicated although for large volumes of compost it may
be the best way
442 The ldquodivide and sortrdquo method
This method is used when worms are kept in plastic bins Move all the old bedding to one side of
the bin Add fresh bedding like newspaper to the
other side and bury the new food scraps only to
the new bedding
Within a week or two most of the worms will have
moved (migrated) from the old bedding into the
new bedding Now you can harvest the worm
castings
443 The ldquolighted pilerdquo method
Lay a large strong plastic sheet on the floor Dump the contents of the worm farm onto the plastic
sheet and divide it in piles Shine a light on the top of each pile Since worms are sensitive to light
they will go down into the pile to avoid the light You will need to remove a little bit of the castings
at a time until all you have left is just a pile of worms
5 Uses for Vermicompost
Vermicompost is the highest grade of organic fertiliser available It can be used as growth medium
in the home garden vegetable garden as compost tea and to improve the quality of the soil
A great trick for doing this is to p lace
w a te rm e lon r in d in th e b in w ith th e
new bedding Worms love watermelon
rind they cant get enough of it and will
greedily rush towards it
wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Vermiculture
Page 13 of 27
51 As growth medium
A good idea is to mix super vermicompost half-half with river sand This mixture can then be used
as growth medium for seedlings This mixture gives very good results because it drains very well
yet provides the plants with excellent nutrition from the super vermicompost (Pienaar 2007)
52 In the home garden
The super vermicompost can also be applied as top dressing directly to pot plants and to the
garden on plants such as lavender roses hedges etc Use it sparingly but it will not burn plants
if you use too much (Pienaar 2007)
Mixing it with good topsoil compost vermiculite or perlite in equal amounts creates a good potting
soil (wwwwormdigestorg)
A s p o t t in g m ix o n e th ird v e r m ic o m p o s t c a n b e m ix e d w ith tw o -th ird s p o t t in g s o i l
(httpredworms-greenearthcom) As top dressing apply at a rate of two tablespoons every 30 days
after establishing new pot plants In already established pot plants use four tablespoons for the
first application of vermicompost and then follow up with two tablespoons every 30 days
thereafter (wwwwormwisecom)
53 In the vegetable garden
When transplanting seedlings such as cabbage green pepper tomatoes etc up to one cup of
vermicompost can be put in the hole where the seedling will be planted which is then covered with
a layer of ordinary soil and then planting the seedling on top (Pienaar 2007)
When sowing seeds in furrows make the furrow a little deeper and wider than normal sprinkle
some vermicompost onto the rows cover with about 3-5 cm of soil and then sow the seeds at its
normal depth (Pienaar 2007)
The initial application w ould probably not provide enough nutrition to see the vegetable
crop through and in that case apply vermicompost as a top dressing at the following rates
(httpwormwisecom)
bull In the case of cabbage green pepper tomatoes (etc) a topdressing at the rate of one cup per
plant should be worked into the soil in a diameter around the plant every 30 days
bull In the case of vegetables planted in furrows such as beetroot carrots onions etc apply at a
rate of one cup for every 30 cm of row alongside the row every 30 days
Vermiculture
Page 14 of 27
A liquid application (worm tea) will also give very good results when applying to the soil and to
the plant leaves once or twice a month (See 55)
54 For conventional farming purposes
Obviously for commercial farming purposes a small composting operation like the tyre stack or
compost bins would not be sufficient For soils really poor in organic content an application of 40
to 50 tons of fertiliser per hectare may be needed in the first year of converting to organic (non-
chemical fertiliser) farming methods For this volume of compost a conventional commercial
composting works would be required
You will need a large wood chipper automate compost turner big volumes of garden refuse clay
and animal manure Conventional compost and super vermicompost can be combined for use for
commercial farming operations
55 Making super vermicompost worm tea
Super vermicompost can also be applied in liquid form the so-called ldquoworm teardquo Various recipes
are available on the internet for making liquid fertiliser from super vermicompost The recipe can
be very simple for small operations to large commercial brewing operations
A simple recipe is as follows
bull Take a fairly large drum (44 gallons) and cut open the top
Otherwise use a dirt bin with a lid
bull Add a small tap to the bottom of the drum from where the tea
can be drained
bull Clean the drum properly and fill nearly to the top with clean
good quality water
bull Add about five kilograms of fresh super vermicompost You
can also first place it in a bag made of cheese cloth an old
nylon stocking or old pillowcaseDrum for making
compost tea
Vermiculture
Page 15 of 27
bull Use a small air pump which could typically be purchased from a pet shop and is
normally used to aerate indoor fish tanks
bull Put the outlet of the pump into the water and allow to bubble
air through the worm tea for about 24 hours
bull In this time the beneficial microbes (the good bugs) increase at
a very fast rate in the water
bull After this time the colour of the water would be a rich dark
brown like strong black tea
bull A small quantity of dishwashing liquid can be added to make
the liquid stick to the leaves better
bull Remember to filter the worm tea through a cheese cloth before putting into the sprayer
otherwise the nozzle will keep on blocking
This worm tea can be applied in liquid form around your plants (as fertiliser) or sprayed onto the
plants with a sprayer The inexpensive application of worm tea should be repeated every few
weeks or even more often if disease or insect pressure occurs You can never apply too much
The vermicompost tea contains micro-organisms that will inoculate the soil against harmful
organisms that would feed on plant roots (wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg)
To feed plants well you have to feed the soil they grow in One of the best ways to feed the soil
is to add vermicompost Vermicompost feed the micro-organisms in the soil improve soil structure
and fertility and provide plants with all the nutrients they need to grow and stay healthy
Air pump
ldquoM ix two tablespoons of vermicompost with a litre of w ater
and let it stand for a day shaking it occasionally then sprinkle
under the plants One-litre drinking water bottles make good
sprinklers drill a few small-diameter holes in the lid point and
squeezerdquo
wwwjourneytoforeverorg
Vermiculture
Page 16 of 27
The theory about fighting off the ldquobad bugsrdquo with worm tea is that
you assure that the ldquogood bugsrdquo are present in high numbers which
would help them to chase the ldquobad bugsrdquo away
The good bugs are the beneficial or friendly insects They help control
the insects that damage vegetable crops One must learn to recognise
them as your ldquofriendsrdquo in the garden
Good bugs from left Lacewing Praying mantis frog amp gecko
Furthermore a strong healthy well-fed plant will have improved resistance to fight off the ldquobad
bugsrdquo and diseases by itself (Nell Engelbrecht amp Du Plessis 2007)
56 Building up your soil to invite beneficial insects
To ensure good healthy soil ndash whether you have sandy or clay soil ndash boils down to one important
thing The gardener will have to continuously improve the soil If a gardener does not prepare the
soil properly it will lead to poor growth and he will not harvest good quality vegetables
Adding vermicompost deep into the soil will ensure that there is a balanced supply of air in the
soil Avoid unnecessary stepping on the vegetable beds and never work the soil when it is too wet
This will compact the soil and poor aeration will be the result
Good bugs Ladybird feeding
on aphids
ldquoA real gardener is not a man who cultivates
flowers he is a man who cultivates the soilrdquo
Karel Capek in ldquoThe Gardenerrsquos Yearrdquo
Vermiculture
Page 17 of 27
Maintaining a good soil structure can
bull increase water-holding capacity
bull promote root growth
bull maintain aeration and drainage
bull make cultivation easier
bull help to reduce the risk of erosion and
bull improve fertility
No farmer or gardener will be able to improve the soil com-
p le t e l y i n o n e g r o w in g s e a s o n H is g o a l m u s t b e t o
co n t in u o u s ly im p r o v e th e s o i l b y a d d in g co m p o st o r
vermicompost every time he prepares the bed for a new crop
(Nell Engelbrecht amp Du Plessis 2006)
In soils with high organic content there would naturally be a build-up of beneficial microbes (good
bugs) which will work hard at making nutrients ready to be used by plants And the population
of local earthworms will also increase over time This plays a very important role to produce
accessible food for plants and to aerate the soil
Therefore the farmer-who-cares-for-the-environment should do everything possible to build up
hisher soils and thereby to create and maintain conditions in the soil that would attract and protect
the little workers and their even smaller little friends the micro-organisms
DO work in leaves bark chipped garden refuse and compost into your soil and remember to put
a layer of organic matter (mulch) around the plants to cool down the soil and to maintain moisture
DO NOT turn over the soil often and thereby disturbing the fine balance Be mindful of applying
chemicals that will kill the good bugs and make sure that there is no compaction in the soil that
will prevent roots to penetrate deeply and water reserves to build up in the soil
Soils such as these can be built up with
vermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 18 of 27
6 Vermicomposting in Tyre Stacks
According to Mr Charl Pienaar the best most practical and least expensive type of housing for
earthworms is a tyre stack built from used bakkie or tractor tyres and using ldquopensmisrdquo as food
61 Housing earthworms in tyre stacks
Oslash You can use the used bakkie or tractor tyres as is but we found that cutting open one of the
sides with a strong knife or electric jig saw optimises the inside space and makes harvesting the
super vermicompost that much easier
Ugrave Put a plastic sheet on the ground in a suitable shady spot (under a tree on the south side of
your house against the wall or inside under a roof) and start building the tyre stack on top of
the plastic sheet The plastic sheet is for preventing tree roots from growing into your compost
from the bottom ndash remember all types of plants love super vermicompost
ldquoTo me it is one of Gods finest m iracles to observe how hum ble
earthworms are able to magically convert otherwise useless plant and
animal wastes into rich humus (black gold) for plants to produce
the food that enriches our livesrdquo
ndash Charl Pienaar
Tractor tyreCharl Pienaar cutting open the
side of a tyre
Vermiculture
Page 19 of 27
Uacute Water the inside of each of the tyres well
Ucirc Fill each tyre first with bedding (such as shredded paper) and then a
thick layer of manure
Uuml Water the contents well especially in the round section of the tyre
Yacute Place another layer of shredded paper on top of the layer of manure then place some of the
worms to one side on top of the food in the tyre
THORN Stack the next tyre and continue until you have five or six bakkie tyres stacked and filled with
worm food (no more than two for tractor tyres)
Watering inside of tyreLayer of shredded paper Layer of manure
Placing worms to one sideWater each tyre separately
Vermiculture
Page 20 of 27
szlig Place a sheet of plastic canvass or a layer of newspapers over
the top of the bedding This will hold moisture in and will
help reduce the chance that fruit flies come and lay their eggs
in the food
The tyre stack is now ready to provide a house and shelter for
your new little workers You can of course build as many of these
tyre stacks as you have space and energy for
If your tyre stack dries out the compost will become hard like a
rock their skins will dry out and your little workers will die
Water your tyre stack about once a week by pouring a few cups
of clean water in from the top If water runs out at the bottom
you are over-watering and you should apply less water
52 Feeding the earthworms in the tyre stack
Your little helpers will feed on a whole range of organic food sources but for agricultural purposes
we found pre-composted abattoir manure (ldquopensmisrdquo) and some types of pre-composted animal
manure (ldquokraalmisrdquo) the best
Other types of organic material such as conventional
compost made from leaves chopped scrap wood
animal manure and w ood pulp should also work
well
To test the suitability of different food sources put a
small quantity of moist food in a container (such as an
empty margarine holder) and put a small number of
earthworms on top If they refuse to burrow in after
a few minutes the food is not suitable
Pre-composting of fresh organic material should be
done by placing the organic matter in a drum or container with ventilation holes supplied and
turning the compost every few days by rolling the drum or container a few times
Building tyre stack
Abattoir manure (ldquoPensmisrdquo)
Vermiculture
Page 21 of 27
Or you could start a conventional compost heap and turn the
heap with a fork every few days The micro-organisms will start breaking the organic matter down
heat will build up and oxygen will be used in the process
Within about three weeks the pre-composted matter should be ready to be placed inside the tyre
stacks as described previously
If you have access to ldquooldrdquo organic matter (for instance manure that has been lying in a heap for
a few months) pre-composting should not be necessary
53 Harvesting the tyre stack
The following technique works well and although it is slower it is much easier and less stressful
for the little workers
Oslash Start building a new tyre stack next to the old one and put fresh worm food only in the round
bottom section of the tyre starting with shredded paper then manure (ldquopensmisrdquo)
Ugrave Fill the rest of the tyre with the harvested compost (plus worms) from the old tyre stack and
continue with the next tyre when the bottom one is full And so on until the stack is six tyres
high
Uacute The next step is to disturb the top few layers of vermicompost by stirring with your hands
which causes the worms to take flight downwards
Turning of compost
Conventional compost containers
Vermiculture
Page 22 of 27
Ucirc The clean compost can then be harvested from the top Continue with the harvesting until you
reach the fresh worm food And there you will find all the worms trapped in the round section
of the tyre ready to be scooped out with the fresh worm food
Uuml The little workers embedded in the fresh organic matter could then be scooped out and used
to populate a new tyre stack that was first filled with fresh worm food And so the cycle is
repeated over and over
7 Worming Towards LEISA and Organic Farming
Techniques
In this part we will explain how to utilise the super vermicompost that your little workers so
willingly and cost-effectively prepared for you We will also provide insights on how to build up
your soil so that the local little workers will be able to continue the good work that their brothers
and sisters in the tyre stacks did for you
LEISA is short for Low External Inputs Sustainable Agriculture simply meaning that instead of
looking for expensive external farming inputs (chemical fertilisers chem ical w eed killers
insecticides and pest control chemicals) the clever farmer or vegetable gardener should find items
and materials available locally and inexpensively to do the same or better job as the expensive
external inputs
For instance a flock of geese on the farm could do a great job to keep snails and other insects under
control while at the same time providing a renewable source of meat and eggs to feed the farmers
family As they are good for security too
Using a chicken tractor to work the soil for
y o u i s a l s o s o m e t h i n g t h a t c a n b e
in co rp o ra te d in a v e g e ta b le g a rd en A
chicken tractor is basically a bottomless cage
built from old material It allows the chickens
to scratch and eat off of the ground such
things as grass weeds bugs worms etc
You can drag the chicken tractor around the
garden The chicken manure goes directly
onto th e s o il w here it fe rtilises th e so il
C h ick en tractors are perfect for a sm a ll
number of chickens
A chicken tractor at the experimental site of the Motheo
College in Bloemfontein
Vermiculture
Page 23 of 27
In the same way super vermicompost produced on the farm or at home from waste material and
making use of the free labour provided by the little helpers could go a long way towards replacing
expensive chemical fertilisers Furthermore vermicompost is good for building up the soils
putting carbon sources and essential microbes (good bugs)
back into the place where they belong the place that
Nature prepared for the over the ages
LEISA is therefore about helping to create a positive
ldquobalance of paymentsrdquo for the farm ing enterprise or
vegetable garden ndash more money should flow in to the
project than would otherwise flow out One important
aspect of this positive balance is to purchase as little as
p o s s ib le e x p en s ive ex te rn a l in p u ts fo r fa rm in g o r
vegetable gardening operations
And super vermicompost produced on the farm fits right into the LEISA philosophy
Organic farming techniques go one step further namely to receive certification (proof) that no
harmful substances were used n the farming operations Good quality compost (also certified as
organic) is an essential input for formal organic farming techniques
However for produce to be certified organic could be very expensive especially for a small-scale
farmer Then your pack house cold chain and transport system also needs to be certified organic
adding more complications
ldquoWhat does organic mean
Organic farming is producing food the natural way Organic farmers aim
to produce good healthy tasty food from balanced healthy soil Organic
farm ers cannot grow GM (genetically modified) crops and cannot use
chem ical fertilizers or additives or spray artificial pesticides O rganic
farmers use crop rotation to improve the fertility of their soil Healthy soil
= healthy plant = healthy humanrdquo
Anonymous (Go Farming 2(2)7)
Vermiculture
Page 24 of 27
Therefore the advice for emerging farmers or vegetable growers is to learn their trade through
LEISA techniques and not to attempt to go all the way to being certified organic without having
the skills and experience to make a success of that The Internet is full of very useful tips on how
to farm better with low external inputs type LEISA and vermiculture in a search engine such as
Google and youll be amazed with the information that comes up
8 Some Vermicomposting Stories from All over
the World
Commercial vermicomposting is just beginning in the USA San Diego in California has employed
worms to convert part of its organic waste stream into useable products The castings are in high
demand In Oregon a research and demonstration project has become a thriving business A large
urban hospital in Ontario has been using worms to process some of its waste stream for several
years (Attra 2007)
We read of the ldquoworm womanrdquo Mary Appelhoff No one in this country has done more for the
self-image of worms than Mary Appelhof the undisputed and nationally recognized
Worm Woman (Green Living Magazine)
Worms eat my garbage Theyve been doing it for twenty-seven years I set up my basement worm
bin with shredded newspaper a bit of soil and a few thousand redworms I bury food waste in it
The worms eat it They also eat the bacteria and protozoa and fungi and other microorganisms
which decompose it They grind and mix and secrete and excrete and eventually the food waste
and bedding turns into worm castings which we use in our garden The whole process is truly on-
site recyclingrdquo
Mary Appelhoff published her first book Worms eat my garbage How to set up and maintain a worm
composting system in 1982 Her newest endeavour is t bring a new voice to the vermicomposting
field by publishing a childrens picture book about vermicomposting Compost by gosh Her website
for worm composting resources can be visited at httpwwwwormwomancom
Other countries have been researching and using commercial vermicompost systems for a decade
or more Cuba for instance started their vermicomposting programme in 1986 with two small
boxes of red worms By 1992 172 vermicompost centres were producing 93 000 tons of worm
humus annually (Gersper et al 1993)
Vermiculture
Page 25 of 27
Currently France Germany Italy Japan Hong Kong India Australia and many countries
in South America have research or commercial vermicomposting projects underway (Attra 2007)
One of the largest commercial producers of vermicompost is Vermitech (Pty) Ltd in Australia
This company is dedicated to the beneficial management of organic waste through the use of very
large scale Vermiculture Their website documents considerable research on the use of their
product on various crops (httpwwwvermitechcomhomehtm)
In the past ten years an organisation in India has prompted over 2 000 farmers and institutions to
switch from conventional chemical fertilisers to that of an organic fertiliser namely vermicompost
Vermiculture has been the prim ary focus at M aharashtra Agricultural Bioteks w hich w as
established in 1985 The organisation currently produces 5 000 tons of vermicompost annually In
1991 to 1992 this group promoted the adoption of vermicompost technology in 13 states in India
The organisation has also created a programme which trains housewives and home gardeners to
produce their ow n vermicompost from household garden waste (Dr Henamgee Jambhekar
wwwfadrmsuru)
The Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town added a feature to its list of facilities that is a South African
first A fully-functioning worm farm The hotel has decided to go green by instituting an organic
waste recycling programme where its kitchen waste are turned into worm droppings which
constitute some of the best fertiliser to keep the hotels lawns pot plants and vegetable gardens
flourishing They have thousands of worms housed in plastic crates behind one of the hotels
parking areas They estimate that the farm currently hosts about 33 000 worms (South Africa
Logue)
There are also plans to work on methods to combine conventional composting with super
vermicompost and to put up commercial composting plants at the two new markets for emerging
farmers at Philippi Market Cape Town and Ugu Agricultural Market in Port Shepstone The
conventional compost spiked with super vermicompost will be made available for emerging
farmers near these markets through the subsidised transport linking the markets with the emerging
supply base via a depot system (Charl Pienaar 2007)
Happy Worming
Vermiculture
Page 26 of 27
SOURCES
Anonymous [sa] Organic agriculture What does it all means Go Farming 2(2)6-8
A TTR A (A ppropria te T echnology T ransfer for Rural Areas) 2007 W orms for com posting
(Vermicomposting) National Center for Appropriate Technology
Earthworms as a natural resource httpwwwwormfarmcom
G e r s p e r e t a l 1 9 9 3 C u b a s c o m p o s t in g A g r ic u l t u r e a n d H u m a n V a lu e s X (3 ) 1 6 - 2 3
httpfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art1html
Ja m b h h e k a r H e m a n g e e V e r m ic u l t u r e in I n d i a I n t e rn a t ion a l A g -S iev e 7 (1 ) A r t 3
(httpwwwfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art3html)
Journey to Forever Organic Garden Vermicomposting
httpwwwjourneytoforeverorgcompost_wormhtml
Munro G [sa] Manual of on-farm vermicomposting and vermiculture Organic Agriculture Centre of
Canada
Nell W T Engelbrecht G M amp Du Plessis D M 2006 Growing vegetables A comprehensive guide
on how to establish maintain and manage a vegetable garden Centre for Agricultural Management
University of the Free State Bloemfontein
Organic farming and organic gardening using vermicompost httpwwwhappydranchcom92html
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 1 How to grow super vermicompost Go Farming 1(3)22-
23
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 2 How to use super vermicompost Go Farming 1(4)20-22
Pienaar Charl 2007 Vermiculture short course presented at MUCPP Mangaung Bloemfontein
Supertill cc Paarl
Recycling advocates Vermicomposting httpwwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Seasons India Vermicompost
httpwwwseasonsindiacomlifestylegrdnVermicompost_seahtm
Vermiculture
Page 27 of 27
SEED (Schools Environmental Education and Development) 2006 Improving the soil ndash worm
farms (worksheet 53) Growing the living laboratory Permaculture for environmental education in the
NCS Used with permission from Leigh Brown The complete document is available for download
on the SEED website (httpwwwseedorgza)
Setting up a worm bed httpwwwwormpoopcomWormBedWormBedhtm
Sherman Rhonda 2003 Raising earthworms successfully North Carolina Cooperative Extension
Service Publication no EBAE 103-83 North Carolina State University
South Africa Logue Mount Nelson Hotel creates ldquopermaculturerdquo of excellence with worm farm
httpwwwsouthafricaloguecom
Vermiculture Indoor composting
httpredworms-greenearthcomcgi-binshopplpage=indoorhtml
Vermiculture Canada Earthworm castings as plant growth media
httpwwwvermiculturecaarticlesearthworm_castingshtm
Vermiculture composting httpwwwwormpoopcomCompostingCompostinghtm
Vermicompost httpwwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost
Weisenhorn Julie Vermiculture Promote global warming Sustainable urban landscape information
series University of Minnesota httpwwwsustlandumnedu
What kind of earthworms do we recommend httpwwwvermicocomwormshtm
Wikipedia httpenwikipediaorg wikiVermicompost
Worm Digest Young persons guide to vermicomposting
httpwwwwormdigestorgcontentview152
Worm Farm Free worm farming newsletter ndash Vermiculture
httpwwwwormfarmingsecretscom
Worm Research Centre
httpwwwwormresearchcentrecoukvermicompostinghtml
Wormwise How to use WormWisereg Earthworm Castings
httpwormwisecomid=help
Vermiculture
Page 11 of 27
436 When the worm bin smells
A healthy worm bin should smell like garden soil A foul odour indicates that something is wrong
The following checklist should help you to prevent or solve odour problems (httpredworms-
greenearthcom)
bull Put plenty of air hols in the bin to ensure that the worms have adequate air to breathe
bull Feed only a vegetarian diet
bull Bury food wastes completely under the bedding
bull Insure adequate drainage for the bin
bull Do not overfeed
44 Harvesting vermicompost
Depending on the original quantity and quality of w orm food the living conditions and the
number of earthworms you started off with the little workers should be finished with their job
three to six months after you started them off in a tyre stack Your little workers would have turned
the organic matter into rich and dark super vermicompost (the so-called ldquoBlack Goldrdquo) ndash filled with
beneficial micro-organisms and concentrated plant foods
Now we need to become a little more technical since it is not so easy to separate the earthworms
from the rich ldquoblack goldrdquo vermicompost that they produced We do not want to hurt or damage
the little ones since who will do the work then Also check for cocoons of young worms They look
like yellowish jelly beans
Hester busy harvesting vermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 12 of 27
441 Using a sieve
Some farmers use a circular sieve to do the trick They load the harvested vermicompost on a
trailer and use gravity to make the compost (and worms) roll down into a circular sieve which is
then being turned by hand The fine compost will fall through the sieve to be collected while the
larger worms and rough clumps of compost would roll through to be collected at the bottom For
this procedure the moisture content of the compost should be just right not too wet and not too
dry
This technique however is a bit too complicated although for large volumes of compost it may
be the best way
442 The ldquodivide and sortrdquo method
This method is used when worms are kept in plastic bins Move all the old bedding to one side of
the bin Add fresh bedding like newspaper to the
other side and bury the new food scraps only to
the new bedding
Within a week or two most of the worms will have
moved (migrated) from the old bedding into the
new bedding Now you can harvest the worm
castings
443 The ldquolighted pilerdquo method
Lay a large strong plastic sheet on the floor Dump the contents of the worm farm onto the plastic
sheet and divide it in piles Shine a light on the top of each pile Since worms are sensitive to light
they will go down into the pile to avoid the light You will need to remove a little bit of the castings
at a time until all you have left is just a pile of worms
5 Uses for Vermicompost
Vermicompost is the highest grade of organic fertiliser available It can be used as growth medium
in the home garden vegetable garden as compost tea and to improve the quality of the soil
A great trick for doing this is to p lace
w a te rm e lon r in d in th e b in w ith th e
new bedding Worms love watermelon
rind they cant get enough of it and will
greedily rush towards it
wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Vermiculture
Page 13 of 27
51 As growth medium
A good idea is to mix super vermicompost half-half with river sand This mixture can then be used
as growth medium for seedlings This mixture gives very good results because it drains very well
yet provides the plants with excellent nutrition from the super vermicompost (Pienaar 2007)
52 In the home garden
The super vermicompost can also be applied as top dressing directly to pot plants and to the
garden on plants such as lavender roses hedges etc Use it sparingly but it will not burn plants
if you use too much (Pienaar 2007)
Mixing it with good topsoil compost vermiculite or perlite in equal amounts creates a good potting
soil (wwwwormdigestorg)
A s p o t t in g m ix o n e th ird v e r m ic o m p o s t c a n b e m ix e d w ith tw o -th ird s p o t t in g s o i l
(httpredworms-greenearthcom) As top dressing apply at a rate of two tablespoons every 30 days
after establishing new pot plants In already established pot plants use four tablespoons for the
first application of vermicompost and then follow up with two tablespoons every 30 days
thereafter (wwwwormwisecom)
53 In the vegetable garden
When transplanting seedlings such as cabbage green pepper tomatoes etc up to one cup of
vermicompost can be put in the hole where the seedling will be planted which is then covered with
a layer of ordinary soil and then planting the seedling on top (Pienaar 2007)
When sowing seeds in furrows make the furrow a little deeper and wider than normal sprinkle
some vermicompost onto the rows cover with about 3-5 cm of soil and then sow the seeds at its
normal depth (Pienaar 2007)
The initial application w ould probably not provide enough nutrition to see the vegetable
crop through and in that case apply vermicompost as a top dressing at the following rates
(httpwormwisecom)
bull In the case of cabbage green pepper tomatoes (etc) a topdressing at the rate of one cup per
plant should be worked into the soil in a diameter around the plant every 30 days
bull In the case of vegetables planted in furrows such as beetroot carrots onions etc apply at a
rate of one cup for every 30 cm of row alongside the row every 30 days
Vermiculture
Page 14 of 27
A liquid application (worm tea) will also give very good results when applying to the soil and to
the plant leaves once or twice a month (See 55)
54 For conventional farming purposes
Obviously for commercial farming purposes a small composting operation like the tyre stack or
compost bins would not be sufficient For soils really poor in organic content an application of 40
to 50 tons of fertiliser per hectare may be needed in the first year of converting to organic (non-
chemical fertiliser) farming methods For this volume of compost a conventional commercial
composting works would be required
You will need a large wood chipper automate compost turner big volumes of garden refuse clay
and animal manure Conventional compost and super vermicompost can be combined for use for
commercial farming operations
55 Making super vermicompost worm tea
Super vermicompost can also be applied in liquid form the so-called ldquoworm teardquo Various recipes
are available on the internet for making liquid fertiliser from super vermicompost The recipe can
be very simple for small operations to large commercial brewing operations
A simple recipe is as follows
bull Take a fairly large drum (44 gallons) and cut open the top
Otherwise use a dirt bin with a lid
bull Add a small tap to the bottom of the drum from where the tea
can be drained
bull Clean the drum properly and fill nearly to the top with clean
good quality water
bull Add about five kilograms of fresh super vermicompost You
can also first place it in a bag made of cheese cloth an old
nylon stocking or old pillowcaseDrum for making
compost tea
Vermiculture
Page 15 of 27
bull Use a small air pump which could typically be purchased from a pet shop and is
normally used to aerate indoor fish tanks
bull Put the outlet of the pump into the water and allow to bubble
air through the worm tea for about 24 hours
bull In this time the beneficial microbes (the good bugs) increase at
a very fast rate in the water
bull After this time the colour of the water would be a rich dark
brown like strong black tea
bull A small quantity of dishwashing liquid can be added to make
the liquid stick to the leaves better
bull Remember to filter the worm tea through a cheese cloth before putting into the sprayer
otherwise the nozzle will keep on blocking
This worm tea can be applied in liquid form around your plants (as fertiliser) or sprayed onto the
plants with a sprayer The inexpensive application of worm tea should be repeated every few
weeks or even more often if disease or insect pressure occurs You can never apply too much
The vermicompost tea contains micro-organisms that will inoculate the soil against harmful
organisms that would feed on plant roots (wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg)
To feed plants well you have to feed the soil they grow in One of the best ways to feed the soil
is to add vermicompost Vermicompost feed the micro-organisms in the soil improve soil structure
and fertility and provide plants with all the nutrients they need to grow and stay healthy
Air pump
ldquoM ix two tablespoons of vermicompost with a litre of w ater
and let it stand for a day shaking it occasionally then sprinkle
under the plants One-litre drinking water bottles make good
sprinklers drill a few small-diameter holes in the lid point and
squeezerdquo
wwwjourneytoforeverorg
Vermiculture
Page 16 of 27
The theory about fighting off the ldquobad bugsrdquo with worm tea is that
you assure that the ldquogood bugsrdquo are present in high numbers which
would help them to chase the ldquobad bugsrdquo away
The good bugs are the beneficial or friendly insects They help control
the insects that damage vegetable crops One must learn to recognise
them as your ldquofriendsrdquo in the garden
Good bugs from left Lacewing Praying mantis frog amp gecko
Furthermore a strong healthy well-fed plant will have improved resistance to fight off the ldquobad
bugsrdquo and diseases by itself (Nell Engelbrecht amp Du Plessis 2007)
56 Building up your soil to invite beneficial insects
To ensure good healthy soil ndash whether you have sandy or clay soil ndash boils down to one important
thing The gardener will have to continuously improve the soil If a gardener does not prepare the
soil properly it will lead to poor growth and he will not harvest good quality vegetables
Adding vermicompost deep into the soil will ensure that there is a balanced supply of air in the
soil Avoid unnecessary stepping on the vegetable beds and never work the soil when it is too wet
This will compact the soil and poor aeration will be the result
Good bugs Ladybird feeding
on aphids
ldquoA real gardener is not a man who cultivates
flowers he is a man who cultivates the soilrdquo
Karel Capek in ldquoThe Gardenerrsquos Yearrdquo
Vermiculture
Page 17 of 27
Maintaining a good soil structure can
bull increase water-holding capacity
bull promote root growth
bull maintain aeration and drainage
bull make cultivation easier
bull help to reduce the risk of erosion and
bull improve fertility
No farmer or gardener will be able to improve the soil com-
p le t e l y i n o n e g r o w in g s e a s o n H is g o a l m u s t b e t o
co n t in u o u s ly im p r o v e th e s o i l b y a d d in g co m p o st o r
vermicompost every time he prepares the bed for a new crop
(Nell Engelbrecht amp Du Plessis 2006)
In soils with high organic content there would naturally be a build-up of beneficial microbes (good
bugs) which will work hard at making nutrients ready to be used by plants And the population
of local earthworms will also increase over time This plays a very important role to produce
accessible food for plants and to aerate the soil
Therefore the farmer-who-cares-for-the-environment should do everything possible to build up
hisher soils and thereby to create and maintain conditions in the soil that would attract and protect
the little workers and their even smaller little friends the micro-organisms
DO work in leaves bark chipped garden refuse and compost into your soil and remember to put
a layer of organic matter (mulch) around the plants to cool down the soil and to maintain moisture
DO NOT turn over the soil often and thereby disturbing the fine balance Be mindful of applying
chemicals that will kill the good bugs and make sure that there is no compaction in the soil that
will prevent roots to penetrate deeply and water reserves to build up in the soil
Soils such as these can be built up with
vermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 18 of 27
6 Vermicomposting in Tyre Stacks
According to Mr Charl Pienaar the best most practical and least expensive type of housing for
earthworms is a tyre stack built from used bakkie or tractor tyres and using ldquopensmisrdquo as food
61 Housing earthworms in tyre stacks
Oslash You can use the used bakkie or tractor tyres as is but we found that cutting open one of the
sides with a strong knife or electric jig saw optimises the inside space and makes harvesting the
super vermicompost that much easier
Ugrave Put a plastic sheet on the ground in a suitable shady spot (under a tree on the south side of
your house against the wall or inside under a roof) and start building the tyre stack on top of
the plastic sheet The plastic sheet is for preventing tree roots from growing into your compost
from the bottom ndash remember all types of plants love super vermicompost
ldquoTo me it is one of Gods finest m iracles to observe how hum ble
earthworms are able to magically convert otherwise useless plant and
animal wastes into rich humus (black gold) for plants to produce
the food that enriches our livesrdquo
ndash Charl Pienaar
Tractor tyreCharl Pienaar cutting open the
side of a tyre
Vermiculture
Page 19 of 27
Uacute Water the inside of each of the tyres well
Ucirc Fill each tyre first with bedding (such as shredded paper) and then a
thick layer of manure
Uuml Water the contents well especially in the round section of the tyre
Yacute Place another layer of shredded paper on top of the layer of manure then place some of the
worms to one side on top of the food in the tyre
THORN Stack the next tyre and continue until you have five or six bakkie tyres stacked and filled with
worm food (no more than two for tractor tyres)
Watering inside of tyreLayer of shredded paper Layer of manure
Placing worms to one sideWater each tyre separately
Vermiculture
Page 20 of 27
szlig Place a sheet of plastic canvass or a layer of newspapers over
the top of the bedding This will hold moisture in and will
help reduce the chance that fruit flies come and lay their eggs
in the food
The tyre stack is now ready to provide a house and shelter for
your new little workers You can of course build as many of these
tyre stacks as you have space and energy for
If your tyre stack dries out the compost will become hard like a
rock their skins will dry out and your little workers will die
Water your tyre stack about once a week by pouring a few cups
of clean water in from the top If water runs out at the bottom
you are over-watering and you should apply less water
52 Feeding the earthworms in the tyre stack
Your little helpers will feed on a whole range of organic food sources but for agricultural purposes
we found pre-composted abattoir manure (ldquopensmisrdquo) and some types of pre-composted animal
manure (ldquokraalmisrdquo) the best
Other types of organic material such as conventional
compost made from leaves chopped scrap wood
animal manure and w ood pulp should also work
well
To test the suitability of different food sources put a
small quantity of moist food in a container (such as an
empty margarine holder) and put a small number of
earthworms on top If they refuse to burrow in after
a few minutes the food is not suitable
Pre-composting of fresh organic material should be
done by placing the organic matter in a drum or container with ventilation holes supplied and
turning the compost every few days by rolling the drum or container a few times
Building tyre stack
Abattoir manure (ldquoPensmisrdquo)
Vermiculture
Page 21 of 27
Or you could start a conventional compost heap and turn the
heap with a fork every few days The micro-organisms will start breaking the organic matter down
heat will build up and oxygen will be used in the process
Within about three weeks the pre-composted matter should be ready to be placed inside the tyre
stacks as described previously
If you have access to ldquooldrdquo organic matter (for instance manure that has been lying in a heap for
a few months) pre-composting should not be necessary
53 Harvesting the tyre stack
The following technique works well and although it is slower it is much easier and less stressful
for the little workers
Oslash Start building a new tyre stack next to the old one and put fresh worm food only in the round
bottom section of the tyre starting with shredded paper then manure (ldquopensmisrdquo)
Ugrave Fill the rest of the tyre with the harvested compost (plus worms) from the old tyre stack and
continue with the next tyre when the bottom one is full And so on until the stack is six tyres
high
Uacute The next step is to disturb the top few layers of vermicompost by stirring with your hands
which causes the worms to take flight downwards
Turning of compost
Conventional compost containers
Vermiculture
Page 22 of 27
Ucirc The clean compost can then be harvested from the top Continue with the harvesting until you
reach the fresh worm food And there you will find all the worms trapped in the round section
of the tyre ready to be scooped out with the fresh worm food
Uuml The little workers embedded in the fresh organic matter could then be scooped out and used
to populate a new tyre stack that was first filled with fresh worm food And so the cycle is
repeated over and over
7 Worming Towards LEISA and Organic Farming
Techniques
In this part we will explain how to utilise the super vermicompost that your little workers so
willingly and cost-effectively prepared for you We will also provide insights on how to build up
your soil so that the local little workers will be able to continue the good work that their brothers
and sisters in the tyre stacks did for you
LEISA is short for Low External Inputs Sustainable Agriculture simply meaning that instead of
looking for expensive external farming inputs (chemical fertilisers chem ical w eed killers
insecticides and pest control chemicals) the clever farmer or vegetable gardener should find items
and materials available locally and inexpensively to do the same or better job as the expensive
external inputs
For instance a flock of geese on the farm could do a great job to keep snails and other insects under
control while at the same time providing a renewable source of meat and eggs to feed the farmers
family As they are good for security too
Using a chicken tractor to work the soil for
y o u i s a l s o s o m e t h i n g t h a t c a n b e
in co rp o ra te d in a v e g e ta b le g a rd en A
chicken tractor is basically a bottomless cage
built from old material It allows the chickens
to scratch and eat off of the ground such
things as grass weeds bugs worms etc
You can drag the chicken tractor around the
garden The chicken manure goes directly
onto th e s o il w here it fe rtilises th e so il
C h ick en tractors are perfect for a sm a ll
number of chickens
A chicken tractor at the experimental site of the Motheo
College in Bloemfontein
Vermiculture
Page 23 of 27
In the same way super vermicompost produced on the farm or at home from waste material and
making use of the free labour provided by the little helpers could go a long way towards replacing
expensive chemical fertilisers Furthermore vermicompost is good for building up the soils
putting carbon sources and essential microbes (good bugs)
back into the place where they belong the place that
Nature prepared for the over the ages
LEISA is therefore about helping to create a positive
ldquobalance of paymentsrdquo for the farm ing enterprise or
vegetable garden ndash more money should flow in to the
project than would otherwise flow out One important
aspect of this positive balance is to purchase as little as
p o s s ib le e x p en s ive ex te rn a l in p u ts fo r fa rm in g o r
vegetable gardening operations
And super vermicompost produced on the farm fits right into the LEISA philosophy
Organic farming techniques go one step further namely to receive certification (proof) that no
harmful substances were used n the farming operations Good quality compost (also certified as
organic) is an essential input for formal organic farming techniques
However for produce to be certified organic could be very expensive especially for a small-scale
farmer Then your pack house cold chain and transport system also needs to be certified organic
adding more complications
ldquoWhat does organic mean
Organic farming is producing food the natural way Organic farmers aim
to produce good healthy tasty food from balanced healthy soil Organic
farm ers cannot grow GM (genetically modified) crops and cannot use
chem ical fertilizers or additives or spray artificial pesticides O rganic
farmers use crop rotation to improve the fertility of their soil Healthy soil
= healthy plant = healthy humanrdquo
Anonymous (Go Farming 2(2)7)
Vermiculture
Page 24 of 27
Therefore the advice for emerging farmers or vegetable growers is to learn their trade through
LEISA techniques and not to attempt to go all the way to being certified organic without having
the skills and experience to make a success of that The Internet is full of very useful tips on how
to farm better with low external inputs type LEISA and vermiculture in a search engine such as
Google and youll be amazed with the information that comes up
8 Some Vermicomposting Stories from All over
the World
Commercial vermicomposting is just beginning in the USA San Diego in California has employed
worms to convert part of its organic waste stream into useable products The castings are in high
demand In Oregon a research and demonstration project has become a thriving business A large
urban hospital in Ontario has been using worms to process some of its waste stream for several
years (Attra 2007)
We read of the ldquoworm womanrdquo Mary Appelhoff No one in this country has done more for the
self-image of worms than Mary Appelhof the undisputed and nationally recognized
Worm Woman (Green Living Magazine)
Worms eat my garbage Theyve been doing it for twenty-seven years I set up my basement worm
bin with shredded newspaper a bit of soil and a few thousand redworms I bury food waste in it
The worms eat it They also eat the bacteria and protozoa and fungi and other microorganisms
which decompose it They grind and mix and secrete and excrete and eventually the food waste
and bedding turns into worm castings which we use in our garden The whole process is truly on-
site recyclingrdquo
Mary Appelhoff published her first book Worms eat my garbage How to set up and maintain a worm
composting system in 1982 Her newest endeavour is t bring a new voice to the vermicomposting
field by publishing a childrens picture book about vermicomposting Compost by gosh Her website
for worm composting resources can be visited at httpwwwwormwomancom
Other countries have been researching and using commercial vermicompost systems for a decade
or more Cuba for instance started their vermicomposting programme in 1986 with two small
boxes of red worms By 1992 172 vermicompost centres were producing 93 000 tons of worm
humus annually (Gersper et al 1993)
Vermiculture
Page 25 of 27
Currently France Germany Italy Japan Hong Kong India Australia and many countries
in South America have research or commercial vermicomposting projects underway (Attra 2007)
One of the largest commercial producers of vermicompost is Vermitech (Pty) Ltd in Australia
This company is dedicated to the beneficial management of organic waste through the use of very
large scale Vermiculture Their website documents considerable research on the use of their
product on various crops (httpwwwvermitechcomhomehtm)
In the past ten years an organisation in India has prompted over 2 000 farmers and institutions to
switch from conventional chemical fertilisers to that of an organic fertiliser namely vermicompost
Vermiculture has been the prim ary focus at M aharashtra Agricultural Bioteks w hich w as
established in 1985 The organisation currently produces 5 000 tons of vermicompost annually In
1991 to 1992 this group promoted the adoption of vermicompost technology in 13 states in India
The organisation has also created a programme which trains housewives and home gardeners to
produce their ow n vermicompost from household garden waste (Dr Henamgee Jambhekar
wwwfadrmsuru)
The Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town added a feature to its list of facilities that is a South African
first A fully-functioning worm farm The hotel has decided to go green by instituting an organic
waste recycling programme where its kitchen waste are turned into worm droppings which
constitute some of the best fertiliser to keep the hotels lawns pot plants and vegetable gardens
flourishing They have thousands of worms housed in plastic crates behind one of the hotels
parking areas They estimate that the farm currently hosts about 33 000 worms (South Africa
Logue)
There are also plans to work on methods to combine conventional composting with super
vermicompost and to put up commercial composting plants at the two new markets for emerging
farmers at Philippi Market Cape Town and Ugu Agricultural Market in Port Shepstone The
conventional compost spiked with super vermicompost will be made available for emerging
farmers near these markets through the subsidised transport linking the markets with the emerging
supply base via a depot system (Charl Pienaar 2007)
Happy Worming
Vermiculture
Page 26 of 27
SOURCES
Anonymous [sa] Organic agriculture What does it all means Go Farming 2(2)6-8
A TTR A (A ppropria te T echnology T ransfer for Rural Areas) 2007 W orms for com posting
(Vermicomposting) National Center for Appropriate Technology
Earthworms as a natural resource httpwwwwormfarmcom
G e r s p e r e t a l 1 9 9 3 C u b a s c o m p o s t in g A g r ic u l t u r e a n d H u m a n V a lu e s X (3 ) 1 6 - 2 3
httpfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art1html
Ja m b h h e k a r H e m a n g e e V e r m ic u l t u r e in I n d i a I n t e rn a t ion a l A g -S iev e 7 (1 ) A r t 3
(httpwwwfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art3html)
Journey to Forever Organic Garden Vermicomposting
httpwwwjourneytoforeverorgcompost_wormhtml
Munro G [sa] Manual of on-farm vermicomposting and vermiculture Organic Agriculture Centre of
Canada
Nell W T Engelbrecht G M amp Du Plessis D M 2006 Growing vegetables A comprehensive guide
on how to establish maintain and manage a vegetable garden Centre for Agricultural Management
University of the Free State Bloemfontein
Organic farming and organic gardening using vermicompost httpwwwhappydranchcom92html
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 1 How to grow super vermicompost Go Farming 1(3)22-
23
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 2 How to use super vermicompost Go Farming 1(4)20-22
Pienaar Charl 2007 Vermiculture short course presented at MUCPP Mangaung Bloemfontein
Supertill cc Paarl
Recycling advocates Vermicomposting httpwwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Seasons India Vermicompost
httpwwwseasonsindiacomlifestylegrdnVermicompost_seahtm
Vermiculture
Page 27 of 27
SEED (Schools Environmental Education and Development) 2006 Improving the soil ndash worm
farms (worksheet 53) Growing the living laboratory Permaculture for environmental education in the
NCS Used with permission from Leigh Brown The complete document is available for download
on the SEED website (httpwwwseedorgza)
Setting up a worm bed httpwwwwormpoopcomWormBedWormBedhtm
Sherman Rhonda 2003 Raising earthworms successfully North Carolina Cooperative Extension
Service Publication no EBAE 103-83 North Carolina State University
South Africa Logue Mount Nelson Hotel creates ldquopermaculturerdquo of excellence with worm farm
httpwwwsouthafricaloguecom
Vermiculture Indoor composting
httpredworms-greenearthcomcgi-binshopplpage=indoorhtml
Vermiculture Canada Earthworm castings as plant growth media
httpwwwvermiculturecaarticlesearthworm_castingshtm
Vermiculture composting httpwwwwormpoopcomCompostingCompostinghtm
Vermicompost httpwwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost
Weisenhorn Julie Vermiculture Promote global warming Sustainable urban landscape information
series University of Minnesota httpwwwsustlandumnedu
What kind of earthworms do we recommend httpwwwvermicocomwormshtm
Wikipedia httpenwikipediaorg wikiVermicompost
Worm Digest Young persons guide to vermicomposting
httpwwwwormdigestorgcontentview152
Worm Farm Free worm farming newsletter ndash Vermiculture
httpwwwwormfarmingsecretscom
Worm Research Centre
httpwwwwormresearchcentrecoukvermicompostinghtml
Wormwise How to use WormWisereg Earthworm Castings
httpwormwisecomid=help
Vermiculture
Page 12 of 27
441 Using a sieve
Some farmers use a circular sieve to do the trick They load the harvested vermicompost on a
trailer and use gravity to make the compost (and worms) roll down into a circular sieve which is
then being turned by hand The fine compost will fall through the sieve to be collected while the
larger worms and rough clumps of compost would roll through to be collected at the bottom For
this procedure the moisture content of the compost should be just right not too wet and not too
dry
This technique however is a bit too complicated although for large volumes of compost it may
be the best way
442 The ldquodivide and sortrdquo method
This method is used when worms are kept in plastic bins Move all the old bedding to one side of
the bin Add fresh bedding like newspaper to the
other side and bury the new food scraps only to
the new bedding
Within a week or two most of the worms will have
moved (migrated) from the old bedding into the
new bedding Now you can harvest the worm
castings
443 The ldquolighted pilerdquo method
Lay a large strong plastic sheet on the floor Dump the contents of the worm farm onto the plastic
sheet and divide it in piles Shine a light on the top of each pile Since worms are sensitive to light
they will go down into the pile to avoid the light You will need to remove a little bit of the castings
at a time until all you have left is just a pile of worms
5 Uses for Vermicompost
Vermicompost is the highest grade of organic fertiliser available It can be used as growth medium
in the home garden vegetable garden as compost tea and to improve the quality of the soil
A great trick for doing this is to p lace
w a te rm e lon r in d in th e b in w ith th e
new bedding Worms love watermelon
rind they cant get enough of it and will
greedily rush towards it
wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Vermiculture
Page 13 of 27
51 As growth medium
A good idea is to mix super vermicompost half-half with river sand This mixture can then be used
as growth medium for seedlings This mixture gives very good results because it drains very well
yet provides the plants with excellent nutrition from the super vermicompost (Pienaar 2007)
52 In the home garden
The super vermicompost can also be applied as top dressing directly to pot plants and to the
garden on plants such as lavender roses hedges etc Use it sparingly but it will not burn plants
if you use too much (Pienaar 2007)
Mixing it with good topsoil compost vermiculite or perlite in equal amounts creates a good potting
soil (wwwwormdigestorg)
A s p o t t in g m ix o n e th ird v e r m ic o m p o s t c a n b e m ix e d w ith tw o -th ird s p o t t in g s o i l
(httpredworms-greenearthcom) As top dressing apply at a rate of two tablespoons every 30 days
after establishing new pot plants In already established pot plants use four tablespoons for the
first application of vermicompost and then follow up with two tablespoons every 30 days
thereafter (wwwwormwisecom)
53 In the vegetable garden
When transplanting seedlings such as cabbage green pepper tomatoes etc up to one cup of
vermicompost can be put in the hole where the seedling will be planted which is then covered with
a layer of ordinary soil and then planting the seedling on top (Pienaar 2007)
When sowing seeds in furrows make the furrow a little deeper and wider than normal sprinkle
some vermicompost onto the rows cover with about 3-5 cm of soil and then sow the seeds at its
normal depth (Pienaar 2007)
The initial application w ould probably not provide enough nutrition to see the vegetable
crop through and in that case apply vermicompost as a top dressing at the following rates
(httpwormwisecom)
bull In the case of cabbage green pepper tomatoes (etc) a topdressing at the rate of one cup per
plant should be worked into the soil in a diameter around the plant every 30 days
bull In the case of vegetables planted in furrows such as beetroot carrots onions etc apply at a
rate of one cup for every 30 cm of row alongside the row every 30 days
Vermiculture
Page 14 of 27
A liquid application (worm tea) will also give very good results when applying to the soil and to
the plant leaves once or twice a month (See 55)
54 For conventional farming purposes
Obviously for commercial farming purposes a small composting operation like the tyre stack or
compost bins would not be sufficient For soils really poor in organic content an application of 40
to 50 tons of fertiliser per hectare may be needed in the first year of converting to organic (non-
chemical fertiliser) farming methods For this volume of compost a conventional commercial
composting works would be required
You will need a large wood chipper automate compost turner big volumes of garden refuse clay
and animal manure Conventional compost and super vermicompost can be combined for use for
commercial farming operations
55 Making super vermicompost worm tea
Super vermicompost can also be applied in liquid form the so-called ldquoworm teardquo Various recipes
are available on the internet for making liquid fertiliser from super vermicompost The recipe can
be very simple for small operations to large commercial brewing operations
A simple recipe is as follows
bull Take a fairly large drum (44 gallons) and cut open the top
Otherwise use a dirt bin with a lid
bull Add a small tap to the bottom of the drum from where the tea
can be drained
bull Clean the drum properly and fill nearly to the top with clean
good quality water
bull Add about five kilograms of fresh super vermicompost You
can also first place it in a bag made of cheese cloth an old
nylon stocking or old pillowcaseDrum for making
compost tea
Vermiculture
Page 15 of 27
bull Use a small air pump which could typically be purchased from a pet shop and is
normally used to aerate indoor fish tanks
bull Put the outlet of the pump into the water and allow to bubble
air through the worm tea for about 24 hours
bull In this time the beneficial microbes (the good bugs) increase at
a very fast rate in the water
bull After this time the colour of the water would be a rich dark
brown like strong black tea
bull A small quantity of dishwashing liquid can be added to make
the liquid stick to the leaves better
bull Remember to filter the worm tea through a cheese cloth before putting into the sprayer
otherwise the nozzle will keep on blocking
This worm tea can be applied in liquid form around your plants (as fertiliser) or sprayed onto the
plants with a sprayer The inexpensive application of worm tea should be repeated every few
weeks or even more often if disease or insect pressure occurs You can never apply too much
The vermicompost tea contains micro-organisms that will inoculate the soil against harmful
organisms that would feed on plant roots (wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg)
To feed plants well you have to feed the soil they grow in One of the best ways to feed the soil
is to add vermicompost Vermicompost feed the micro-organisms in the soil improve soil structure
and fertility and provide plants with all the nutrients they need to grow and stay healthy
Air pump
ldquoM ix two tablespoons of vermicompost with a litre of w ater
and let it stand for a day shaking it occasionally then sprinkle
under the plants One-litre drinking water bottles make good
sprinklers drill a few small-diameter holes in the lid point and
squeezerdquo
wwwjourneytoforeverorg
Vermiculture
Page 16 of 27
The theory about fighting off the ldquobad bugsrdquo with worm tea is that
you assure that the ldquogood bugsrdquo are present in high numbers which
would help them to chase the ldquobad bugsrdquo away
The good bugs are the beneficial or friendly insects They help control
the insects that damage vegetable crops One must learn to recognise
them as your ldquofriendsrdquo in the garden
Good bugs from left Lacewing Praying mantis frog amp gecko
Furthermore a strong healthy well-fed plant will have improved resistance to fight off the ldquobad
bugsrdquo and diseases by itself (Nell Engelbrecht amp Du Plessis 2007)
56 Building up your soil to invite beneficial insects
To ensure good healthy soil ndash whether you have sandy or clay soil ndash boils down to one important
thing The gardener will have to continuously improve the soil If a gardener does not prepare the
soil properly it will lead to poor growth and he will not harvest good quality vegetables
Adding vermicompost deep into the soil will ensure that there is a balanced supply of air in the
soil Avoid unnecessary stepping on the vegetable beds and never work the soil when it is too wet
This will compact the soil and poor aeration will be the result
Good bugs Ladybird feeding
on aphids
ldquoA real gardener is not a man who cultivates
flowers he is a man who cultivates the soilrdquo
Karel Capek in ldquoThe Gardenerrsquos Yearrdquo
Vermiculture
Page 17 of 27
Maintaining a good soil structure can
bull increase water-holding capacity
bull promote root growth
bull maintain aeration and drainage
bull make cultivation easier
bull help to reduce the risk of erosion and
bull improve fertility
No farmer or gardener will be able to improve the soil com-
p le t e l y i n o n e g r o w in g s e a s o n H is g o a l m u s t b e t o
co n t in u o u s ly im p r o v e th e s o i l b y a d d in g co m p o st o r
vermicompost every time he prepares the bed for a new crop
(Nell Engelbrecht amp Du Plessis 2006)
In soils with high organic content there would naturally be a build-up of beneficial microbes (good
bugs) which will work hard at making nutrients ready to be used by plants And the population
of local earthworms will also increase over time This plays a very important role to produce
accessible food for plants and to aerate the soil
Therefore the farmer-who-cares-for-the-environment should do everything possible to build up
hisher soils and thereby to create and maintain conditions in the soil that would attract and protect
the little workers and their even smaller little friends the micro-organisms
DO work in leaves bark chipped garden refuse and compost into your soil and remember to put
a layer of organic matter (mulch) around the plants to cool down the soil and to maintain moisture
DO NOT turn over the soil often and thereby disturbing the fine balance Be mindful of applying
chemicals that will kill the good bugs and make sure that there is no compaction in the soil that
will prevent roots to penetrate deeply and water reserves to build up in the soil
Soils such as these can be built up with
vermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 18 of 27
6 Vermicomposting in Tyre Stacks
According to Mr Charl Pienaar the best most practical and least expensive type of housing for
earthworms is a tyre stack built from used bakkie or tractor tyres and using ldquopensmisrdquo as food
61 Housing earthworms in tyre stacks
Oslash You can use the used bakkie or tractor tyres as is but we found that cutting open one of the
sides with a strong knife or electric jig saw optimises the inside space and makes harvesting the
super vermicompost that much easier
Ugrave Put a plastic sheet on the ground in a suitable shady spot (under a tree on the south side of
your house against the wall or inside under a roof) and start building the tyre stack on top of
the plastic sheet The plastic sheet is for preventing tree roots from growing into your compost
from the bottom ndash remember all types of plants love super vermicompost
ldquoTo me it is one of Gods finest m iracles to observe how hum ble
earthworms are able to magically convert otherwise useless plant and
animal wastes into rich humus (black gold) for plants to produce
the food that enriches our livesrdquo
ndash Charl Pienaar
Tractor tyreCharl Pienaar cutting open the
side of a tyre
Vermiculture
Page 19 of 27
Uacute Water the inside of each of the tyres well
Ucirc Fill each tyre first with bedding (such as shredded paper) and then a
thick layer of manure
Uuml Water the contents well especially in the round section of the tyre
Yacute Place another layer of shredded paper on top of the layer of manure then place some of the
worms to one side on top of the food in the tyre
THORN Stack the next tyre and continue until you have five or six bakkie tyres stacked and filled with
worm food (no more than two for tractor tyres)
Watering inside of tyreLayer of shredded paper Layer of manure
Placing worms to one sideWater each tyre separately
Vermiculture
Page 20 of 27
szlig Place a sheet of plastic canvass or a layer of newspapers over
the top of the bedding This will hold moisture in and will
help reduce the chance that fruit flies come and lay their eggs
in the food
The tyre stack is now ready to provide a house and shelter for
your new little workers You can of course build as many of these
tyre stacks as you have space and energy for
If your tyre stack dries out the compost will become hard like a
rock their skins will dry out and your little workers will die
Water your tyre stack about once a week by pouring a few cups
of clean water in from the top If water runs out at the bottom
you are over-watering and you should apply less water
52 Feeding the earthworms in the tyre stack
Your little helpers will feed on a whole range of organic food sources but for agricultural purposes
we found pre-composted abattoir manure (ldquopensmisrdquo) and some types of pre-composted animal
manure (ldquokraalmisrdquo) the best
Other types of organic material such as conventional
compost made from leaves chopped scrap wood
animal manure and w ood pulp should also work
well
To test the suitability of different food sources put a
small quantity of moist food in a container (such as an
empty margarine holder) and put a small number of
earthworms on top If they refuse to burrow in after
a few minutes the food is not suitable
Pre-composting of fresh organic material should be
done by placing the organic matter in a drum or container with ventilation holes supplied and
turning the compost every few days by rolling the drum or container a few times
Building tyre stack
Abattoir manure (ldquoPensmisrdquo)
Vermiculture
Page 21 of 27
Or you could start a conventional compost heap and turn the
heap with a fork every few days The micro-organisms will start breaking the organic matter down
heat will build up and oxygen will be used in the process
Within about three weeks the pre-composted matter should be ready to be placed inside the tyre
stacks as described previously
If you have access to ldquooldrdquo organic matter (for instance manure that has been lying in a heap for
a few months) pre-composting should not be necessary
53 Harvesting the tyre stack
The following technique works well and although it is slower it is much easier and less stressful
for the little workers
Oslash Start building a new tyre stack next to the old one and put fresh worm food only in the round
bottom section of the tyre starting with shredded paper then manure (ldquopensmisrdquo)
Ugrave Fill the rest of the tyre with the harvested compost (plus worms) from the old tyre stack and
continue with the next tyre when the bottom one is full And so on until the stack is six tyres
high
Uacute The next step is to disturb the top few layers of vermicompost by stirring with your hands
which causes the worms to take flight downwards
Turning of compost
Conventional compost containers
Vermiculture
Page 22 of 27
Ucirc The clean compost can then be harvested from the top Continue with the harvesting until you
reach the fresh worm food And there you will find all the worms trapped in the round section
of the tyre ready to be scooped out with the fresh worm food
Uuml The little workers embedded in the fresh organic matter could then be scooped out and used
to populate a new tyre stack that was first filled with fresh worm food And so the cycle is
repeated over and over
7 Worming Towards LEISA and Organic Farming
Techniques
In this part we will explain how to utilise the super vermicompost that your little workers so
willingly and cost-effectively prepared for you We will also provide insights on how to build up
your soil so that the local little workers will be able to continue the good work that their brothers
and sisters in the tyre stacks did for you
LEISA is short for Low External Inputs Sustainable Agriculture simply meaning that instead of
looking for expensive external farming inputs (chemical fertilisers chem ical w eed killers
insecticides and pest control chemicals) the clever farmer or vegetable gardener should find items
and materials available locally and inexpensively to do the same or better job as the expensive
external inputs
For instance a flock of geese on the farm could do a great job to keep snails and other insects under
control while at the same time providing a renewable source of meat and eggs to feed the farmers
family As they are good for security too
Using a chicken tractor to work the soil for
y o u i s a l s o s o m e t h i n g t h a t c a n b e
in co rp o ra te d in a v e g e ta b le g a rd en A
chicken tractor is basically a bottomless cage
built from old material It allows the chickens
to scratch and eat off of the ground such
things as grass weeds bugs worms etc
You can drag the chicken tractor around the
garden The chicken manure goes directly
onto th e s o il w here it fe rtilises th e so il
C h ick en tractors are perfect for a sm a ll
number of chickens
A chicken tractor at the experimental site of the Motheo
College in Bloemfontein
Vermiculture
Page 23 of 27
In the same way super vermicompost produced on the farm or at home from waste material and
making use of the free labour provided by the little helpers could go a long way towards replacing
expensive chemical fertilisers Furthermore vermicompost is good for building up the soils
putting carbon sources and essential microbes (good bugs)
back into the place where they belong the place that
Nature prepared for the over the ages
LEISA is therefore about helping to create a positive
ldquobalance of paymentsrdquo for the farm ing enterprise or
vegetable garden ndash more money should flow in to the
project than would otherwise flow out One important
aspect of this positive balance is to purchase as little as
p o s s ib le e x p en s ive ex te rn a l in p u ts fo r fa rm in g o r
vegetable gardening operations
And super vermicompost produced on the farm fits right into the LEISA philosophy
Organic farming techniques go one step further namely to receive certification (proof) that no
harmful substances were used n the farming operations Good quality compost (also certified as
organic) is an essential input for formal organic farming techniques
However for produce to be certified organic could be very expensive especially for a small-scale
farmer Then your pack house cold chain and transport system also needs to be certified organic
adding more complications
ldquoWhat does organic mean
Organic farming is producing food the natural way Organic farmers aim
to produce good healthy tasty food from balanced healthy soil Organic
farm ers cannot grow GM (genetically modified) crops and cannot use
chem ical fertilizers or additives or spray artificial pesticides O rganic
farmers use crop rotation to improve the fertility of their soil Healthy soil
= healthy plant = healthy humanrdquo
Anonymous (Go Farming 2(2)7)
Vermiculture
Page 24 of 27
Therefore the advice for emerging farmers or vegetable growers is to learn their trade through
LEISA techniques and not to attempt to go all the way to being certified organic without having
the skills and experience to make a success of that The Internet is full of very useful tips on how
to farm better with low external inputs type LEISA and vermiculture in a search engine such as
Google and youll be amazed with the information that comes up
8 Some Vermicomposting Stories from All over
the World
Commercial vermicomposting is just beginning in the USA San Diego in California has employed
worms to convert part of its organic waste stream into useable products The castings are in high
demand In Oregon a research and demonstration project has become a thriving business A large
urban hospital in Ontario has been using worms to process some of its waste stream for several
years (Attra 2007)
We read of the ldquoworm womanrdquo Mary Appelhoff No one in this country has done more for the
self-image of worms than Mary Appelhof the undisputed and nationally recognized
Worm Woman (Green Living Magazine)
Worms eat my garbage Theyve been doing it for twenty-seven years I set up my basement worm
bin with shredded newspaper a bit of soil and a few thousand redworms I bury food waste in it
The worms eat it They also eat the bacteria and protozoa and fungi and other microorganisms
which decompose it They grind and mix and secrete and excrete and eventually the food waste
and bedding turns into worm castings which we use in our garden The whole process is truly on-
site recyclingrdquo
Mary Appelhoff published her first book Worms eat my garbage How to set up and maintain a worm
composting system in 1982 Her newest endeavour is t bring a new voice to the vermicomposting
field by publishing a childrens picture book about vermicomposting Compost by gosh Her website
for worm composting resources can be visited at httpwwwwormwomancom
Other countries have been researching and using commercial vermicompost systems for a decade
or more Cuba for instance started their vermicomposting programme in 1986 with two small
boxes of red worms By 1992 172 vermicompost centres were producing 93 000 tons of worm
humus annually (Gersper et al 1993)
Vermiculture
Page 25 of 27
Currently France Germany Italy Japan Hong Kong India Australia and many countries
in South America have research or commercial vermicomposting projects underway (Attra 2007)
One of the largest commercial producers of vermicompost is Vermitech (Pty) Ltd in Australia
This company is dedicated to the beneficial management of organic waste through the use of very
large scale Vermiculture Their website documents considerable research on the use of their
product on various crops (httpwwwvermitechcomhomehtm)
In the past ten years an organisation in India has prompted over 2 000 farmers and institutions to
switch from conventional chemical fertilisers to that of an organic fertiliser namely vermicompost
Vermiculture has been the prim ary focus at M aharashtra Agricultural Bioteks w hich w as
established in 1985 The organisation currently produces 5 000 tons of vermicompost annually In
1991 to 1992 this group promoted the adoption of vermicompost technology in 13 states in India
The organisation has also created a programme which trains housewives and home gardeners to
produce their ow n vermicompost from household garden waste (Dr Henamgee Jambhekar
wwwfadrmsuru)
The Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town added a feature to its list of facilities that is a South African
first A fully-functioning worm farm The hotel has decided to go green by instituting an organic
waste recycling programme where its kitchen waste are turned into worm droppings which
constitute some of the best fertiliser to keep the hotels lawns pot plants and vegetable gardens
flourishing They have thousands of worms housed in plastic crates behind one of the hotels
parking areas They estimate that the farm currently hosts about 33 000 worms (South Africa
Logue)
There are also plans to work on methods to combine conventional composting with super
vermicompost and to put up commercial composting plants at the two new markets for emerging
farmers at Philippi Market Cape Town and Ugu Agricultural Market in Port Shepstone The
conventional compost spiked with super vermicompost will be made available for emerging
farmers near these markets through the subsidised transport linking the markets with the emerging
supply base via a depot system (Charl Pienaar 2007)
Happy Worming
Vermiculture
Page 26 of 27
SOURCES
Anonymous [sa] Organic agriculture What does it all means Go Farming 2(2)6-8
A TTR A (A ppropria te T echnology T ransfer for Rural Areas) 2007 W orms for com posting
(Vermicomposting) National Center for Appropriate Technology
Earthworms as a natural resource httpwwwwormfarmcom
G e r s p e r e t a l 1 9 9 3 C u b a s c o m p o s t in g A g r ic u l t u r e a n d H u m a n V a lu e s X (3 ) 1 6 - 2 3
httpfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art1html
Ja m b h h e k a r H e m a n g e e V e r m ic u l t u r e in I n d i a I n t e rn a t ion a l A g -S iev e 7 (1 ) A r t 3
(httpwwwfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art3html)
Journey to Forever Organic Garden Vermicomposting
httpwwwjourneytoforeverorgcompost_wormhtml
Munro G [sa] Manual of on-farm vermicomposting and vermiculture Organic Agriculture Centre of
Canada
Nell W T Engelbrecht G M amp Du Plessis D M 2006 Growing vegetables A comprehensive guide
on how to establish maintain and manage a vegetable garden Centre for Agricultural Management
University of the Free State Bloemfontein
Organic farming and organic gardening using vermicompost httpwwwhappydranchcom92html
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 1 How to grow super vermicompost Go Farming 1(3)22-
23
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 2 How to use super vermicompost Go Farming 1(4)20-22
Pienaar Charl 2007 Vermiculture short course presented at MUCPP Mangaung Bloemfontein
Supertill cc Paarl
Recycling advocates Vermicomposting httpwwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Seasons India Vermicompost
httpwwwseasonsindiacomlifestylegrdnVermicompost_seahtm
Vermiculture
Page 27 of 27
SEED (Schools Environmental Education and Development) 2006 Improving the soil ndash worm
farms (worksheet 53) Growing the living laboratory Permaculture for environmental education in the
NCS Used with permission from Leigh Brown The complete document is available for download
on the SEED website (httpwwwseedorgza)
Setting up a worm bed httpwwwwormpoopcomWormBedWormBedhtm
Sherman Rhonda 2003 Raising earthworms successfully North Carolina Cooperative Extension
Service Publication no EBAE 103-83 North Carolina State University
South Africa Logue Mount Nelson Hotel creates ldquopermaculturerdquo of excellence with worm farm
httpwwwsouthafricaloguecom
Vermiculture Indoor composting
httpredworms-greenearthcomcgi-binshopplpage=indoorhtml
Vermiculture Canada Earthworm castings as plant growth media
httpwwwvermiculturecaarticlesearthworm_castingshtm
Vermiculture composting httpwwwwormpoopcomCompostingCompostinghtm
Vermicompost httpwwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost
Weisenhorn Julie Vermiculture Promote global warming Sustainable urban landscape information
series University of Minnesota httpwwwsustlandumnedu
What kind of earthworms do we recommend httpwwwvermicocomwormshtm
Wikipedia httpenwikipediaorg wikiVermicompost
Worm Digest Young persons guide to vermicomposting
httpwwwwormdigestorgcontentview152
Worm Farm Free worm farming newsletter ndash Vermiculture
httpwwwwormfarmingsecretscom
Worm Research Centre
httpwwwwormresearchcentrecoukvermicompostinghtml
Wormwise How to use WormWisereg Earthworm Castings
httpwormwisecomid=help
Vermiculture
Page 13 of 27
51 As growth medium
A good idea is to mix super vermicompost half-half with river sand This mixture can then be used
as growth medium for seedlings This mixture gives very good results because it drains very well
yet provides the plants with excellent nutrition from the super vermicompost (Pienaar 2007)
52 In the home garden
The super vermicompost can also be applied as top dressing directly to pot plants and to the
garden on plants such as lavender roses hedges etc Use it sparingly but it will not burn plants
if you use too much (Pienaar 2007)
Mixing it with good topsoil compost vermiculite or perlite in equal amounts creates a good potting
soil (wwwwormdigestorg)
A s p o t t in g m ix o n e th ird v e r m ic o m p o s t c a n b e m ix e d w ith tw o -th ird s p o t t in g s o i l
(httpredworms-greenearthcom) As top dressing apply at a rate of two tablespoons every 30 days
after establishing new pot plants In already established pot plants use four tablespoons for the
first application of vermicompost and then follow up with two tablespoons every 30 days
thereafter (wwwwormwisecom)
53 In the vegetable garden
When transplanting seedlings such as cabbage green pepper tomatoes etc up to one cup of
vermicompost can be put in the hole where the seedling will be planted which is then covered with
a layer of ordinary soil and then planting the seedling on top (Pienaar 2007)
When sowing seeds in furrows make the furrow a little deeper and wider than normal sprinkle
some vermicompost onto the rows cover with about 3-5 cm of soil and then sow the seeds at its
normal depth (Pienaar 2007)
The initial application w ould probably not provide enough nutrition to see the vegetable
crop through and in that case apply vermicompost as a top dressing at the following rates
(httpwormwisecom)
bull In the case of cabbage green pepper tomatoes (etc) a topdressing at the rate of one cup per
plant should be worked into the soil in a diameter around the plant every 30 days
bull In the case of vegetables planted in furrows such as beetroot carrots onions etc apply at a
rate of one cup for every 30 cm of row alongside the row every 30 days
Vermiculture
Page 14 of 27
A liquid application (worm tea) will also give very good results when applying to the soil and to
the plant leaves once or twice a month (See 55)
54 For conventional farming purposes
Obviously for commercial farming purposes a small composting operation like the tyre stack or
compost bins would not be sufficient For soils really poor in organic content an application of 40
to 50 tons of fertiliser per hectare may be needed in the first year of converting to organic (non-
chemical fertiliser) farming methods For this volume of compost a conventional commercial
composting works would be required
You will need a large wood chipper automate compost turner big volumes of garden refuse clay
and animal manure Conventional compost and super vermicompost can be combined for use for
commercial farming operations
55 Making super vermicompost worm tea
Super vermicompost can also be applied in liquid form the so-called ldquoworm teardquo Various recipes
are available on the internet for making liquid fertiliser from super vermicompost The recipe can
be very simple for small operations to large commercial brewing operations
A simple recipe is as follows
bull Take a fairly large drum (44 gallons) and cut open the top
Otherwise use a dirt bin with a lid
bull Add a small tap to the bottom of the drum from where the tea
can be drained
bull Clean the drum properly and fill nearly to the top with clean
good quality water
bull Add about five kilograms of fresh super vermicompost You
can also first place it in a bag made of cheese cloth an old
nylon stocking or old pillowcaseDrum for making
compost tea
Vermiculture
Page 15 of 27
bull Use a small air pump which could typically be purchased from a pet shop and is
normally used to aerate indoor fish tanks
bull Put the outlet of the pump into the water and allow to bubble
air through the worm tea for about 24 hours
bull In this time the beneficial microbes (the good bugs) increase at
a very fast rate in the water
bull After this time the colour of the water would be a rich dark
brown like strong black tea
bull A small quantity of dishwashing liquid can be added to make
the liquid stick to the leaves better
bull Remember to filter the worm tea through a cheese cloth before putting into the sprayer
otherwise the nozzle will keep on blocking
This worm tea can be applied in liquid form around your plants (as fertiliser) or sprayed onto the
plants with a sprayer The inexpensive application of worm tea should be repeated every few
weeks or even more often if disease or insect pressure occurs You can never apply too much
The vermicompost tea contains micro-organisms that will inoculate the soil against harmful
organisms that would feed on plant roots (wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg)
To feed plants well you have to feed the soil they grow in One of the best ways to feed the soil
is to add vermicompost Vermicompost feed the micro-organisms in the soil improve soil structure
and fertility and provide plants with all the nutrients they need to grow and stay healthy
Air pump
ldquoM ix two tablespoons of vermicompost with a litre of w ater
and let it stand for a day shaking it occasionally then sprinkle
under the plants One-litre drinking water bottles make good
sprinklers drill a few small-diameter holes in the lid point and
squeezerdquo
wwwjourneytoforeverorg
Vermiculture
Page 16 of 27
The theory about fighting off the ldquobad bugsrdquo with worm tea is that
you assure that the ldquogood bugsrdquo are present in high numbers which
would help them to chase the ldquobad bugsrdquo away
The good bugs are the beneficial or friendly insects They help control
the insects that damage vegetable crops One must learn to recognise
them as your ldquofriendsrdquo in the garden
Good bugs from left Lacewing Praying mantis frog amp gecko
Furthermore a strong healthy well-fed plant will have improved resistance to fight off the ldquobad
bugsrdquo and diseases by itself (Nell Engelbrecht amp Du Plessis 2007)
56 Building up your soil to invite beneficial insects
To ensure good healthy soil ndash whether you have sandy or clay soil ndash boils down to one important
thing The gardener will have to continuously improve the soil If a gardener does not prepare the
soil properly it will lead to poor growth and he will not harvest good quality vegetables
Adding vermicompost deep into the soil will ensure that there is a balanced supply of air in the
soil Avoid unnecessary stepping on the vegetable beds and never work the soil when it is too wet
This will compact the soil and poor aeration will be the result
Good bugs Ladybird feeding
on aphids
ldquoA real gardener is not a man who cultivates
flowers he is a man who cultivates the soilrdquo
Karel Capek in ldquoThe Gardenerrsquos Yearrdquo
Vermiculture
Page 17 of 27
Maintaining a good soil structure can
bull increase water-holding capacity
bull promote root growth
bull maintain aeration and drainage
bull make cultivation easier
bull help to reduce the risk of erosion and
bull improve fertility
No farmer or gardener will be able to improve the soil com-
p le t e l y i n o n e g r o w in g s e a s o n H is g o a l m u s t b e t o
co n t in u o u s ly im p r o v e th e s o i l b y a d d in g co m p o st o r
vermicompost every time he prepares the bed for a new crop
(Nell Engelbrecht amp Du Plessis 2006)
In soils with high organic content there would naturally be a build-up of beneficial microbes (good
bugs) which will work hard at making nutrients ready to be used by plants And the population
of local earthworms will also increase over time This plays a very important role to produce
accessible food for plants and to aerate the soil
Therefore the farmer-who-cares-for-the-environment should do everything possible to build up
hisher soils and thereby to create and maintain conditions in the soil that would attract and protect
the little workers and their even smaller little friends the micro-organisms
DO work in leaves bark chipped garden refuse and compost into your soil and remember to put
a layer of organic matter (mulch) around the plants to cool down the soil and to maintain moisture
DO NOT turn over the soil often and thereby disturbing the fine balance Be mindful of applying
chemicals that will kill the good bugs and make sure that there is no compaction in the soil that
will prevent roots to penetrate deeply and water reserves to build up in the soil
Soils such as these can be built up with
vermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 18 of 27
6 Vermicomposting in Tyre Stacks
According to Mr Charl Pienaar the best most practical and least expensive type of housing for
earthworms is a tyre stack built from used bakkie or tractor tyres and using ldquopensmisrdquo as food
61 Housing earthworms in tyre stacks
Oslash You can use the used bakkie or tractor tyres as is but we found that cutting open one of the
sides with a strong knife or electric jig saw optimises the inside space and makes harvesting the
super vermicompost that much easier
Ugrave Put a plastic sheet on the ground in a suitable shady spot (under a tree on the south side of
your house against the wall or inside under a roof) and start building the tyre stack on top of
the plastic sheet The plastic sheet is for preventing tree roots from growing into your compost
from the bottom ndash remember all types of plants love super vermicompost
ldquoTo me it is one of Gods finest m iracles to observe how hum ble
earthworms are able to magically convert otherwise useless plant and
animal wastes into rich humus (black gold) for plants to produce
the food that enriches our livesrdquo
ndash Charl Pienaar
Tractor tyreCharl Pienaar cutting open the
side of a tyre
Vermiculture
Page 19 of 27
Uacute Water the inside of each of the tyres well
Ucirc Fill each tyre first with bedding (such as shredded paper) and then a
thick layer of manure
Uuml Water the contents well especially in the round section of the tyre
Yacute Place another layer of shredded paper on top of the layer of manure then place some of the
worms to one side on top of the food in the tyre
THORN Stack the next tyre and continue until you have five or six bakkie tyres stacked and filled with
worm food (no more than two for tractor tyres)
Watering inside of tyreLayer of shredded paper Layer of manure
Placing worms to one sideWater each tyre separately
Vermiculture
Page 20 of 27
szlig Place a sheet of plastic canvass or a layer of newspapers over
the top of the bedding This will hold moisture in and will
help reduce the chance that fruit flies come and lay their eggs
in the food
The tyre stack is now ready to provide a house and shelter for
your new little workers You can of course build as many of these
tyre stacks as you have space and energy for
If your tyre stack dries out the compost will become hard like a
rock their skins will dry out and your little workers will die
Water your tyre stack about once a week by pouring a few cups
of clean water in from the top If water runs out at the bottom
you are over-watering and you should apply less water
52 Feeding the earthworms in the tyre stack
Your little helpers will feed on a whole range of organic food sources but for agricultural purposes
we found pre-composted abattoir manure (ldquopensmisrdquo) and some types of pre-composted animal
manure (ldquokraalmisrdquo) the best
Other types of organic material such as conventional
compost made from leaves chopped scrap wood
animal manure and w ood pulp should also work
well
To test the suitability of different food sources put a
small quantity of moist food in a container (such as an
empty margarine holder) and put a small number of
earthworms on top If they refuse to burrow in after
a few minutes the food is not suitable
Pre-composting of fresh organic material should be
done by placing the organic matter in a drum or container with ventilation holes supplied and
turning the compost every few days by rolling the drum or container a few times
Building tyre stack
Abattoir manure (ldquoPensmisrdquo)
Vermiculture
Page 21 of 27
Or you could start a conventional compost heap and turn the
heap with a fork every few days The micro-organisms will start breaking the organic matter down
heat will build up and oxygen will be used in the process
Within about three weeks the pre-composted matter should be ready to be placed inside the tyre
stacks as described previously
If you have access to ldquooldrdquo organic matter (for instance manure that has been lying in a heap for
a few months) pre-composting should not be necessary
53 Harvesting the tyre stack
The following technique works well and although it is slower it is much easier and less stressful
for the little workers
Oslash Start building a new tyre stack next to the old one and put fresh worm food only in the round
bottom section of the tyre starting with shredded paper then manure (ldquopensmisrdquo)
Ugrave Fill the rest of the tyre with the harvested compost (plus worms) from the old tyre stack and
continue with the next tyre when the bottom one is full And so on until the stack is six tyres
high
Uacute The next step is to disturb the top few layers of vermicompost by stirring with your hands
which causes the worms to take flight downwards
Turning of compost
Conventional compost containers
Vermiculture
Page 22 of 27
Ucirc The clean compost can then be harvested from the top Continue with the harvesting until you
reach the fresh worm food And there you will find all the worms trapped in the round section
of the tyre ready to be scooped out with the fresh worm food
Uuml The little workers embedded in the fresh organic matter could then be scooped out and used
to populate a new tyre stack that was first filled with fresh worm food And so the cycle is
repeated over and over
7 Worming Towards LEISA and Organic Farming
Techniques
In this part we will explain how to utilise the super vermicompost that your little workers so
willingly and cost-effectively prepared for you We will also provide insights on how to build up
your soil so that the local little workers will be able to continue the good work that their brothers
and sisters in the tyre stacks did for you
LEISA is short for Low External Inputs Sustainable Agriculture simply meaning that instead of
looking for expensive external farming inputs (chemical fertilisers chem ical w eed killers
insecticides and pest control chemicals) the clever farmer or vegetable gardener should find items
and materials available locally and inexpensively to do the same or better job as the expensive
external inputs
For instance a flock of geese on the farm could do a great job to keep snails and other insects under
control while at the same time providing a renewable source of meat and eggs to feed the farmers
family As they are good for security too
Using a chicken tractor to work the soil for
y o u i s a l s o s o m e t h i n g t h a t c a n b e
in co rp o ra te d in a v e g e ta b le g a rd en A
chicken tractor is basically a bottomless cage
built from old material It allows the chickens
to scratch and eat off of the ground such
things as grass weeds bugs worms etc
You can drag the chicken tractor around the
garden The chicken manure goes directly
onto th e s o il w here it fe rtilises th e so il
C h ick en tractors are perfect for a sm a ll
number of chickens
A chicken tractor at the experimental site of the Motheo
College in Bloemfontein
Vermiculture
Page 23 of 27
In the same way super vermicompost produced on the farm or at home from waste material and
making use of the free labour provided by the little helpers could go a long way towards replacing
expensive chemical fertilisers Furthermore vermicompost is good for building up the soils
putting carbon sources and essential microbes (good bugs)
back into the place where they belong the place that
Nature prepared for the over the ages
LEISA is therefore about helping to create a positive
ldquobalance of paymentsrdquo for the farm ing enterprise or
vegetable garden ndash more money should flow in to the
project than would otherwise flow out One important
aspect of this positive balance is to purchase as little as
p o s s ib le e x p en s ive ex te rn a l in p u ts fo r fa rm in g o r
vegetable gardening operations
And super vermicompost produced on the farm fits right into the LEISA philosophy
Organic farming techniques go one step further namely to receive certification (proof) that no
harmful substances were used n the farming operations Good quality compost (also certified as
organic) is an essential input for formal organic farming techniques
However for produce to be certified organic could be very expensive especially for a small-scale
farmer Then your pack house cold chain and transport system also needs to be certified organic
adding more complications
ldquoWhat does organic mean
Organic farming is producing food the natural way Organic farmers aim
to produce good healthy tasty food from balanced healthy soil Organic
farm ers cannot grow GM (genetically modified) crops and cannot use
chem ical fertilizers or additives or spray artificial pesticides O rganic
farmers use crop rotation to improve the fertility of their soil Healthy soil
= healthy plant = healthy humanrdquo
Anonymous (Go Farming 2(2)7)
Vermiculture
Page 24 of 27
Therefore the advice for emerging farmers or vegetable growers is to learn their trade through
LEISA techniques and not to attempt to go all the way to being certified organic without having
the skills and experience to make a success of that The Internet is full of very useful tips on how
to farm better with low external inputs type LEISA and vermiculture in a search engine such as
Google and youll be amazed with the information that comes up
8 Some Vermicomposting Stories from All over
the World
Commercial vermicomposting is just beginning in the USA San Diego in California has employed
worms to convert part of its organic waste stream into useable products The castings are in high
demand In Oregon a research and demonstration project has become a thriving business A large
urban hospital in Ontario has been using worms to process some of its waste stream for several
years (Attra 2007)
We read of the ldquoworm womanrdquo Mary Appelhoff No one in this country has done more for the
self-image of worms than Mary Appelhof the undisputed and nationally recognized
Worm Woman (Green Living Magazine)
Worms eat my garbage Theyve been doing it for twenty-seven years I set up my basement worm
bin with shredded newspaper a bit of soil and a few thousand redworms I bury food waste in it
The worms eat it They also eat the bacteria and protozoa and fungi and other microorganisms
which decompose it They grind and mix and secrete and excrete and eventually the food waste
and bedding turns into worm castings which we use in our garden The whole process is truly on-
site recyclingrdquo
Mary Appelhoff published her first book Worms eat my garbage How to set up and maintain a worm
composting system in 1982 Her newest endeavour is t bring a new voice to the vermicomposting
field by publishing a childrens picture book about vermicomposting Compost by gosh Her website
for worm composting resources can be visited at httpwwwwormwomancom
Other countries have been researching and using commercial vermicompost systems for a decade
or more Cuba for instance started their vermicomposting programme in 1986 with two small
boxes of red worms By 1992 172 vermicompost centres were producing 93 000 tons of worm
humus annually (Gersper et al 1993)
Vermiculture
Page 25 of 27
Currently France Germany Italy Japan Hong Kong India Australia and many countries
in South America have research or commercial vermicomposting projects underway (Attra 2007)
One of the largest commercial producers of vermicompost is Vermitech (Pty) Ltd in Australia
This company is dedicated to the beneficial management of organic waste through the use of very
large scale Vermiculture Their website documents considerable research on the use of their
product on various crops (httpwwwvermitechcomhomehtm)
In the past ten years an organisation in India has prompted over 2 000 farmers and institutions to
switch from conventional chemical fertilisers to that of an organic fertiliser namely vermicompost
Vermiculture has been the prim ary focus at M aharashtra Agricultural Bioteks w hich w as
established in 1985 The organisation currently produces 5 000 tons of vermicompost annually In
1991 to 1992 this group promoted the adoption of vermicompost technology in 13 states in India
The organisation has also created a programme which trains housewives and home gardeners to
produce their ow n vermicompost from household garden waste (Dr Henamgee Jambhekar
wwwfadrmsuru)
The Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town added a feature to its list of facilities that is a South African
first A fully-functioning worm farm The hotel has decided to go green by instituting an organic
waste recycling programme where its kitchen waste are turned into worm droppings which
constitute some of the best fertiliser to keep the hotels lawns pot plants and vegetable gardens
flourishing They have thousands of worms housed in plastic crates behind one of the hotels
parking areas They estimate that the farm currently hosts about 33 000 worms (South Africa
Logue)
There are also plans to work on methods to combine conventional composting with super
vermicompost and to put up commercial composting plants at the two new markets for emerging
farmers at Philippi Market Cape Town and Ugu Agricultural Market in Port Shepstone The
conventional compost spiked with super vermicompost will be made available for emerging
farmers near these markets through the subsidised transport linking the markets with the emerging
supply base via a depot system (Charl Pienaar 2007)
Happy Worming
Vermiculture
Page 26 of 27
SOURCES
Anonymous [sa] Organic agriculture What does it all means Go Farming 2(2)6-8
A TTR A (A ppropria te T echnology T ransfer for Rural Areas) 2007 W orms for com posting
(Vermicomposting) National Center for Appropriate Technology
Earthworms as a natural resource httpwwwwormfarmcom
G e r s p e r e t a l 1 9 9 3 C u b a s c o m p o s t in g A g r ic u l t u r e a n d H u m a n V a lu e s X (3 ) 1 6 - 2 3
httpfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art1html
Ja m b h h e k a r H e m a n g e e V e r m ic u l t u r e in I n d i a I n t e rn a t ion a l A g -S iev e 7 (1 ) A r t 3
(httpwwwfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art3html)
Journey to Forever Organic Garden Vermicomposting
httpwwwjourneytoforeverorgcompost_wormhtml
Munro G [sa] Manual of on-farm vermicomposting and vermiculture Organic Agriculture Centre of
Canada
Nell W T Engelbrecht G M amp Du Plessis D M 2006 Growing vegetables A comprehensive guide
on how to establish maintain and manage a vegetable garden Centre for Agricultural Management
University of the Free State Bloemfontein
Organic farming and organic gardening using vermicompost httpwwwhappydranchcom92html
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 1 How to grow super vermicompost Go Farming 1(3)22-
23
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 2 How to use super vermicompost Go Farming 1(4)20-22
Pienaar Charl 2007 Vermiculture short course presented at MUCPP Mangaung Bloemfontein
Supertill cc Paarl
Recycling advocates Vermicomposting httpwwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Seasons India Vermicompost
httpwwwseasonsindiacomlifestylegrdnVermicompost_seahtm
Vermiculture
Page 27 of 27
SEED (Schools Environmental Education and Development) 2006 Improving the soil ndash worm
farms (worksheet 53) Growing the living laboratory Permaculture for environmental education in the
NCS Used with permission from Leigh Brown The complete document is available for download
on the SEED website (httpwwwseedorgza)
Setting up a worm bed httpwwwwormpoopcomWormBedWormBedhtm
Sherman Rhonda 2003 Raising earthworms successfully North Carolina Cooperative Extension
Service Publication no EBAE 103-83 North Carolina State University
South Africa Logue Mount Nelson Hotel creates ldquopermaculturerdquo of excellence with worm farm
httpwwwsouthafricaloguecom
Vermiculture Indoor composting
httpredworms-greenearthcomcgi-binshopplpage=indoorhtml
Vermiculture Canada Earthworm castings as plant growth media
httpwwwvermiculturecaarticlesearthworm_castingshtm
Vermiculture composting httpwwwwormpoopcomCompostingCompostinghtm
Vermicompost httpwwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost
Weisenhorn Julie Vermiculture Promote global warming Sustainable urban landscape information
series University of Minnesota httpwwwsustlandumnedu
What kind of earthworms do we recommend httpwwwvermicocomwormshtm
Wikipedia httpenwikipediaorg wikiVermicompost
Worm Digest Young persons guide to vermicomposting
httpwwwwormdigestorgcontentview152
Worm Farm Free worm farming newsletter ndash Vermiculture
httpwwwwormfarmingsecretscom
Worm Research Centre
httpwwwwormresearchcentrecoukvermicompostinghtml
Wormwise How to use WormWisereg Earthworm Castings
httpwormwisecomid=help
Vermiculture
Page 14 of 27
A liquid application (worm tea) will also give very good results when applying to the soil and to
the plant leaves once or twice a month (See 55)
54 For conventional farming purposes
Obviously for commercial farming purposes a small composting operation like the tyre stack or
compost bins would not be sufficient For soils really poor in organic content an application of 40
to 50 tons of fertiliser per hectare may be needed in the first year of converting to organic (non-
chemical fertiliser) farming methods For this volume of compost a conventional commercial
composting works would be required
You will need a large wood chipper automate compost turner big volumes of garden refuse clay
and animal manure Conventional compost and super vermicompost can be combined for use for
commercial farming operations
55 Making super vermicompost worm tea
Super vermicompost can also be applied in liquid form the so-called ldquoworm teardquo Various recipes
are available on the internet for making liquid fertiliser from super vermicompost The recipe can
be very simple for small operations to large commercial brewing operations
A simple recipe is as follows
bull Take a fairly large drum (44 gallons) and cut open the top
Otherwise use a dirt bin with a lid
bull Add a small tap to the bottom of the drum from where the tea
can be drained
bull Clean the drum properly and fill nearly to the top with clean
good quality water
bull Add about five kilograms of fresh super vermicompost You
can also first place it in a bag made of cheese cloth an old
nylon stocking or old pillowcaseDrum for making
compost tea
Vermiculture
Page 15 of 27
bull Use a small air pump which could typically be purchased from a pet shop and is
normally used to aerate indoor fish tanks
bull Put the outlet of the pump into the water and allow to bubble
air through the worm tea for about 24 hours
bull In this time the beneficial microbes (the good bugs) increase at
a very fast rate in the water
bull After this time the colour of the water would be a rich dark
brown like strong black tea
bull A small quantity of dishwashing liquid can be added to make
the liquid stick to the leaves better
bull Remember to filter the worm tea through a cheese cloth before putting into the sprayer
otherwise the nozzle will keep on blocking
This worm tea can be applied in liquid form around your plants (as fertiliser) or sprayed onto the
plants with a sprayer The inexpensive application of worm tea should be repeated every few
weeks or even more often if disease or insect pressure occurs You can never apply too much
The vermicompost tea contains micro-organisms that will inoculate the soil against harmful
organisms that would feed on plant roots (wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg)
To feed plants well you have to feed the soil they grow in One of the best ways to feed the soil
is to add vermicompost Vermicompost feed the micro-organisms in the soil improve soil structure
and fertility and provide plants with all the nutrients they need to grow and stay healthy
Air pump
ldquoM ix two tablespoons of vermicompost with a litre of w ater
and let it stand for a day shaking it occasionally then sprinkle
under the plants One-litre drinking water bottles make good
sprinklers drill a few small-diameter holes in the lid point and
squeezerdquo
wwwjourneytoforeverorg
Vermiculture
Page 16 of 27
The theory about fighting off the ldquobad bugsrdquo with worm tea is that
you assure that the ldquogood bugsrdquo are present in high numbers which
would help them to chase the ldquobad bugsrdquo away
The good bugs are the beneficial or friendly insects They help control
the insects that damage vegetable crops One must learn to recognise
them as your ldquofriendsrdquo in the garden
Good bugs from left Lacewing Praying mantis frog amp gecko
Furthermore a strong healthy well-fed plant will have improved resistance to fight off the ldquobad
bugsrdquo and diseases by itself (Nell Engelbrecht amp Du Plessis 2007)
56 Building up your soil to invite beneficial insects
To ensure good healthy soil ndash whether you have sandy or clay soil ndash boils down to one important
thing The gardener will have to continuously improve the soil If a gardener does not prepare the
soil properly it will lead to poor growth and he will not harvest good quality vegetables
Adding vermicompost deep into the soil will ensure that there is a balanced supply of air in the
soil Avoid unnecessary stepping on the vegetable beds and never work the soil when it is too wet
This will compact the soil and poor aeration will be the result
Good bugs Ladybird feeding
on aphids
ldquoA real gardener is not a man who cultivates
flowers he is a man who cultivates the soilrdquo
Karel Capek in ldquoThe Gardenerrsquos Yearrdquo
Vermiculture
Page 17 of 27
Maintaining a good soil structure can
bull increase water-holding capacity
bull promote root growth
bull maintain aeration and drainage
bull make cultivation easier
bull help to reduce the risk of erosion and
bull improve fertility
No farmer or gardener will be able to improve the soil com-
p le t e l y i n o n e g r o w in g s e a s o n H is g o a l m u s t b e t o
co n t in u o u s ly im p r o v e th e s o i l b y a d d in g co m p o st o r
vermicompost every time he prepares the bed for a new crop
(Nell Engelbrecht amp Du Plessis 2006)
In soils with high organic content there would naturally be a build-up of beneficial microbes (good
bugs) which will work hard at making nutrients ready to be used by plants And the population
of local earthworms will also increase over time This plays a very important role to produce
accessible food for plants and to aerate the soil
Therefore the farmer-who-cares-for-the-environment should do everything possible to build up
hisher soils and thereby to create and maintain conditions in the soil that would attract and protect
the little workers and their even smaller little friends the micro-organisms
DO work in leaves bark chipped garden refuse and compost into your soil and remember to put
a layer of organic matter (mulch) around the plants to cool down the soil and to maintain moisture
DO NOT turn over the soil often and thereby disturbing the fine balance Be mindful of applying
chemicals that will kill the good bugs and make sure that there is no compaction in the soil that
will prevent roots to penetrate deeply and water reserves to build up in the soil
Soils such as these can be built up with
vermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 18 of 27
6 Vermicomposting in Tyre Stacks
According to Mr Charl Pienaar the best most practical and least expensive type of housing for
earthworms is a tyre stack built from used bakkie or tractor tyres and using ldquopensmisrdquo as food
61 Housing earthworms in tyre stacks
Oslash You can use the used bakkie or tractor tyres as is but we found that cutting open one of the
sides with a strong knife or electric jig saw optimises the inside space and makes harvesting the
super vermicompost that much easier
Ugrave Put a plastic sheet on the ground in a suitable shady spot (under a tree on the south side of
your house against the wall or inside under a roof) and start building the tyre stack on top of
the plastic sheet The plastic sheet is for preventing tree roots from growing into your compost
from the bottom ndash remember all types of plants love super vermicompost
ldquoTo me it is one of Gods finest m iracles to observe how hum ble
earthworms are able to magically convert otherwise useless plant and
animal wastes into rich humus (black gold) for plants to produce
the food that enriches our livesrdquo
ndash Charl Pienaar
Tractor tyreCharl Pienaar cutting open the
side of a tyre
Vermiculture
Page 19 of 27
Uacute Water the inside of each of the tyres well
Ucirc Fill each tyre first with bedding (such as shredded paper) and then a
thick layer of manure
Uuml Water the contents well especially in the round section of the tyre
Yacute Place another layer of shredded paper on top of the layer of manure then place some of the
worms to one side on top of the food in the tyre
THORN Stack the next tyre and continue until you have five or six bakkie tyres stacked and filled with
worm food (no more than two for tractor tyres)
Watering inside of tyreLayer of shredded paper Layer of manure
Placing worms to one sideWater each tyre separately
Vermiculture
Page 20 of 27
szlig Place a sheet of plastic canvass or a layer of newspapers over
the top of the bedding This will hold moisture in and will
help reduce the chance that fruit flies come and lay their eggs
in the food
The tyre stack is now ready to provide a house and shelter for
your new little workers You can of course build as many of these
tyre stacks as you have space and energy for
If your tyre stack dries out the compost will become hard like a
rock their skins will dry out and your little workers will die
Water your tyre stack about once a week by pouring a few cups
of clean water in from the top If water runs out at the bottom
you are over-watering and you should apply less water
52 Feeding the earthworms in the tyre stack
Your little helpers will feed on a whole range of organic food sources but for agricultural purposes
we found pre-composted abattoir manure (ldquopensmisrdquo) and some types of pre-composted animal
manure (ldquokraalmisrdquo) the best
Other types of organic material such as conventional
compost made from leaves chopped scrap wood
animal manure and w ood pulp should also work
well
To test the suitability of different food sources put a
small quantity of moist food in a container (such as an
empty margarine holder) and put a small number of
earthworms on top If they refuse to burrow in after
a few minutes the food is not suitable
Pre-composting of fresh organic material should be
done by placing the organic matter in a drum or container with ventilation holes supplied and
turning the compost every few days by rolling the drum or container a few times
Building tyre stack
Abattoir manure (ldquoPensmisrdquo)
Vermiculture
Page 21 of 27
Or you could start a conventional compost heap and turn the
heap with a fork every few days The micro-organisms will start breaking the organic matter down
heat will build up and oxygen will be used in the process
Within about three weeks the pre-composted matter should be ready to be placed inside the tyre
stacks as described previously
If you have access to ldquooldrdquo organic matter (for instance manure that has been lying in a heap for
a few months) pre-composting should not be necessary
53 Harvesting the tyre stack
The following technique works well and although it is slower it is much easier and less stressful
for the little workers
Oslash Start building a new tyre stack next to the old one and put fresh worm food only in the round
bottom section of the tyre starting with shredded paper then manure (ldquopensmisrdquo)
Ugrave Fill the rest of the tyre with the harvested compost (plus worms) from the old tyre stack and
continue with the next tyre when the bottom one is full And so on until the stack is six tyres
high
Uacute The next step is to disturb the top few layers of vermicompost by stirring with your hands
which causes the worms to take flight downwards
Turning of compost
Conventional compost containers
Vermiculture
Page 22 of 27
Ucirc The clean compost can then be harvested from the top Continue with the harvesting until you
reach the fresh worm food And there you will find all the worms trapped in the round section
of the tyre ready to be scooped out with the fresh worm food
Uuml The little workers embedded in the fresh organic matter could then be scooped out and used
to populate a new tyre stack that was first filled with fresh worm food And so the cycle is
repeated over and over
7 Worming Towards LEISA and Organic Farming
Techniques
In this part we will explain how to utilise the super vermicompost that your little workers so
willingly and cost-effectively prepared for you We will also provide insights on how to build up
your soil so that the local little workers will be able to continue the good work that their brothers
and sisters in the tyre stacks did for you
LEISA is short for Low External Inputs Sustainable Agriculture simply meaning that instead of
looking for expensive external farming inputs (chemical fertilisers chem ical w eed killers
insecticides and pest control chemicals) the clever farmer or vegetable gardener should find items
and materials available locally and inexpensively to do the same or better job as the expensive
external inputs
For instance a flock of geese on the farm could do a great job to keep snails and other insects under
control while at the same time providing a renewable source of meat and eggs to feed the farmers
family As they are good for security too
Using a chicken tractor to work the soil for
y o u i s a l s o s o m e t h i n g t h a t c a n b e
in co rp o ra te d in a v e g e ta b le g a rd en A
chicken tractor is basically a bottomless cage
built from old material It allows the chickens
to scratch and eat off of the ground such
things as grass weeds bugs worms etc
You can drag the chicken tractor around the
garden The chicken manure goes directly
onto th e s o il w here it fe rtilises th e so il
C h ick en tractors are perfect for a sm a ll
number of chickens
A chicken tractor at the experimental site of the Motheo
College in Bloemfontein
Vermiculture
Page 23 of 27
In the same way super vermicompost produced on the farm or at home from waste material and
making use of the free labour provided by the little helpers could go a long way towards replacing
expensive chemical fertilisers Furthermore vermicompost is good for building up the soils
putting carbon sources and essential microbes (good bugs)
back into the place where they belong the place that
Nature prepared for the over the ages
LEISA is therefore about helping to create a positive
ldquobalance of paymentsrdquo for the farm ing enterprise or
vegetable garden ndash more money should flow in to the
project than would otherwise flow out One important
aspect of this positive balance is to purchase as little as
p o s s ib le e x p en s ive ex te rn a l in p u ts fo r fa rm in g o r
vegetable gardening operations
And super vermicompost produced on the farm fits right into the LEISA philosophy
Organic farming techniques go one step further namely to receive certification (proof) that no
harmful substances were used n the farming operations Good quality compost (also certified as
organic) is an essential input for formal organic farming techniques
However for produce to be certified organic could be very expensive especially for a small-scale
farmer Then your pack house cold chain and transport system also needs to be certified organic
adding more complications
ldquoWhat does organic mean
Organic farming is producing food the natural way Organic farmers aim
to produce good healthy tasty food from balanced healthy soil Organic
farm ers cannot grow GM (genetically modified) crops and cannot use
chem ical fertilizers or additives or spray artificial pesticides O rganic
farmers use crop rotation to improve the fertility of their soil Healthy soil
= healthy plant = healthy humanrdquo
Anonymous (Go Farming 2(2)7)
Vermiculture
Page 24 of 27
Therefore the advice for emerging farmers or vegetable growers is to learn their trade through
LEISA techniques and not to attempt to go all the way to being certified organic without having
the skills and experience to make a success of that The Internet is full of very useful tips on how
to farm better with low external inputs type LEISA and vermiculture in a search engine such as
Google and youll be amazed with the information that comes up
8 Some Vermicomposting Stories from All over
the World
Commercial vermicomposting is just beginning in the USA San Diego in California has employed
worms to convert part of its organic waste stream into useable products The castings are in high
demand In Oregon a research and demonstration project has become a thriving business A large
urban hospital in Ontario has been using worms to process some of its waste stream for several
years (Attra 2007)
We read of the ldquoworm womanrdquo Mary Appelhoff No one in this country has done more for the
self-image of worms than Mary Appelhof the undisputed and nationally recognized
Worm Woman (Green Living Magazine)
Worms eat my garbage Theyve been doing it for twenty-seven years I set up my basement worm
bin with shredded newspaper a bit of soil and a few thousand redworms I bury food waste in it
The worms eat it They also eat the bacteria and protozoa and fungi and other microorganisms
which decompose it They grind and mix and secrete and excrete and eventually the food waste
and bedding turns into worm castings which we use in our garden The whole process is truly on-
site recyclingrdquo
Mary Appelhoff published her first book Worms eat my garbage How to set up and maintain a worm
composting system in 1982 Her newest endeavour is t bring a new voice to the vermicomposting
field by publishing a childrens picture book about vermicomposting Compost by gosh Her website
for worm composting resources can be visited at httpwwwwormwomancom
Other countries have been researching and using commercial vermicompost systems for a decade
or more Cuba for instance started their vermicomposting programme in 1986 with two small
boxes of red worms By 1992 172 vermicompost centres were producing 93 000 tons of worm
humus annually (Gersper et al 1993)
Vermiculture
Page 25 of 27
Currently France Germany Italy Japan Hong Kong India Australia and many countries
in South America have research or commercial vermicomposting projects underway (Attra 2007)
One of the largest commercial producers of vermicompost is Vermitech (Pty) Ltd in Australia
This company is dedicated to the beneficial management of organic waste through the use of very
large scale Vermiculture Their website documents considerable research on the use of their
product on various crops (httpwwwvermitechcomhomehtm)
In the past ten years an organisation in India has prompted over 2 000 farmers and institutions to
switch from conventional chemical fertilisers to that of an organic fertiliser namely vermicompost
Vermiculture has been the prim ary focus at M aharashtra Agricultural Bioteks w hich w as
established in 1985 The organisation currently produces 5 000 tons of vermicompost annually In
1991 to 1992 this group promoted the adoption of vermicompost technology in 13 states in India
The organisation has also created a programme which trains housewives and home gardeners to
produce their ow n vermicompost from household garden waste (Dr Henamgee Jambhekar
wwwfadrmsuru)
The Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town added a feature to its list of facilities that is a South African
first A fully-functioning worm farm The hotel has decided to go green by instituting an organic
waste recycling programme where its kitchen waste are turned into worm droppings which
constitute some of the best fertiliser to keep the hotels lawns pot plants and vegetable gardens
flourishing They have thousands of worms housed in plastic crates behind one of the hotels
parking areas They estimate that the farm currently hosts about 33 000 worms (South Africa
Logue)
There are also plans to work on methods to combine conventional composting with super
vermicompost and to put up commercial composting plants at the two new markets for emerging
farmers at Philippi Market Cape Town and Ugu Agricultural Market in Port Shepstone The
conventional compost spiked with super vermicompost will be made available for emerging
farmers near these markets through the subsidised transport linking the markets with the emerging
supply base via a depot system (Charl Pienaar 2007)
Happy Worming
Vermiculture
Page 26 of 27
SOURCES
Anonymous [sa] Organic agriculture What does it all means Go Farming 2(2)6-8
A TTR A (A ppropria te T echnology T ransfer for Rural Areas) 2007 W orms for com posting
(Vermicomposting) National Center for Appropriate Technology
Earthworms as a natural resource httpwwwwormfarmcom
G e r s p e r e t a l 1 9 9 3 C u b a s c o m p o s t in g A g r ic u l t u r e a n d H u m a n V a lu e s X (3 ) 1 6 - 2 3
httpfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art1html
Ja m b h h e k a r H e m a n g e e V e r m ic u l t u r e in I n d i a I n t e rn a t ion a l A g -S iev e 7 (1 ) A r t 3
(httpwwwfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art3html)
Journey to Forever Organic Garden Vermicomposting
httpwwwjourneytoforeverorgcompost_wormhtml
Munro G [sa] Manual of on-farm vermicomposting and vermiculture Organic Agriculture Centre of
Canada
Nell W T Engelbrecht G M amp Du Plessis D M 2006 Growing vegetables A comprehensive guide
on how to establish maintain and manage a vegetable garden Centre for Agricultural Management
University of the Free State Bloemfontein
Organic farming and organic gardening using vermicompost httpwwwhappydranchcom92html
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 1 How to grow super vermicompost Go Farming 1(3)22-
23
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 2 How to use super vermicompost Go Farming 1(4)20-22
Pienaar Charl 2007 Vermiculture short course presented at MUCPP Mangaung Bloemfontein
Supertill cc Paarl
Recycling advocates Vermicomposting httpwwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Seasons India Vermicompost
httpwwwseasonsindiacomlifestylegrdnVermicompost_seahtm
Vermiculture
Page 27 of 27
SEED (Schools Environmental Education and Development) 2006 Improving the soil ndash worm
farms (worksheet 53) Growing the living laboratory Permaculture for environmental education in the
NCS Used with permission from Leigh Brown The complete document is available for download
on the SEED website (httpwwwseedorgza)
Setting up a worm bed httpwwwwormpoopcomWormBedWormBedhtm
Sherman Rhonda 2003 Raising earthworms successfully North Carolina Cooperative Extension
Service Publication no EBAE 103-83 North Carolina State University
South Africa Logue Mount Nelson Hotel creates ldquopermaculturerdquo of excellence with worm farm
httpwwwsouthafricaloguecom
Vermiculture Indoor composting
httpredworms-greenearthcomcgi-binshopplpage=indoorhtml
Vermiculture Canada Earthworm castings as plant growth media
httpwwwvermiculturecaarticlesearthworm_castingshtm
Vermiculture composting httpwwwwormpoopcomCompostingCompostinghtm
Vermicompost httpwwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost
Weisenhorn Julie Vermiculture Promote global warming Sustainable urban landscape information
series University of Minnesota httpwwwsustlandumnedu
What kind of earthworms do we recommend httpwwwvermicocomwormshtm
Wikipedia httpenwikipediaorg wikiVermicompost
Worm Digest Young persons guide to vermicomposting
httpwwwwormdigestorgcontentview152
Worm Farm Free worm farming newsletter ndash Vermiculture
httpwwwwormfarmingsecretscom
Worm Research Centre
httpwwwwormresearchcentrecoukvermicompostinghtml
Wormwise How to use WormWisereg Earthworm Castings
httpwormwisecomid=help
Vermiculture
Page 15 of 27
bull Use a small air pump which could typically be purchased from a pet shop and is
normally used to aerate indoor fish tanks
bull Put the outlet of the pump into the water and allow to bubble
air through the worm tea for about 24 hours
bull In this time the beneficial microbes (the good bugs) increase at
a very fast rate in the water
bull After this time the colour of the water would be a rich dark
brown like strong black tea
bull A small quantity of dishwashing liquid can be added to make
the liquid stick to the leaves better
bull Remember to filter the worm tea through a cheese cloth before putting into the sprayer
otherwise the nozzle will keep on blocking
This worm tea can be applied in liquid form around your plants (as fertiliser) or sprayed onto the
plants with a sprayer The inexpensive application of worm tea should be repeated every few
weeks or even more often if disease or insect pressure occurs You can never apply too much
The vermicompost tea contains micro-organisms that will inoculate the soil against harmful
organisms that would feed on plant roots (wwwrecyclingadvocatesorg)
To feed plants well you have to feed the soil they grow in One of the best ways to feed the soil
is to add vermicompost Vermicompost feed the micro-organisms in the soil improve soil structure
and fertility and provide plants with all the nutrients they need to grow and stay healthy
Air pump
ldquoM ix two tablespoons of vermicompost with a litre of w ater
and let it stand for a day shaking it occasionally then sprinkle
under the plants One-litre drinking water bottles make good
sprinklers drill a few small-diameter holes in the lid point and
squeezerdquo
wwwjourneytoforeverorg
Vermiculture
Page 16 of 27
The theory about fighting off the ldquobad bugsrdquo with worm tea is that
you assure that the ldquogood bugsrdquo are present in high numbers which
would help them to chase the ldquobad bugsrdquo away
The good bugs are the beneficial or friendly insects They help control
the insects that damage vegetable crops One must learn to recognise
them as your ldquofriendsrdquo in the garden
Good bugs from left Lacewing Praying mantis frog amp gecko
Furthermore a strong healthy well-fed plant will have improved resistance to fight off the ldquobad
bugsrdquo and diseases by itself (Nell Engelbrecht amp Du Plessis 2007)
56 Building up your soil to invite beneficial insects
To ensure good healthy soil ndash whether you have sandy or clay soil ndash boils down to one important
thing The gardener will have to continuously improve the soil If a gardener does not prepare the
soil properly it will lead to poor growth and he will not harvest good quality vegetables
Adding vermicompost deep into the soil will ensure that there is a balanced supply of air in the
soil Avoid unnecessary stepping on the vegetable beds and never work the soil when it is too wet
This will compact the soil and poor aeration will be the result
Good bugs Ladybird feeding
on aphids
ldquoA real gardener is not a man who cultivates
flowers he is a man who cultivates the soilrdquo
Karel Capek in ldquoThe Gardenerrsquos Yearrdquo
Vermiculture
Page 17 of 27
Maintaining a good soil structure can
bull increase water-holding capacity
bull promote root growth
bull maintain aeration and drainage
bull make cultivation easier
bull help to reduce the risk of erosion and
bull improve fertility
No farmer or gardener will be able to improve the soil com-
p le t e l y i n o n e g r o w in g s e a s o n H is g o a l m u s t b e t o
co n t in u o u s ly im p r o v e th e s o i l b y a d d in g co m p o st o r
vermicompost every time he prepares the bed for a new crop
(Nell Engelbrecht amp Du Plessis 2006)
In soils with high organic content there would naturally be a build-up of beneficial microbes (good
bugs) which will work hard at making nutrients ready to be used by plants And the population
of local earthworms will also increase over time This plays a very important role to produce
accessible food for plants and to aerate the soil
Therefore the farmer-who-cares-for-the-environment should do everything possible to build up
hisher soils and thereby to create and maintain conditions in the soil that would attract and protect
the little workers and their even smaller little friends the micro-organisms
DO work in leaves bark chipped garden refuse and compost into your soil and remember to put
a layer of organic matter (mulch) around the plants to cool down the soil and to maintain moisture
DO NOT turn over the soil often and thereby disturbing the fine balance Be mindful of applying
chemicals that will kill the good bugs and make sure that there is no compaction in the soil that
will prevent roots to penetrate deeply and water reserves to build up in the soil
Soils such as these can be built up with
vermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 18 of 27
6 Vermicomposting in Tyre Stacks
According to Mr Charl Pienaar the best most practical and least expensive type of housing for
earthworms is a tyre stack built from used bakkie or tractor tyres and using ldquopensmisrdquo as food
61 Housing earthworms in tyre stacks
Oslash You can use the used bakkie or tractor tyres as is but we found that cutting open one of the
sides with a strong knife or electric jig saw optimises the inside space and makes harvesting the
super vermicompost that much easier
Ugrave Put a plastic sheet on the ground in a suitable shady spot (under a tree on the south side of
your house against the wall or inside under a roof) and start building the tyre stack on top of
the plastic sheet The plastic sheet is for preventing tree roots from growing into your compost
from the bottom ndash remember all types of plants love super vermicompost
ldquoTo me it is one of Gods finest m iracles to observe how hum ble
earthworms are able to magically convert otherwise useless plant and
animal wastes into rich humus (black gold) for plants to produce
the food that enriches our livesrdquo
ndash Charl Pienaar
Tractor tyreCharl Pienaar cutting open the
side of a tyre
Vermiculture
Page 19 of 27
Uacute Water the inside of each of the tyres well
Ucirc Fill each tyre first with bedding (such as shredded paper) and then a
thick layer of manure
Uuml Water the contents well especially in the round section of the tyre
Yacute Place another layer of shredded paper on top of the layer of manure then place some of the
worms to one side on top of the food in the tyre
THORN Stack the next tyre and continue until you have five or six bakkie tyres stacked and filled with
worm food (no more than two for tractor tyres)
Watering inside of tyreLayer of shredded paper Layer of manure
Placing worms to one sideWater each tyre separately
Vermiculture
Page 20 of 27
szlig Place a sheet of plastic canvass or a layer of newspapers over
the top of the bedding This will hold moisture in and will
help reduce the chance that fruit flies come and lay their eggs
in the food
The tyre stack is now ready to provide a house and shelter for
your new little workers You can of course build as many of these
tyre stacks as you have space and energy for
If your tyre stack dries out the compost will become hard like a
rock their skins will dry out and your little workers will die
Water your tyre stack about once a week by pouring a few cups
of clean water in from the top If water runs out at the bottom
you are over-watering and you should apply less water
52 Feeding the earthworms in the tyre stack
Your little helpers will feed on a whole range of organic food sources but for agricultural purposes
we found pre-composted abattoir manure (ldquopensmisrdquo) and some types of pre-composted animal
manure (ldquokraalmisrdquo) the best
Other types of organic material such as conventional
compost made from leaves chopped scrap wood
animal manure and w ood pulp should also work
well
To test the suitability of different food sources put a
small quantity of moist food in a container (such as an
empty margarine holder) and put a small number of
earthworms on top If they refuse to burrow in after
a few minutes the food is not suitable
Pre-composting of fresh organic material should be
done by placing the organic matter in a drum or container with ventilation holes supplied and
turning the compost every few days by rolling the drum or container a few times
Building tyre stack
Abattoir manure (ldquoPensmisrdquo)
Vermiculture
Page 21 of 27
Or you could start a conventional compost heap and turn the
heap with a fork every few days The micro-organisms will start breaking the organic matter down
heat will build up and oxygen will be used in the process
Within about three weeks the pre-composted matter should be ready to be placed inside the tyre
stacks as described previously
If you have access to ldquooldrdquo organic matter (for instance manure that has been lying in a heap for
a few months) pre-composting should not be necessary
53 Harvesting the tyre stack
The following technique works well and although it is slower it is much easier and less stressful
for the little workers
Oslash Start building a new tyre stack next to the old one and put fresh worm food only in the round
bottom section of the tyre starting with shredded paper then manure (ldquopensmisrdquo)
Ugrave Fill the rest of the tyre with the harvested compost (plus worms) from the old tyre stack and
continue with the next tyre when the bottom one is full And so on until the stack is six tyres
high
Uacute The next step is to disturb the top few layers of vermicompost by stirring with your hands
which causes the worms to take flight downwards
Turning of compost
Conventional compost containers
Vermiculture
Page 22 of 27
Ucirc The clean compost can then be harvested from the top Continue with the harvesting until you
reach the fresh worm food And there you will find all the worms trapped in the round section
of the tyre ready to be scooped out with the fresh worm food
Uuml The little workers embedded in the fresh organic matter could then be scooped out and used
to populate a new tyre stack that was first filled with fresh worm food And so the cycle is
repeated over and over
7 Worming Towards LEISA and Organic Farming
Techniques
In this part we will explain how to utilise the super vermicompost that your little workers so
willingly and cost-effectively prepared for you We will also provide insights on how to build up
your soil so that the local little workers will be able to continue the good work that their brothers
and sisters in the tyre stacks did for you
LEISA is short for Low External Inputs Sustainable Agriculture simply meaning that instead of
looking for expensive external farming inputs (chemical fertilisers chem ical w eed killers
insecticides and pest control chemicals) the clever farmer or vegetable gardener should find items
and materials available locally and inexpensively to do the same or better job as the expensive
external inputs
For instance a flock of geese on the farm could do a great job to keep snails and other insects under
control while at the same time providing a renewable source of meat and eggs to feed the farmers
family As they are good for security too
Using a chicken tractor to work the soil for
y o u i s a l s o s o m e t h i n g t h a t c a n b e
in co rp o ra te d in a v e g e ta b le g a rd en A
chicken tractor is basically a bottomless cage
built from old material It allows the chickens
to scratch and eat off of the ground such
things as grass weeds bugs worms etc
You can drag the chicken tractor around the
garden The chicken manure goes directly
onto th e s o il w here it fe rtilises th e so il
C h ick en tractors are perfect for a sm a ll
number of chickens
A chicken tractor at the experimental site of the Motheo
College in Bloemfontein
Vermiculture
Page 23 of 27
In the same way super vermicompost produced on the farm or at home from waste material and
making use of the free labour provided by the little helpers could go a long way towards replacing
expensive chemical fertilisers Furthermore vermicompost is good for building up the soils
putting carbon sources and essential microbes (good bugs)
back into the place where they belong the place that
Nature prepared for the over the ages
LEISA is therefore about helping to create a positive
ldquobalance of paymentsrdquo for the farm ing enterprise or
vegetable garden ndash more money should flow in to the
project than would otherwise flow out One important
aspect of this positive balance is to purchase as little as
p o s s ib le e x p en s ive ex te rn a l in p u ts fo r fa rm in g o r
vegetable gardening operations
And super vermicompost produced on the farm fits right into the LEISA philosophy
Organic farming techniques go one step further namely to receive certification (proof) that no
harmful substances were used n the farming operations Good quality compost (also certified as
organic) is an essential input for formal organic farming techniques
However for produce to be certified organic could be very expensive especially for a small-scale
farmer Then your pack house cold chain and transport system also needs to be certified organic
adding more complications
ldquoWhat does organic mean
Organic farming is producing food the natural way Organic farmers aim
to produce good healthy tasty food from balanced healthy soil Organic
farm ers cannot grow GM (genetically modified) crops and cannot use
chem ical fertilizers or additives or spray artificial pesticides O rganic
farmers use crop rotation to improve the fertility of their soil Healthy soil
= healthy plant = healthy humanrdquo
Anonymous (Go Farming 2(2)7)
Vermiculture
Page 24 of 27
Therefore the advice for emerging farmers or vegetable growers is to learn their trade through
LEISA techniques and not to attempt to go all the way to being certified organic without having
the skills and experience to make a success of that The Internet is full of very useful tips on how
to farm better with low external inputs type LEISA and vermiculture in a search engine such as
Google and youll be amazed with the information that comes up
8 Some Vermicomposting Stories from All over
the World
Commercial vermicomposting is just beginning in the USA San Diego in California has employed
worms to convert part of its organic waste stream into useable products The castings are in high
demand In Oregon a research and demonstration project has become a thriving business A large
urban hospital in Ontario has been using worms to process some of its waste stream for several
years (Attra 2007)
We read of the ldquoworm womanrdquo Mary Appelhoff No one in this country has done more for the
self-image of worms than Mary Appelhof the undisputed and nationally recognized
Worm Woman (Green Living Magazine)
Worms eat my garbage Theyve been doing it for twenty-seven years I set up my basement worm
bin with shredded newspaper a bit of soil and a few thousand redworms I bury food waste in it
The worms eat it They also eat the bacteria and protozoa and fungi and other microorganisms
which decompose it They grind and mix and secrete and excrete and eventually the food waste
and bedding turns into worm castings which we use in our garden The whole process is truly on-
site recyclingrdquo
Mary Appelhoff published her first book Worms eat my garbage How to set up and maintain a worm
composting system in 1982 Her newest endeavour is t bring a new voice to the vermicomposting
field by publishing a childrens picture book about vermicomposting Compost by gosh Her website
for worm composting resources can be visited at httpwwwwormwomancom
Other countries have been researching and using commercial vermicompost systems for a decade
or more Cuba for instance started their vermicomposting programme in 1986 with two small
boxes of red worms By 1992 172 vermicompost centres were producing 93 000 tons of worm
humus annually (Gersper et al 1993)
Vermiculture
Page 25 of 27
Currently France Germany Italy Japan Hong Kong India Australia and many countries
in South America have research or commercial vermicomposting projects underway (Attra 2007)
One of the largest commercial producers of vermicompost is Vermitech (Pty) Ltd in Australia
This company is dedicated to the beneficial management of organic waste through the use of very
large scale Vermiculture Their website documents considerable research on the use of their
product on various crops (httpwwwvermitechcomhomehtm)
In the past ten years an organisation in India has prompted over 2 000 farmers and institutions to
switch from conventional chemical fertilisers to that of an organic fertiliser namely vermicompost
Vermiculture has been the prim ary focus at M aharashtra Agricultural Bioteks w hich w as
established in 1985 The organisation currently produces 5 000 tons of vermicompost annually In
1991 to 1992 this group promoted the adoption of vermicompost technology in 13 states in India
The organisation has also created a programme which trains housewives and home gardeners to
produce their ow n vermicompost from household garden waste (Dr Henamgee Jambhekar
wwwfadrmsuru)
The Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town added a feature to its list of facilities that is a South African
first A fully-functioning worm farm The hotel has decided to go green by instituting an organic
waste recycling programme where its kitchen waste are turned into worm droppings which
constitute some of the best fertiliser to keep the hotels lawns pot plants and vegetable gardens
flourishing They have thousands of worms housed in plastic crates behind one of the hotels
parking areas They estimate that the farm currently hosts about 33 000 worms (South Africa
Logue)
There are also plans to work on methods to combine conventional composting with super
vermicompost and to put up commercial composting plants at the two new markets for emerging
farmers at Philippi Market Cape Town and Ugu Agricultural Market in Port Shepstone The
conventional compost spiked with super vermicompost will be made available for emerging
farmers near these markets through the subsidised transport linking the markets with the emerging
supply base via a depot system (Charl Pienaar 2007)
Happy Worming
Vermiculture
Page 26 of 27
SOURCES
Anonymous [sa] Organic agriculture What does it all means Go Farming 2(2)6-8
A TTR A (A ppropria te T echnology T ransfer for Rural Areas) 2007 W orms for com posting
(Vermicomposting) National Center for Appropriate Technology
Earthworms as a natural resource httpwwwwormfarmcom
G e r s p e r e t a l 1 9 9 3 C u b a s c o m p o s t in g A g r ic u l t u r e a n d H u m a n V a lu e s X (3 ) 1 6 - 2 3
httpfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art1html
Ja m b h h e k a r H e m a n g e e V e r m ic u l t u r e in I n d i a I n t e rn a t ion a l A g -S iev e 7 (1 ) A r t 3
(httpwwwfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art3html)
Journey to Forever Organic Garden Vermicomposting
httpwwwjourneytoforeverorgcompost_wormhtml
Munro G [sa] Manual of on-farm vermicomposting and vermiculture Organic Agriculture Centre of
Canada
Nell W T Engelbrecht G M amp Du Plessis D M 2006 Growing vegetables A comprehensive guide
on how to establish maintain and manage a vegetable garden Centre for Agricultural Management
University of the Free State Bloemfontein
Organic farming and organic gardening using vermicompost httpwwwhappydranchcom92html
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 1 How to grow super vermicompost Go Farming 1(3)22-
23
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 2 How to use super vermicompost Go Farming 1(4)20-22
Pienaar Charl 2007 Vermiculture short course presented at MUCPP Mangaung Bloemfontein
Supertill cc Paarl
Recycling advocates Vermicomposting httpwwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Seasons India Vermicompost
httpwwwseasonsindiacomlifestylegrdnVermicompost_seahtm
Vermiculture
Page 27 of 27
SEED (Schools Environmental Education and Development) 2006 Improving the soil ndash worm
farms (worksheet 53) Growing the living laboratory Permaculture for environmental education in the
NCS Used with permission from Leigh Brown The complete document is available for download
on the SEED website (httpwwwseedorgza)
Setting up a worm bed httpwwwwormpoopcomWormBedWormBedhtm
Sherman Rhonda 2003 Raising earthworms successfully North Carolina Cooperative Extension
Service Publication no EBAE 103-83 North Carolina State University
South Africa Logue Mount Nelson Hotel creates ldquopermaculturerdquo of excellence with worm farm
httpwwwsouthafricaloguecom
Vermiculture Indoor composting
httpredworms-greenearthcomcgi-binshopplpage=indoorhtml
Vermiculture Canada Earthworm castings as plant growth media
httpwwwvermiculturecaarticlesearthworm_castingshtm
Vermiculture composting httpwwwwormpoopcomCompostingCompostinghtm
Vermicompost httpwwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost
Weisenhorn Julie Vermiculture Promote global warming Sustainable urban landscape information
series University of Minnesota httpwwwsustlandumnedu
What kind of earthworms do we recommend httpwwwvermicocomwormshtm
Wikipedia httpenwikipediaorg wikiVermicompost
Worm Digest Young persons guide to vermicomposting
httpwwwwormdigestorgcontentview152
Worm Farm Free worm farming newsletter ndash Vermiculture
httpwwwwormfarmingsecretscom
Worm Research Centre
httpwwwwormresearchcentrecoukvermicompostinghtml
Wormwise How to use WormWisereg Earthworm Castings
httpwormwisecomid=help
Vermiculture
Page 16 of 27
The theory about fighting off the ldquobad bugsrdquo with worm tea is that
you assure that the ldquogood bugsrdquo are present in high numbers which
would help them to chase the ldquobad bugsrdquo away
The good bugs are the beneficial or friendly insects They help control
the insects that damage vegetable crops One must learn to recognise
them as your ldquofriendsrdquo in the garden
Good bugs from left Lacewing Praying mantis frog amp gecko
Furthermore a strong healthy well-fed plant will have improved resistance to fight off the ldquobad
bugsrdquo and diseases by itself (Nell Engelbrecht amp Du Plessis 2007)
56 Building up your soil to invite beneficial insects
To ensure good healthy soil ndash whether you have sandy or clay soil ndash boils down to one important
thing The gardener will have to continuously improve the soil If a gardener does not prepare the
soil properly it will lead to poor growth and he will not harvest good quality vegetables
Adding vermicompost deep into the soil will ensure that there is a balanced supply of air in the
soil Avoid unnecessary stepping on the vegetable beds and never work the soil when it is too wet
This will compact the soil and poor aeration will be the result
Good bugs Ladybird feeding
on aphids
ldquoA real gardener is not a man who cultivates
flowers he is a man who cultivates the soilrdquo
Karel Capek in ldquoThe Gardenerrsquos Yearrdquo
Vermiculture
Page 17 of 27
Maintaining a good soil structure can
bull increase water-holding capacity
bull promote root growth
bull maintain aeration and drainage
bull make cultivation easier
bull help to reduce the risk of erosion and
bull improve fertility
No farmer or gardener will be able to improve the soil com-
p le t e l y i n o n e g r o w in g s e a s o n H is g o a l m u s t b e t o
co n t in u o u s ly im p r o v e th e s o i l b y a d d in g co m p o st o r
vermicompost every time he prepares the bed for a new crop
(Nell Engelbrecht amp Du Plessis 2006)
In soils with high organic content there would naturally be a build-up of beneficial microbes (good
bugs) which will work hard at making nutrients ready to be used by plants And the population
of local earthworms will also increase over time This plays a very important role to produce
accessible food for plants and to aerate the soil
Therefore the farmer-who-cares-for-the-environment should do everything possible to build up
hisher soils and thereby to create and maintain conditions in the soil that would attract and protect
the little workers and their even smaller little friends the micro-organisms
DO work in leaves bark chipped garden refuse and compost into your soil and remember to put
a layer of organic matter (mulch) around the plants to cool down the soil and to maintain moisture
DO NOT turn over the soil often and thereby disturbing the fine balance Be mindful of applying
chemicals that will kill the good bugs and make sure that there is no compaction in the soil that
will prevent roots to penetrate deeply and water reserves to build up in the soil
Soils such as these can be built up with
vermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 18 of 27
6 Vermicomposting in Tyre Stacks
According to Mr Charl Pienaar the best most practical and least expensive type of housing for
earthworms is a tyre stack built from used bakkie or tractor tyres and using ldquopensmisrdquo as food
61 Housing earthworms in tyre stacks
Oslash You can use the used bakkie or tractor tyres as is but we found that cutting open one of the
sides with a strong knife or electric jig saw optimises the inside space and makes harvesting the
super vermicompost that much easier
Ugrave Put a plastic sheet on the ground in a suitable shady spot (under a tree on the south side of
your house against the wall or inside under a roof) and start building the tyre stack on top of
the plastic sheet The plastic sheet is for preventing tree roots from growing into your compost
from the bottom ndash remember all types of plants love super vermicompost
ldquoTo me it is one of Gods finest m iracles to observe how hum ble
earthworms are able to magically convert otherwise useless plant and
animal wastes into rich humus (black gold) for plants to produce
the food that enriches our livesrdquo
ndash Charl Pienaar
Tractor tyreCharl Pienaar cutting open the
side of a tyre
Vermiculture
Page 19 of 27
Uacute Water the inside of each of the tyres well
Ucirc Fill each tyre first with bedding (such as shredded paper) and then a
thick layer of manure
Uuml Water the contents well especially in the round section of the tyre
Yacute Place another layer of shredded paper on top of the layer of manure then place some of the
worms to one side on top of the food in the tyre
THORN Stack the next tyre and continue until you have five or six bakkie tyres stacked and filled with
worm food (no more than two for tractor tyres)
Watering inside of tyreLayer of shredded paper Layer of manure
Placing worms to one sideWater each tyre separately
Vermiculture
Page 20 of 27
szlig Place a sheet of plastic canvass or a layer of newspapers over
the top of the bedding This will hold moisture in and will
help reduce the chance that fruit flies come and lay their eggs
in the food
The tyre stack is now ready to provide a house and shelter for
your new little workers You can of course build as many of these
tyre stacks as you have space and energy for
If your tyre stack dries out the compost will become hard like a
rock their skins will dry out and your little workers will die
Water your tyre stack about once a week by pouring a few cups
of clean water in from the top If water runs out at the bottom
you are over-watering and you should apply less water
52 Feeding the earthworms in the tyre stack
Your little helpers will feed on a whole range of organic food sources but for agricultural purposes
we found pre-composted abattoir manure (ldquopensmisrdquo) and some types of pre-composted animal
manure (ldquokraalmisrdquo) the best
Other types of organic material such as conventional
compost made from leaves chopped scrap wood
animal manure and w ood pulp should also work
well
To test the suitability of different food sources put a
small quantity of moist food in a container (such as an
empty margarine holder) and put a small number of
earthworms on top If they refuse to burrow in after
a few minutes the food is not suitable
Pre-composting of fresh organic material should be
done by placing the organic matter in a drum or container with ventilation holes supplied and
turning the compost every few days by rolling the drum or container a few times
Building tyre stack
Abattoir manure (ldquoPensmisrdquo)
Vermiculture
Page 21 of 27
Or you could start a conventional compost heap and turn the
heap with a fork every few days The micro-organisms will start breaking the organic matter down
heat will build up and oxygen will be used in the process
Within about three weeks the pre-composted matter should be ready to be placed inside the tyre
stacks as described previously
If you have access to ldquooldrdquo organic matter (for instance manure that has been lying in a heap for
a few months) pre-composting should not be necessary
53 Harvesting the tyre stack
The following technique works well and although it is slower it is much easier and less stressful
for the little workers
Oslash Start building a new tyre stack next to the old one and put fresh worm food only in the round
bottom section of the tyre starting with shredded paper then manure (ldquopensmisrdquo)
Ugrave Fill the rest of the tyre with the harvested compost (plus worms) from the old tyre stack and
continue with the next tyre when the bottom one is full And so on until the stack is six tyres
high
Uacute The next step is to disturb the top few layers of vermicompost by stirring with your hands
which causes the worms to take flight downwards
Turning of compost
Conventional compost containers
Vermiculture
Page 22 of 27
Ucirc The clean compost can then be harvested from the top Continue with the harvesting until you
reach the fresh worm food And there you will find all the worms trapped in the round section
of the tyre ready to be scooped out with the fresh worm food
Uuml The little workers embedded in the fresh organic matter could then be scooped out and used
to populate a new tyre stack that was first filled with fresh worm food And so the cycle is
repeated over and over
7 Worming Towards LEISA and Organic Farming
Techniques
In this part we will explain how to utilise the super vermicompost that your little workers so
willingly and cost-effectively prepared for you We will also provide insights on how to build up
your soil so that the local little workers will be able to continue the good work that their brothers
and sisters in the tyre stacks did for you
LEISA is short for Low External Inputs Sustainable Agriculture simply meaning that instead of
looking for expensive external farming inputs (chemical fertilisers chem ical w eed killers
insecticides and pest control chemicals) the clever farmer or vegetable gardener should find items
and materials available locally and inexpensively to do the same or better job as the expensive
external inputs
For instance a flock of geese on the farm could do a great job to keep snails and other insects under
control while at the same time providing a renewable source of meat and eggs to feed the farmers
family As they are good for security too
Using a chicken tractor to work the soil for
y o u i s a l s o s o m e t h i n g t h a t c a n b e
in co rp o ra te d in a v e g e ta b le g a rd en A
chicken tractor is basically a bottomless cage
built from old material It allows the chickens
to scratch and eat off of the ground such
things as grass weeds bugs worms etc
You can drag the chicken tractor around the
garden The chicken manure goes directly
onto th e s o il w here it fe rtilises th e so il
C h ick en tractors are perfect for a sm a ll
number of chickens
A chicken tractor at the experimental site of the Motheo
College in Bloemfontein
Vermiculture
Page 23 of 27
In the same way super vermicompost produced on the farm or at home from waste material and
making use of the free labour provided by the little helpers could go a long way towards replacing
expensive chemical fertilisers Furthermore vermicompost is good for building up the soils
putting carbon sources and essential microbes (good bugs)
back into the place where they belong the place that
Nature prepared for the over the ages
LEISA is therefore about helping to create a positive
ldquobalance of paymentsrdquo for the farm ing enterprise or
vegetable garden ndash more money should flow in to the
project than would otherwise flow out One important
aspect of this positive balance is to purchase as little as
p o s s ib le e x p en s ive ex te rn a l in p u ts fo r fa rm in g o r
vegetable gardening operations
And super vermicompost produced on the farm fits right into the LEISA philosophy
Organic farming techniques go one step further namely to receive certification (proof) that no
harmful substances were used n the farming operations Good quality compost (also certified as
organic) is an essential input for formal organic farming techniques
However for produce to be certified organic could be very expensive especially for a small-scale
farmer Then your pack house cold chain and transport system also needs to be certified organic
adding more complications
ldquoWhat does organic mean
Organic farming is producing food the natural way Organic farmers aim
to produce good healthy tasty food from balanced healthy soil Organic
farm ers cannot grow GM (genetically modified) crops and cannot use
chem ical fertilizers or additives or spray artificial pesticides O rganic
farmers use crop rotation to improve the fertility of their soil Healthy soil
= healthy plant = healthy humanrdquo
Anonymous (Go Farming 2(2)7)
Vermiculture
Page 24 of 27
Therefore the advice for emerging farmers or vegetable growers is to learn their trade through
LEISA techniques and not to attempt to go all the way to being certified organic without having
the skills and experience to make a success of that The Internet is full of very useful tips on how
to farm better with low external inputs type LEISA and vermiculture in a search engine such as
Google and youll be amazed with the information that comes up
8 Some Vermicomposting Stories from All over
the World
Commercial vermicomposting is just beginning in the USA San Diego in California has employed
worms to convert part of its organic waste stream into useable products The castings are in high
demand In Oregon a research and demonstration project has become a thriving business A large
urban hospital in Ontario has been using worms to process some of its waste stream for several
years (Attra 2007)
We read of the ldquoworm womanrdquo Mary Appelhoff No one in this country has done more for the
self-image of worms than Mary Appelhof the undisputed and nationally recognized
Worm Woman (Green Living Magazine)
Worms eat my garbage Theyve been doing it for twenty-seven years I set up my basement worm
bin with shredded newspaper a bit of soil and a few thousand redworms I bury food waste in it
The worms eat it They also eat the bacteria and protozoa and fungi and other microorganisms
which decompose it They grind and mix and secrete and excrete and eventually the food waste
and bedding turns into worm castings which we use in our garden The whole process is truly on-
site recyclingrdquo
Mary Appelhoff published her first book Worms eat my garbage How to set up and maintain a worm
composting system in 1982 Her newest endeavour is t bring a new voice to the vermicomposting
field by publishing a childrens picture book about vermicomposting Compost by gosh Her website
for worm composting resources can be visited at httpwwwwormwomancom
Other countries have been researching and using commercial vermicompost systems for a decade
or more Cuba for instance started their vermicomposting programme in 1986 with two small
boxes of red worms By 1992 172 vermicompost centres were producing 93 000 tons of worm
humus annually (Gersper et al 1993)
Vermiculture
Page 25 of 27
Currently France Germany Italy Japan Hong Kong India Australia and many countries
in South America have research or commercial vermicomposting projects underway (Attra 2007)
One of the largest commercial producers of vermicompost is Vermitech (Pty) Ltd in Australia
This company is dedicated to the beneficial management of organic waste through the use of very
large scale Vermiculture Their website documents considerable research on the use of their
product on various crops (httpwwwvermitechcomhomehtm)
In the past ten years an organisation in India has prompted over 2 000 farmers and institutions to
switch from conventional chemical fertilisers to that of an organic fertiliser namely vermicompost
Vermiculture has been the prim ary focus at M aharashtra Agricultural Bioteks w hich w as
established in 1985 The organisation currently produces 5 000 tons of vermicompost annually In
1991 to 1992 this group promoted the adoption of vermicompost technology in 13 states in India
The organisation has also created a programme which trains housewives and home gardeners to
produce their ow n vermicompost from household garden waste (Dr Henamgee Jambhekar
wwwfadrmsuru)
The Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town added a feature to its list of facilities that is a South African
first A fully-functioning worm farm The hotel has decided to go green by instituting an organic
waste recycling programme where its kitchen waste are turned into worm droppings which
constitute some of the best fertiliser to keep the hotels lawns pot plants and vegetable gardens
flourishing They have thousands of worms housed in plastic crates behind one of the hotels
parking areas They estimate that the farm currently hosts about 33 000 worms (South Africa
Logue)
There are also plans to work on methods to combine conventional composting with super
vermicompost and to put up commercial composting plants at the two new markets for emerging
farmers at Philippi Market Cape Town and Ugu Agricultural Market in Port Shepstone The
conventional compost spiked with super vermicompost will be made available for emerging
farmers near these markets through the subsidised transport linking the markets with the emerging
supply base via a depot system (Charl Pienaar 2007)
Happy Worming
Vermiculture
Page 26 of 27
SOURCES
Anonymous [sa] Organic agriculture What does it all means Go Farming 2(2)6-8
A TTR A (A ppropria te T echnology T ransfer for Rural Areas) 2007 W orms for com posting
(Vermicomposting) National Center for Appropriate Technology
Earthworms as a natural resource httpwwwwormfarmcom
G e r s p e r e t a l 1 9 9 3 C u b a s c o m p o s t in g A g r ic u l t u r e a n d H u m a n V a lu e s X (3 ) 1 6 - 2 3
httpfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art1html
Ja m b h h e k a r H e m a n g e e V e r m ic u l t u r e in I n d i a I n t e rn a t ion a l A g -S iev e 7 (1 ) A r t 3
(httpwwwfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art3html)
Journey to Forever Organic Garden Vermicomposting
httpwwwjourneytoforeverorgcompost_wormhtml
Munro G [sa] Manual of on-farm vermicomposting and vermiculture Organic Agriculture Centre of
Canada
Nell W T Engelbrecht G M amp Du Plessis D M 2006 Growing vegetables A comprehensive guide
on how to establish maintain and manage a vegetable garden Centre for Agricultural Management
University of the Free State Bloemfontein
Organic farming and organic gardening using vermicompost httpwwwhappydranchcom92html
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 1 How to grow super vermicompost Go Farming 1(3)22-
23
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 2 How to use super vermicompost Go Farming 1(4)20-22
Pienaar Charl 2007 Vermiculture short course presented at MUCPP Mangaung Bloemfontein
Supertill cc Paarl
Recycling advocates Vermicomposting httpwwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Seasons India Vermicompost
httpwwwseasonsindiacomlifestylegrdnVermicompost_seahtm
Vermiculture
Page 27 of 27
SEED (Schools Environmental Education and Development) 2006 Improving the soil ndash worm
farms (worksheet 53) Growing the living laboratory Permaculture for environmental education in the
NCS Used with permission from Leigh Brown The complete document is available for download
on the SEED website (httpwwwseedorgza)
Setting up a worm bed httpwwwwormpoopcomWormBedWormBedhtm
Sherman Rhonda 2003 Raising earthworms successfully North Carolina Cooperative Extension
Service Publication no EBAE 103-83 North Carolina State University
South Africa Logue Mount Nelson Hotel creates ldquopermaculturerdquo of excellence with worm farm
httpwwwsouthafricaloguecom
Vermiculture Indoor composting
httpredworms-greenearthcomcgi-binshopplpage=indoorhtml
Vermiculture Canada Earthworm castings as plant growth media
httpwwwvermiculturecaarticlesearthworm_castingshtm
Vermiculture composting httpwwwwormpoopcomCompostingCompostinghtm
Vermicompost httpwwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost
Weisenhorn Julie Vermiculture Promote global warming Sustainable urban landscape information
series University of Minnesota httpwwwsustlandumnedu
What kind of earthworms do we recommend httpwwwvermicocomwormshtm
Wikipedia httpenwikipediaorg wikiVermicompost
Worm Digest Young persons guide to vermicomposting
httpwwwwormdigestorgcontentview152
Worm Farm Free worm farming newsletter ndash Vermiculture
httpwwwwormfarmingsecretscom
Worm Research Centre
httpwwwwormresearchcentrecoukvermicompostinghtml
Wormwise How to use WormWisereg Earthworm Castings
httpwormwisecomid=help
Vermiculture
Page 17 of 27
Maintaining a good soil structure can
bull increase water-holding capacity
bull promote root growth
bull maintain aeration and drainage
bull make cultivation easier
bull help to reduce the risk of erosion and
bull improve fertility
No farmer or gardener will be able to improve the soil com-
p le t e l y i n o n e g r o w in g s e a s o n H is g o a l m u s t b e t o
co n t in u o u s ly im p r o v e th e s o i l b y a d d in g co m p o st o r
vermicompost every time he prepares the bed for a new crop
(Nell Engelbrecht amp Du Plessis 2006)
In soils with high organic content there would naturally be a build-up of beneficial microbes (good
bugs) which will work hard at making nutrients ready to be used by plants And the population
of local earthworms will also increase over time This plays a very important role to produce
accessible food for plants and to aerate the soil
Therefore the farmer-who-cares-for-the-environment should do everything possible to build up
hisher soils and thereby to create and maintain conditions in the soil that would attract and protect
the little workers and their even smaller little friends the micro-organisms
DO work in leaves bark chipped garden refuse and compost into your soil and remember to put
a layer of organic matter (mulch) around the plants to cool down the soil and to maintain moisture
DO NOT turn over the soil often and thereby disturbing the fine balance Be mindful of applying
chemicals that will kill the good bugs and make sure that there is no compaction in the soil that
will prevent roots to penetrate deeply and water reserves to build up in the soil
Soils such as these can be built up with
vermicompost
Vermiculture
Page 18 of 27
6 Vermicomposting in Tyre Stacks
According to Mr Charl Pienaar the best most practical and least expensive type of housing for
earthworms is a tyre stack built from used bakkie or tractor tyres and using ldquopensmisrdquo as food
61 Housing earthworms in tyre stacks
Oslash You can use the used bakkie or tractor tyres as is but we found that cutting open one of the
sides with a strong knife or electric jig saw optimises the inside space and makes harvesting the
super vermicompost that much easier
Ugrave Put a plastic sheet on the ground in a suitable shady spot (under a tree on the south side of
your house against the wall or inside under a roof) and start building the tyre stack on top of
the plastic sheet The plastic sheet is for preventing tree roots from growing into your compost
from the bottom ndash remember all types of plants love super vermicompost
ldquoTo me it is one of Gods finest m iracles to observe how hum ble
earthworms are able to magically convert otherwise useless plant and
animal wastes into rich humus (black gold) for plants to produce
the food that enriches our livesrdquo
ndash Charl Pienaar
Tractor tyreCharl Pienaar cutting open the
side of a tyre
Vermiculture
Page 19 of 27
Uacute Water the inside of each of the tyres well
Ucirc Fill each tyre first with bedding (such as shredded paper) and then a
thick layer of manure
Uuml Water the contents well especially in the round section of the tyre
Yacute Place another layer of shredded paper on top of the layer of manure then place some of the
worms to one side on top of the food in the tyre
THORN Stack the next tyre and continue until you have five or six bakkie tyres stacked and filled with
worm food (no more than two for tractor tyres)
Watering inside of tyreLayer of shredded paper Layer of manure
Placing worms to one sideWater each tyre separately
Vermiculture
Page 20 of 27
szlig Place a sheet of plastic canvass or a layer of newspapers over
the top of the bedding This will hold moisture in and will
help reduce the chance that fruit flies come and lay their eggs
in the food
The tyre stack is now ready to provide a house and shelter for
your new little workers You can of course build as many of these
tyre stacks as you have space and energy for
If your tyre stack dries out the compost will become hard like a
rock their skins will dry out and your little workers will die
Water your tyre stack about once a week by pouring a few cups
of clean water in from the top If water runs out at the bottom
you are over-watering and you should apply less water
52 Feeding the earthworms in the tyre stack
Your little helpers will feed on a whole range of organic food sources but for agricultural purposes
we found pre-composted abattoir manure (ldquopensmisrdquo) and some types of pre-composted animal
manure (ldquokraalmisrdquo) the best
Other types of organic material such as conventional
compost made from leaves chopped scrap wood
animal manure and w ood pulp should also work
well
To test the suitability of different food sources put a
small quantity of moist food in a container (such as an
empty margarine holder) and put a small number of
earthworms on top If they refuse to burrow in after
a few minutes the food is not suitable
Pre-composting of fresh organic material should be
done by placing the organic matter in a drum or container with ventilation holes supplied and
turning the compost every few days by rolling the drum or container a few times
Building tyre stack
Abattoir manure (ldquoPensmisrdquo)
Vermiculture
Page 21 of 27
Or you could start a conventional compost heap and turn the
heap with a fork every few days The micro-organisms will start breaking the organic matter down
heat will build up and oxygen will be used in the process
Within about three weeks the pre-composted matter should be ready to be placed inside the tyre
stacks as described previously
If you have access to ldquooldrdquo organic matter (for instance manure that has been lying in a heap for
a few months) pre-composting should not be necessary
53 Harvesting the tyre stack
The following technique works well and although it is slower it is much easier and less stressful
for the little workers
Oslash Start building a new tyre stack next to the old one and put fresh worm food only in the round
bottom section of the tyre starting with shredded paper then manure (ldquopensmisrdquo)
Ugrave Fill the rest of the tyre with the harvested compost (plus worms) from the old tyre stack and
continue with the next tyre when the bottom one is full And so on until the stack is six tyres
high
Uacute The next step is to disturb the top few layers of vermicompost by stirring with your hands
which causes the worms to take flight downwards
Turning of compost
Conventional compost containers
Vermiculture
Page 22 of 27
Ucirc The clean compost can then be harvested from the top Continue with the harvesting until you
reach the fresh worm food And there you will find all the worms trapped in the round section
of the tyre ready to be scooped out with the fresh worm food
Uuml The little workers embedded in the fresh organic matter could then be scooped out and used
to populate a new tyre stack that was first filled with fresh worm food And so the cycle is
repeated over and over
7 Worming Towards LEISA and Organic Farming
Techniques
In this part we will explain how to utilise the super vermicompost that your little workers so
willingly and cost-effectively prepared for you We will also provide insights on how to build up
your soil so that the local little workers will be able to continue the good work that their brothers
and sisters in the tyre stacks did for you
LEISA is short for Low External Inputs Sustainable Agriculture simply meaning that instead of
looking for expensive external farming inputs (chemical fertilisers chem ical w eed killers
insecticides and pest control chemicals) the clever farmer or vegetable gardener should find items
and materials available locally and inexpensively to do the same or better job as the expensive
external inputs
For instance a flock of geese on the farm could do a great job to keep snails and other insects under
control while at the same time providing a renewable source of meat and eggs to feed the farmers
family As they are good for security too
Using a chicken tractor to work the soil for
y o u i s a l s o s o m e t h i n g t h a t c a n b e
in co rp o ra te d in a v e g e ta b le g a rd en A
chicken tractor is basically a bottomless cage
built from old material It allows the chickens
to scratch and eat off of the ground such
things as grass weeds bugs worms etc
You can drag the chicken tractor around the
garden The chicken manure goes directly
onto th e s o il w here it fe rtilises th e so il
C h ick en tractors are perfect for a sm a ll
number of chickens
A chicken tractor at the experimental site of the Motheo
College in Bloemfontein
Vermiculture
Page 23 of 27
In the same way super vermicompost produced on the farm or at home from waste material and
making use of the free labour provided by the little helpers could go a long way towards replacing
expensive chemical fertilisers Furthermore vermicompost is good for building up the soils
putting carbon sources and essential microbes (good bugs)
back into the place where they belong the place that
Nature prepared for the over the ages
LEISA is therefore about helping to create a positive
ldquobalance of paymentsrdquo for the farm ing enterprise or
vegetable garden ndash more money should flow in to the
project than would otherwise flow out One important
aspect of this positive balance is to purchase as little as
p o s s ib le e x p en s ive ex te rn a l in p u ts fo r fa rm in g o r
vegetable gardening operations
And super vermicompost produced on the farm fits right into the LEISA philosophy
Organic farming techniques go one step further namely to receive certification (proof) that no
harmful substances were used n the farming operations Good quality compost (also certified as
organic) is an essential input for formal organic farming techniques
However for produce to be certified organic could be very expensive especially for a small-scale
farmer Then your pack house cold chain and transport system also needs to be certified organic
adding more complications
ldquoWhat does organic mean
Organic farming is producing food the natural way Organic farmers aim
to produce good healthy tasty food from balanced healthy soil Organic
farm ers cannot grow GM (genetically modified) crops and cannot use
chem ical fertilizers or additives or spray artificial pesticides O rganic
farmers use crop rotation to improve the fertility of their soil Healthy soil
= healthy plant = healthy humanrdquo
Anonymous (Go Farming 2(2)7)
Vermiculture
Page 24 of 27
Therefore the advice for emerging farmers or vegetable growers is to learn their trade through
LEISA techniques and not to attempt to go all the way to being certified organic without having
the skills and experience to make a success of that The Internet is full of very useful tips on how
to farm better with low external inputs type LEISA and vermiculture in a search engine such as
Google and youll be amazed with the information that comes up
8 Some Vermicomposting Stories from All over
the World
Commercial vermicomposting is just beginning in the USA San Diego in California has employed
worms to convert part of its organic waste stream into useable products The castings are in high
demand In Oregon a research and demonstration project has become a thriving business A large
urban hospital in Ontario has been using worms to process some of its waste stream for several
years (Attra 2007)
We read of the ldquoworm womanrdquo Mary Appelhoff No one in this country has done more for the
self-image of worms than Mary Appelhof the undisputed and nationally recognized
Worm Woman (Green Living Magazine)
Worms eat my garbage Theyve been doing it for twenty-seven years I set up my basement worm
bin with shredded newspaper a bit of soil and a few thousand redworms I bury food waste in it
The worms eat it They also eat the bacteria and protozoa and fungi and other microorganisms
which decompose it They grind and mix and secrete and excrete and eventually the food waste
and bedding turns into worm castings which we use in our garden The whole process is truly on-
site recyclingrdquo
Mary Appelhoff published her first book Worms eat my garbage How to set up and maintain a worm
composting system in 1982 Her newest endeavour is t bring a new voice to the vermicomposting
field by publishing a childrens picture book about vermicomposting Compost by gosh Her website
for worm composting resources can be visited at httpwwwwormwomancom
Other countries have been researching and using commercial vermicompost systems for a decade
or more Cuba for instance started their vermicomposting programme in 1986 with two small
boxes of red worms By 1992 172 vermicompost centres were producing 93 000 tons of worm
humus annually (Gersper et al 1993)
Vermiculture
Page 25 of 27
Currently France Germany Italy Japan Hong Kong India Australia and many countries
in South America have research or commercial vermicomposting projects underway (Attra 2007)
One of the largest commercial producers of vermicompost is Vermitech (Pty) Ltd in Australia
This company is dedicated to the beneficial management of organic waste through the use of very
large scale Vermiculture Their website documents considerable research on the use of their
product on various crops (httpwwwvermitechcomhomehtm)
In the past ten years an organisation in India has prompted over 2 000 farmers and institutions to
switch from conventional chemical fertilisers to that of an organic fertiliser namely vermicompost
Vermiculture has been the prim ary focus at M aharashtra Agricultural Bioteks w hich w as
established in 1985 The organisation currently produces 5 000 tons of vermicompost annually In
1991 to 1992 this group promoted the adoption of vermicompost technology in 13 states in India
The organisation has also created a programme which trains housewives and home gardeners to
produce their ow n vermicompost from household garden waste (Dr Henamgee Jambhekar
wwwfadrmsuru)
The Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town added a feature to its list of facilities that is a South African
first A fully-functioning worm farm The hotel has decided to go green by instituting an organic
waste recycling programme where its kitchen waste are turned into worm droppings which
constitute some of the best fertiliser to keep the hotels lawns pot plants and vegetable gardens
flourishing They have thousands of worms housed in plastic crates behind one of the hotels
parking areas They estimate that the farm currently hosts about 33 000 worms (South Africa
Logue)
There are also plans to work on methods to combine conventional composting with super
vermicompost and to put up commercial composting plants at the two new markets for emerging
farmers at Philippi Market Cape Town and Ugu Agricultural Market in Port Shepstone The
conventional compost spiked with super vermicompost will be made available for emerging
farmers near these markets through the subsidised transport linking the markets with the emerging
supply base via a depot system (Charl Pienaar 2007)
Happy Worming
Vermiculture
Page 26 of 27
SOURCES
Anonymous [sa] Organic agriculture What does it all means Go Farming 2(2)6-8
A TTR A (A ppropria te T echnology T ransfer for Rural Areas) 2007 W orms for com posting
(Vermicomposting) National Center for Appropriate Technology
Earthworms as a natural resource httpwwwwormfarmcom
G e r s p e r e t a l 1 9 9 3 C u b a s c o m p o s t in g A g r ic u l t u r e a n d H u m a n V a lu e s X (3 ) 1 6 - 2 3
httpfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art1html
Ja m b h h e k a r H e m a n g e e V e r m ic u l t u r e in I n d i a I n t e rn a t ion a l A g -S iev e 7 (1 ) A r t 3
(httpwwwfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art3html)
Journey to Forever Organic Garden Vermicomposting
httpwwwjourneytoforeverorgcompost_wormhtml
Munro G [sa] Manual of on-farm vermicomposting and vermiculture Organic Agriculture Centre of
Canada
Nell W T Engelbrecht G M amp Du Plessis D M 2006 Growing vegetables A comprehensive guide
on how to establish maintain and manage a vegetable garden Centre for Agricultural Management
University of the Free State Bloemfontein
Organic farming and organic gardening using vermicompost httpwwwhappydranchcom92html
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 1 How to grow super vermicompost Go Farming 1(3)22-
23
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 2 How to use super vermicompost Go Farming 1(4)20-22
Pienaar Charl 2007 Vermiculture short course presented at MUCPP Mangaung Bloemfontein
Supertill cc Paarl
Recycling advocates Vermicomposting httpwwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Seasons India Vermicompost
httpwwwseasonsindiacomlifestylegrdnVermicompost_seahtm
Vermiculture
Page 27 of 27
SEED (Schools Environmental Education and Development) 2006 Improving the soil ndash worm
farms (worksheet 53) Growing the living laboratory Permaculture for environmental education in the
NCS Used with permission from Leigh Brown The complete document is available for download
on the SEED website (httpwwwseedorgza)
Setting up a worm bed httpwwwwormpoopcomWormBedWormBedhtm
Sherman Rhonda 2003 Raising earthworms successfully North Carolina Cooperative Extension
Service Publication no EBAE 103-83 North Carolina State University
South Africa Logue Mount Nelson Hotel creates ldquopermaculturerdquo of excellence with worm farm
httpwwwsouthafricaloguecom
Vermiculture Indoor composting
httpredworms-greenearthcomcgi-binshopplpage=indoorhtml
Vermiculture Canada Earthworm castings as plant growth media
httpwwwvermiculturecaarticlesearthworm_castingshtm
Vermiculture composting httpwwwwormpoopcomCompostingCompostinghtm
Vermicompost httpwwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost
Weisenhorn Julie Vermiculture Promote global warming Sustainable urban landscape information
series University of Minnesota httpwwwsustlandumnedu
What kind of earthworms do we recommend httpwwwvermicocomwormshtm
Wikipedia httpenwikipediaorg wikiVermicompost
Worm Digest Young persons guide to vermicomposting
httpwwwwormdigestorgcontentview152
Worm Farm Free worm farming newsletter ndash Vermiculture
httpwwwwormfarmingsecretscom
Worm Research Centre
httpwwwwormresearchcentrecoukvermicompostinghtml
Wormwise How to use WormWisereg Earthworm Castings
httpwormwisecomid=help
Vermiculture
Page 18 of 27
6 Vermicomposting in Tyre Stacks
According to Mr Charl Pienaar the best most practical and least expensive type of housing for
earthworms is a tyre stack built from used bakkie or tractor tyres and using ldquopensmisrdquo as food
61 Housing earthworms in tyre stacks
Oslash You can use the used bakkie or tractor tyres as is but we found that cutting open one of the
sides with a strong knife or electric jig saw optimises the inside space and makes harvesting the
super vermicompost that much easier
Ugrave Put a plastic sheet on the ground in a suitable shady spot (under a tree on the south side of
your house against the wall or inside under a roof) and start building the tyre stack on top of
the plastic sheet The plastic sheet is for preventing tree roots from growing into your compost
from the bottom ndash remember all types of plants love super vermicompost
ldquoTo me it is one of Gods finest m iracles to observe how hum ble
earthworms are able to magically convert otherwise useless plant and
animal wastes into rich humus (black gold) for plants to produce
the food that enriches our livesrdquo
ndash Charl Pienaar
Tractor tyreCharl Pienaar cutting open the
side of a tyre
Vermiculture
Page 19 of 27
Uacute Water the inside of each of the tyres well
Ucirc Fill each tyre first with bedding (such as shredded paper) and then a
thick layer of manure
Uuml Water the contents well especially in the round section of the tyre
Yacute Place another layer of shredded paper on top of the layer of manure then place some of the
worms to one side on top of the food in the tyre
THORN Stack the next tyre and continue until you have five or six bakkie tyres stacked and filled with
worm food (no more than two for tractor tyres)
Watering inside of tyreLayer of shredded paper Layer of manure
Placing worms to one sideWater each tyre separately
Vermiculture
Page 20 of 27
szlig Place a sheet of plastic canvass or a layer of newspapers over
the top of the bedding This will hold moisture in and will
help reduce the chance that fruit flies come and lay their eggs
in the food
The tyre stack is now ready to provide a house and shelter for
your new little workers You can of course build as many of these
tyre stacks as you have space and energy for
If your tyre stack dries out the compost will become hard like a
rock their skins will dry out and your little workers will die
Water your tyre stack about once a week by pouring a few cups
of clean water in from the top If water runs out at the bottom
you are over-watering and you should apply less water
52 Feeding the earthworms in the tyre stack
Your little helpers will feed on a whole range of organic food sources but for agricultural purposes
we found pre-composted abattoir manure (ldquopensmisrdquo) and some types of pre-composted animal
manure (ldquokraalmisrdquo) the best
Other types of organic material such as conventional
compost made from leaves chopped scrap wood
animal manure and w ood pulp should also work
well
To test the suitability of different food sources put a
small quantity of moist food in a container (such as an
empty margarine holder) and put a small number of
earthworms on top If they refuse to burrow in after
a few minutes the food is not suitable
Pre-composting of fresh organic material should be
done by placing the organic matter in a drum or container with ventilation holes supplied and
turning the compost every few days by rolling the drum or container a few times
Building tyre stack
Abattoir manure (ldquoPensmisrdquo)
Vermiculture
Page 21 of 27
Or you could start a conventional compost heap and turn the
heap with a fork every few days The micro-organisms will start breaking the organic matter down
heat will build up and oxygen will be used in the process
Within about three weeks the pre-composted matter should be ready to be placed inside the tyre
stacks as described previously
If you have access to ldquooldrdquo organic matter (for instance manure that has been lying in a heap for
a few months) pre-composting should not be necessary
53 Harvesting the tyre stack
The following technique works well and although it is slower it is much easier and less stressful
for the little workers
Oslash Start building a new tyre stack next to the old one and put fresh worm food only in the round
bottom section of the tyre starting with shredded paper then manure (ldquopensmisrdquo)
Ugrave Fill the rest of the tyre with the harvested compost (plus worms) from the old tyre stack and
continue with the next tyre when the bottom one is full And so on until the stack is six tyres
high
Uacute The next step is to disturb the top few layers of vermicompost by stirring with your hands
which causes the worms to take flight downwards
Turning of compost
Conventional compost containers
Vermiculture
Page 22 of 27
Ucirc The clean compost can then be harvested from the top Continue with the harvesting until you
reach the fresh worm food And there you will find all the worms trapped in the round section
of the tyre ready to be scooped out with the fresh worm food
Uuml The little workers embedded in the fresh organic matter could then be scooped out and used
to populate a new tyre stack that was first filled with fresh worm food And so the cycle is
repeated over and over
7 Worming Towards LEISA and Organic Farming
Techniques
In this part we will explain how to utilise the super vermicompost that your little workers so
willingly and cost-effectively prepared for you We will also provide insights on how to build up
your soil so that the local little workers will be able to continue the good work that their brothers
and sisters in the tyre stacks did for you
LEISA is short for Low External Inputs Sustainable Agriculture simply meaning that instead of
looking for expensive external farming inputs (chemical fertilisers chem ical w eed killers
insecticides and pest control chemicals) the clever farmer or vegetable gardener should find items
and materials available locally and inexpensively to do the same or better job as the expensive
external inputs
For instance a flock of geese on the farm could do a great job to keep snails and other insects under
control while at the same time providing a renewable source of meat and eggs to feed the farmers
family As they are good for security too
Using a chicken tractor to work the soil for
y o u i s a l s o s o m e t h i n g t h a t c a n b e
in co rp o ra te d in a v e g e ta b le g a rd en A
chicken tractor is basically a bottomless cage
built from old material It allows the chickens
to scratch and eat off of the ground such
things as grass weeds bugs worms etc
You can drag the chicken tractor around the
garden The chicken manure goes directly
onto th e s o il w here it fe rtilises th e so il
C h ick en tractors are perfect for a sm a ll
number of chickens
A chicken tractor at the experimental site of the Motheo
College in Bloemfontein
Vermiculture
Page 23 of 27
In the same way super vermicompost produced on the farm or at home from waste material and
making use of the free labour provided by the little helpers could go a long way towards replacing
expensive chemical fertilisers Furthermore vermicompost is good for building up the soils
putting carbon sources and essential microbes (good bugs)
back into the place where they belong the place that
Nature prepared for the over the ages
LEISA is therefore about helping to create a positive
ldquobalance of paymentsrdquo for the farm ing enterprise or
vegetable garden ndash more money should flow in to the
project than would otherwise flow out One important
aspect of this positive balance is to purchase as little as
p o s s ib le e x p en s ive ex te rn a l in p u ts fo r fa rm in g o r
vegetable gardening operations
And super vermicompost produced on the farm fits right into the LEISA philosophy
Organic farming techniques go one step further namely to receive certification (proof) that no
harmful substances were used n the farming operations Good quality compost (also certified as
organic) is an essential input for formal organic farming techniques
However for produce to be certified organic could be very expensive especially for a small-scale
farmer Then your pack house cold chain and transport system also needs to be certified organic
adding more complications
ldquoWhat does organic mean
Organic farming is producing food the natural way Organic farmers aim
to produce good healthy tasty food from balanced healthy soil Organic
farm ers cannot grow GM (genetically modified) crops and cannot use
chem ical fertilizers or additives or spray artificial pesticides O rganic
farmers use crop rotation to improve the fertility of their soil Healthy soil
= healthy plant = healthy humanrdquo
Anonymous (Go Farming 2(2)7)
Vermiculture
Page 24 of 27
Therefore the advice for emerging farmers or vegetable growers is to learn their trade through
LEISA techniques and not to attempt to go all the way to being certified organic without having
the skills and experience to make a success of that The Internet is full of very useful tips on how
to farm better with low external inputs type LEISA and vermiculture in a search engine such as
Google and youll be amazed with the information that comes up
8 Some Vermicomposting Stories from All over
the World
Commercial vermicomposting is just beginning in the USA San Diego in California has employed
worms to convert part of its organic waste stream into useable products The castings are in high
demand In Oregon a research and demonstration project has become a thriving business A large
urban hospital in Ontario has been using worms to process some of its waste stream for several
years (Attra 2007)
We read of the ldquoworm womanrdquo Mary Appelhoff No one in this country has done more for the
self-image of worms than Mary Appelhof the undisputed and nationally recognized
Worm Woman (Green Living Magazine)
Worms eat my garbage Theyve been doing it for twenty-seven years I set up my basement worm
bin with shredded newspaper a bit of soil and a few thousand redworms I bury food waste in it
The worms eat it They also eat the bacteria and protozoa and fungi and other microorganisms
which decompose it They grind and mix and secrete and excrete and eventually the food waste
and bedding turns into worm castings which we use in our garden The whole process is truly on-
site recyclingrdquo
Mary Appelhoff published her first book Worms eat my garbage How to set up and maintain a worm
composting system in 1982 Her newest endeavour is t bring a new voice to the vermicomposting
field by publishing a childrens picture book about vermicomposting Compost by gosh Her website
for worm composting resources can be visited at httpwwwwormwomancom
Other countries have been researching and using commercial vermicompost systems for a decade
or more Cuba for instance started their vermicomposting programme in 1986 with two small
boxes of red worms By 1992 172 vermicompost centres were producing 93 000 tons of worm
humus annually (Gersper et al 1993)
Vermiculture
Page 25 of 27
Currently France Germany Italy Japan Hong Kong India Australia and many countries
in South America have research or commercial vermicomposting projects underway (Attra 2007)
One of the largest commercial producers of vermicompost is Vermitech (Pty) Ltd in Australia
This company is dedicated to the beneficial management of organic waste through the use of very
large scale Vermiculture Their website documents considerable research on the use of their
product on various crops (httpwwwvermitechcomhomehtm)
In the past ten years an organisation in India has prompted over 2 000 farmers and institutions to
switch from conventional chemical fertilisers to that of an organic fertiliser namely vermicompost
Vermiculture has been the prim ary focus at M aharashtra Agricultural Bioteks w hich w as
established in 1985 The organisation currently produces 5 000 tons of vermicompost annually In
1991 to 1992 this group promoted the adoption of vermicompost technology in 13 states in India
The organisation has also created a programme which trains housewives and home gardeners to
produce their ow n vermicompost from household garden waste (Dr Henamgee Jambhekar
wwwfadrmsuru)
The Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town added a feature to its list of facilities that is a South African
first A fully-functioning worm farm The hotel has decided to go green by instituting an organic
waste recycling programme where its kitchen waste are turned into worm droppings which
constitute some of the best fertiliser to keep the hotels lawns pot plants and vegetable gardens
flourishing They have thousands of worms housed in plastic crates behind one of the hotels
parking areas They estimate that the farm currently hosts about 33 000 worms (South Africa
Logue)
There are also plans to work on methods to combine conventional composting with super
vermicompost and to put up commercial composting plants at the two new markets for emerging
farmers at Philippi Market Cape Town and Ugu Agricultural Market in Port Shepstone The
conventional compost spiked with super vermicompost will be made available for emerging
farmers near these markets through the subsidised transport linking the markets with the emerging
supply base via a depot system (Charl Pienaar 2007)
Happy Worming
Vermiculture
Page 26 of 27
SOURCES
Anonymous [sa] Organic agriculture What does it all means Go Farming 2(2)6-8
A TTR A (A ppropria te T echnology T ransfer for Rural Areas) 2007 W orms for com posting
(Vermicomposting) National Center for Appropriate Technology
Earthworms as a natural resource httpwwwwormfarmcom
G e r s p e r e t a l 1 9 9 3 C u b a s c o m p o s t in g A g r ic u l t u r e a n d H u m a n V a lu e s X (3 ) 1 6 - 2 3
httpfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art1html
Ja m b h h e k a r H e m a n g e e V e r m ic u l t u r e in I n d i a I n t e rn a t ion a l A g -S iev e 7 (1 ) A r t 3
(httpwwwfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art3html)
Journey to Forever Organic Garden Vermicomposting
httpwwwjourneytoforeverorgcompost_wormhtml
Munro G [sa] Manual of on-farm vermicomposting and vermiculture Organic Agriculture Centre of
Canada
Nell W T Engelbrecht G M amp Du Plessis D M 2006 Growing vegetables A comprehensive guide
on how to establish maintain and manage a vegetable garden Centre for Agricultural Management
University of the Free State Bloemfontein
Organic farming and organic gardening using vermicompost httpwwwhappydranchcom92html
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 1 How to grow super vermicompost Go Farming 1(3)22-
23
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 2 How to use super vermicompost Go Farming 1(4)20-22
Pienaar Charl 2007 Vermiculture short course presented at MUCPP Mangaung Bloemfontein
Supertill cc Paarl
Recycling advocates Vermicomposting httpwwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Seasons India Vermicompost
httpwwwseasonsindiacomlifestylegrdnVermicompost_seahtm
Vermiculture
Page 27 of 27
SEED (Schools Environmental Education and Development) 2006 Improving the soil ndash worm
farms (worksheet 53) Growing the living laboratory Permaculture for environmental education in the
NCS Used with permission from Leigh Brown The complete document is available for download
on the SEED website (httpwwwseedorgza)
Setting up a worm bed httpwwwwormpoopcomWormBedWormBedhtm
Sherman Rhonda 2003 Raising earthworms successfully North Carolina Cooperative Extension
Service Publication no EBAE 103-83 North Carolina State University
South Africa Logue Mount Nelson Hotel creates ldquopermaculturerdquo of excellence with worm farm
httpwwwsouthafricaloguecom
Vermiculture Indoor composting
httpredworms-greenearthcomcgi-binshopplpage=indoorhtml
Vermiculture Canada Earthworm castings as plant growth media
httpwwwvermiculturecaarticlesearthworm_castingshtm
Vermiculture composting httpwwwwormpoopcomCompostingCompostinghtm
Vermicompost httpwwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost
Weisenhorn Julie Vermiculture Promote global warming Sustainable urban landscape information
series University of Minnesota httpwwwsustlandumnedu
What kind of earthworms do we recommend httpwwwvermicocomwormshtm
Wikipedia httpenwikipediaorg wikiVermicompost
Worm Digest Young persons guide to vermicomposting
httpwwwwormdigestorgcontentview152
Worm Farm Free worm farming newsletter ndash Vermiculture
httpwwwwormfarmingsecretscom
Worm Research Centre
httpwwwwormresearchcentrecoukvermicompostinghtml
Wormwise How to use WormWisereg Earthworm Castings
httpwormwisecomid=help
Vermiculture
Page 19 of 27
Uacute Water the inside of each of the tyres well
Ucirc Fill each tyre first with bedding (such as shredded paper) and then a
thick layer of manure
Uuml Water the contents well especially in the round section of the tyre
Yacute Place another layer of shredded paper on top of the layer of manure then place some of the
worms to one side on top of the food in the tyre
THORN Stack the next tyre and continue until you have five or six bakkie tyres stacked and filled with
worm food (no more than two for tractor tyres)
Watering inside of tyreLayer of shredded paper Layer of manure
Placing worms to one sideWater each tyre separately
Vermiculture
Page 20 of 27
szlig Place a sheet of plastic canvass or a layer of newspapers over
the top of the bedding This will hold moisture in and will
help reduce the chance that fruit flies come and lay their eggs
in the food
The tyre stack is now ready to provide a house and shelter for
your new little workers You can of course build as many of these
tyre stacks as you have space and energy for
If your tyre stack dries out the compost will become hard like a
rock their skins will dry out and your little workers will die
Water your tyre stack about once a week by pouring a few cups
of clean water in from the top If water runs out at the bottom
you are over-watering and you should apply less water
52 Feeding the earthworms in the tyre stack
Your little helpers will feed on a whole range of organic food sources but for agricultural purposes
we found pre-composted abattoir manure (ldquopensmisrdquo) and some types of pre-composted animal
manure (ldquokraalmisrdquo) the best
Other types of organic material such as conventional
compost made from leaves chopped scrap wood
animal manure and w ood pulp should also work
well
To test the suitability of different food sources put a
small quantity of moist food in a container (such as an
empty margarine holder) and put a small number of
earthworms on top If they refuse to burrow in after
a few minutes the food is not suitable
Pre-composting of fresh organic material should be
done by placing the organic matter in a drum or container with ventilation holes supplied and
turning the compost every few days by rolling the drum or container a few times
Building tyre stack
Abattoir manure (ldquoPensmisrdquo)
Vermiculture
Page 21 of 27
Or you could start a conventional compost heap and turn the
heap with a fork every few days The micro-organisms will start breaking the organic matter down
heat will build up and oxygen will be used in the process
Within about three weeks the pre-composted matter should be ready to be placed inside the tyre
stacks as described previously
If you have access to ldquooldrdquo organic matter (for instance manure that has been lying in a heap for
a few months) pre-composting should not be necessary
53 Harvesting the tyre stack
The following technique works well and although it is slower it is much easier and less stressful
for the little workers
Oslash Start building a new tyre stack next to the old one and put fresh worm food only in the round
bottom section of the tyre starting with shredded paper then manure (ldquopensmisrdquo)
Ugrave Fill the rest of the tyre with the harvested compost (plus worms) from the old tyre stack and
continue with the next tyre when the bottom one is full And so on until the stack is six tyres
high
Uacute The next step is to disturb the top few layers of vermicompost by stirring with your hands
which causes the worms to take flight downwards
Turning of compost
Conventional compost containers
Vermiculture
Page 22 of 27
Ucirc The clean compost can then be harvested from the top Continue with the harvesting until you
reach the fresh worm food And there you will find all the worms trapped in the round section
of the tyre ready to be scooped out with the fresh worm food
Uuml The little workers embedded in the fresh organic matter could then be scooped out and used
to populate a new tyre stack that was first filled with fresh worm food And so the cycle is
repeated over and over
7 Worming Towards LEISA and Organic Farming
Techniques
In this part we will explain how to utilise the super vermicompost that your little workers so
willingly and cost-effectively prepared for you We will also provide insights on how to build up
your soil so that the local little workers will be able to continue the good work that their brothers
and sisters in the tyre stacks did for you
LEISA is short for Low External Inputs Sustainable Agriculture simply meaning that instead of
looking for expensive external farming inputs (chemical fertilisers chem ical w eed killers
insecticides and pest control chemicals) the clever farmer or vegetable gardener should find items
and materials available locally and inexpensively to do the same or better job as the expensive
external inputs
For instance a flock of geese on the farm could do a great job to keep snails and other insects under
control while at the same time providing a renewable source of meat and eggs to feed the farmers
family As they are good for security too
Using a chicken tractor to work the soil for
y o u i s a l s o s o m e t h i n g t h a t c a n b e
in co rp o ra te d in a v e g e ta b le g a rd en A
chicken tractor is basically a bottomless cage
built from old material It allows the chickens
to scratch and eat off of the ground such
things as grass weeds bugs worms etc
You can drag the chicken tractor around the
garden The chicken manure goes directly
onto th e s o il w here it fe rtilises th e so il
C h ick en tractors are perfect for a sm a ll
number of chickens
A chicken tractor at the experimental site of the Motheo
College in Bloemfontein
Vermiculture
Page 23 of 27
In the same way super vermicompost produced on the farm or at home from waste material and
making use of the free labour provided by the little helpers could go a long way towards replacing
expensive chemical fertilisers Furthermore vermicompost is good for building up the soils
putting carbon sources and essential microbes (good bugs)
back into the place where they belong the place that
Nature prepared for the over the ages
LEISA is therefore about helping to create a positive
ldquobalance of paymentsrdquo for the farm ing enterprise or
vegetable garden ndash more money should flow in to the
project than would otherwise flow out One important
aspect of this positive balance is to purchase as little as
p o s s ib le e x p en s ive ex te rn a l in p u ts fo r fa rm in g o r
vegetable gardening operations
And super vermicompost produced on the farm fits right into the LEISA philosophy
Organic farming techniques go one step further namely to receive certification (proof) that no
harmful substances were used n the farming operations Good quality compost (also certified as
organic) is an essential input for formal organic farming techniques
However for produce to be certified organic could be very expensive especially for a small-scale
farmer Then your pack house cold chain and transport system also needs to be certified organic
adding more complications
ldquoWhat does organic mean
Organic farming is producing food the natural way Organic farmers aim
to produce good healthy tasty food from balanced healthy soil Organic
farm ers cannot grow GM (genetically modified) crops and cannot use
chem ical fertilizers or additives or spray artificial pesticides O rganic
farmers use crop rotation to improve the fertility of their soil Healthy soil
= healthy plant = healthy humanrdquo
Anonymous (Go Farming 2(2)7)
Vermiculture
Page 24 of 27
Therefore the advice for emerging farmers or vegetable growers is to learn their trade through
LEISA techniques and not to attempt to go all the way to being certified organic without having
the skills and experience to make a success of that The Internet is full of very useful tips on how
to farm better with low external inputs type LEISA and vermiculture in a search engine such as
Google and youll be amazed with the information that comes up
8 Some Vermicomposting Stories from All over
the World
Commercial vermicomposting is just beginning in the USA San Diego in California has employed
worms to convert part of its organic waste stream into useable products The castings are in high
demand In Oregon a research and demonstration project has become a thriving business A large
urban hospital in Ontario has been using worms to process some of its waste stream for several
years (Attra 2007)
We read of the ldquoworm womanrdquo Mary Appelhoff No one in this country has done more for the
self-image of worms than Mary Appelhof the undisputed and nationally recognized
Worm Woman (Green Living Magazine)
Worms eat my garbage Theyve been doing it for twenty-seven years I set up my basement worm
bin with shredded newspaper a bit of soil and a few thousand redworms I bury food waste in it
The worms eat it They also eat the bacteria and protozoa and fungi and other microorganisms
which decompose it They grind and mix and secrete and excrete and eventually the food waste
and bedding turns into worm castings which we use in our garden The whole process is truly on-
site recyclingrdquo
Mary Appelhoff published her first book Worms eat my garbage How to set up and maintain a worm
composting system in 1982 Her newest endeavour is t bring a new voice to the vermicomposting
field by publishing a childrens picture book about vermicomposting Compost by gosh Her website
for worm composting resources can be visited at httpwwwwormwomancom
Other countries have been researching and using commercial vermicompost systems for a decade
or more Cuba for instance started their vermicomposting programme in 1986 with two small
boxes of red worms By 1992 172 vermicompost centres were producing 93 000 tons of worm
humus annually (Gersper et al 1993)
Vermiculture
Page 25 of 27
Currently France Germany Italy Japan Hong Kong India Australia and many countries
in South America have research or commercial vermicomposting projects underway (Attra 2007)
One of the largest commercial producers of vermicompost is Vermitech (Pty) Ltd in Australia
This company is dedicated to the beneficial management of organic waste through the use of very
large scale Vermiculture Their website documents considerable research on the use of their
product on various crops (httpwwwvermitechcomhomehtm)
In the past ten years an organisation in India has prompted over 2 000 farmers and institutions to
switch from conventional chemical fertilisers to that of an organic fertiliser namely vermicompost
Vermiculture has been the prim ary focus at M aharashtra Agricultural Bioteks w hich w as
established in 1985 The organisation currently produces 5 000 tons of vermicompost annually In
1991 to 1992 this group promoted the adoption of vermicompost technology in 13 states in India
The organisation has also created a programme which trains housewives and home gardeners to
produce their ow n vermicompost from household garden waste (Dr Henamgee Jambhekar
wwwfadrmsuru)
The Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town added a feature to its list of facilities that is a South African
first A fully-functioning worm farm The hotel has decided to go green by instituting an organic
waste recycling programme where its kitchen waste are turned into worm droppings which
constitute some of the best fertiliser to keep the hotels lawns pot plants and vegetable gardens
flourishing They have thousands of worms housed in plastic crates behind one of the hotels
parking areas They estimate that the farm currently hosts about 33 000 worms (South Africa
Logue)
There are also plans to work on methods to combine conventional composting with super
vermicompost and to put up commercial composting plants at the two new markets for emerging
farmers at Philippi Market Cape Town and Ugu Agricultural Market in Port Shepstone The
conventional compost spiked with super vermicompost will be made available for emerging
farmers near these markets through the subsidised transport linking the markets with the emerging
supply base via a depot system (Charl Pienaar 2007)
Happy Worming
Vermiculture
Page 26 of 27
SOURCES
Anonymous [sa] Organic agriculture What does it all means Go Farming 2(2)6-8
A TTR A (A ppropria te T echnology T ransfer for Rural Areas) 2007 W orms for com posting
(Vermicomposting) National Center for Appropriate Technology
Earthworms as a natural resource httpwwwwormfarmcom
G e r s p e r e t a l 1 9 9 3 C u b a s c o m p o s t in g A g r ic u l t u r e a n d H u m a n V a lu e s X (3 ) 1 6 - 2 3
httpfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art1html
Ja m b h h e k a r H e m a n g e e V e r m ic u l t u r e in I n d i a I n t e rn a t ion a l A g -S iev e 7 (1 ) A r t 3
(httpwwwfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art3html)
Journey to Forever Organic Garden Vermicomposting
httpwwwjourneytoforeverorgcompost_wormhtml
Munro G [sa] Manual of on-farm vermicomposting and vermiculture Organic Agriculture Centre of
Canada
Nell W T Engelbrecht G M amp Du Plessis D M 2006 Growing vegetables A comprehensive guide
on how to establish maintain and manage a vegetable garden Centre for Agricultural Management
University of the Free State Bloemfontein
Organic farming and organic gardening using vermicompost httpwwwhappydranchcom92html
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 1 How to grow super vermicompost Go Farming 1(3)22-
23
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 2 How to use super vermicompost Go Farming 1(4)20-22
Pienaar Charl 2007 Vermiculture short course presented at MUCPP Mangaung Bloemfontein
Supertill cc Paarl
Recycling advocates Vermicomposting httpwwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Seasons India Vermicompost
httpwwwseasonsindiacomlifestylegrdnVermicompost_seahtm
Vermiculture
Page 27 of 27
SEED (Schools Environmental Education and Development) 2006 Improving the soil ndash worm
farms (worksheet 53) Growing the living laboratory Permaculture for environmental education in the
NCS Used with permission from Leigh Brown The complete document is available for download
on the SEED website (httpwwwseedorgza)
Setting up a worm bed httpwwwwormpoopcomWormBedWormBedhtm
Sherman Rhonda 2003 Raising earthworms successfully North Carolina Cooperative Extension
Service Publication no EBAE 103-83 North Carolina State University
South Africa Logue Mount Nelson Hotel creates ldquopermaculturerdquo of excellence with worm farm
httpwwwsouthafricaloguecom
Vermiculture Indoor composting
httpredworms-greenearthcomcgi-binshopplpage=indoorhtml
Vermiculture Canada Earthworm castings as plant growth media
httpwwwvermiculturecaarticlesearthworm_castingshtm
Vermiculture composting httpwwwwormpoopcomCompostingCompostinghtm
Vermicompost httpwwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost
Weisenhorn Julie Vermiculture Promote global warming Sustainable urban landscape information
series University of Minnesota httpwwwsustlandumnedu
What kind of earthworms do we recommend httpwwwvermicocomwormshtm
Wikipedia httpenwikipediaorg wikiVermicompost
Worm Digest Young persons guide to vermicomposting
httpwwwwormdigestorgcontentview152
Worm Farm Free worm farming newsletter ndash Vermiculture
httpwwwwormfarmingsecretscom
Worm Research Centre
httpwwwwormresearchcentrecoukvermicompostinghtml
Wormwise How to use WormWisereg Earthworm Castings
httpwormwisecomid=help
Vermiculture
Page 20 of 27
szlig Place a sheet of plastic canvass or a layer of newspapers over
the top of the bedding This will hold moisture in and will
help reduce the chance that fruit flies come and lay their eggs
in the food
The tyre stack is now ready to provide a house and shelter for
your new little workers You can of course build as many of these
tyre stacks as you have space and energy for
If your tyre stack dries out the compost will become hard like a
rock their skins will dry out and your little workers will die
Water your tyre stack about once a week by pouring a few cups
of clean water in from the top If water runs out at the bottom
you are over-watering and you should apply less water
52 Feeding the earthworms in the tyre stack
Your little helpers will feed on a whole range of organic food sources but for agricultural purposes
we found pre-composted abattoir manure (ldquopensmisrdquo) and some types of pre-composted animal
manure (ldquokraalmisrdquo) the best
Other types of organic material such as conventional
compost made from leaves chopped scrap wood
animal manure and w ood pulp should also work
well
To test the suitability of different food sources put a
small quantity of moist food in a container (such as an
empty margarine holder) and put a small number of
earthworms on top If they refuse to burrow in after
a few minutes the food is not suitable
Pre-composting of fresh organic material should be
done by placing the organic matter in a drum or container with ventilation holes supplied and
turning the compost every few days by rolling the drum or container a few times
Building tyre stack
Abattoir manure (ldquoPensmisrdquo)
Vermiculture
Page 21 of 27
Or you could start a conventional compost heap and turn the
heap with a fork every few days The micro-organisms will start breaking the organic matter down
heat will build up and oxygen will be used in the process
Within about three weeks the pre-composted matter should be ready to be placed inside the tyre
stacks as described previously
If you have access to ldquooldrdquo organic matter (for instance manure that has been lying in a heap for
a few months) pre-composting should not be necessary
53 Harvesting the tyre stack
The following technique works well and although it is slower it is much easier and less stressful
for the little workers
Oslash Start building a new tyre stack next to the old one and put fresh worm food only in the round
bottom section of the tyre starting with shredded paper then manure (ldquopensmisrdquo)
Ugrave Fill the rest of the tyre with the harvested compost (plus worms) from the old tyre stack and
continue with the next tyre when the bottom one is full And so on until the stack is six tyres
high
Uacute The next step is to disturb the top few layers of vermicompost by stirring with your hands
which causes the worms to take flight downwards
Turning of compost
Conventional compost containers
Vermiculture
Page 22 of 27
Ucirc The clean compost can then be harvested from the top Continue with the harvesting until you
reach the fresh worm food And there you will find all the worms trapped in the round section
of the tyre ready to be scooped out with the fresh worm food
Uuml The little workers embedded in the fresh organic matter could then be scooped out and used
to populate a new tyre stack that was first filled with fresh worm food And so the cycle is
repeated over and over
7 Worming Towards LEISA and Organic Farming
Techniques
In this part we will explain how to utilise the super vermicompost that your little workers so
willingly and cost-effectively prepared for you We will also provide insights on how to build up
your soil so that the local little workers will be able to continue the good work that their brothers
and sisters in the tyre stacks did for you
LEISA is short for Low External Inputs Sustainable Agriculture simply meaning that instead of
looking for expensive external farming inputs (chemical fertilisers chem ical w eed killers
insecticides and pest control chemicals) the clever farmer or vegetable gardener should find items
and materials available locally and inexpensively to do the same or better job as the expensive
external inputs
For instance a flock of geese on the farm could do a great job to keep snails and other insects under
control while at the same time providing a renewable source of meat and eggs to feed the farmers
family As they are good for security too
Using a chicken tractor to work the soil for
y o u i s a l s o s o m e t h i n g t h a t c a n b e
in co rp o ra te d in a v e g e ta b le g a rd en A
chicken tractor is basically a bottomless cage
built from old material It allows the chickens
to scratch and eat off of the ground such
things as grass weeds bugs worms etc
You can drag the chicken tractor around the
garden The chicken manure goes directly
onto th e s o il w here it fe rtilises th e so il
C h ick en tractors are perfect for a sm a ll
number of chickens
A chicken tractor at the experimental site of the Motheo
College in Bloemfontein
Vermiculture
Page 23 of 27
In the same way super vermicompost produced on the farm or at home from waste material and
making use of the free labour provided by the little helpers could go a long way towards replacing
expensive chemical fertilisers Furthermore vermicompost is good for building up the soils
putting carbon sources and essential microbes (good bugs)
back into the place where they belong the place that
Nature prepared for the over the ages
LEISA is therefore about helping to create a positive
ldquobalance of paymentsrdquo for the farm ing enterprise or
vegetable garden ndash more money should flow in to the
project than would otherwise flow out One important
aspect of this positive balance is to purchase as little as
p o s s ib le e x p en s ive ex te rn a l in p u ts fo r fa rm in g o r
vegetable gardening operations
And super vermicompost produced on the farm fits right into the LEISA philosophy
Organic farming techniques go one step further namely to receive certification (proof) that no
harmful substances were used n the farming operations Good quality compost (also certified as
organic) is an essential input for formal organic farming techniques
However for produce to be certified organic could be very expensive especially for a small-scale
farmer Then your pack house cold chain and transport system also needs to be certified organic
adding more complications
ldquoWhat does organic mean
Organic farming is producing food the natural way Organic farmers aim
to produce good healthy tasty food from balanced healthy soil Organic
farm ers cannot grow GM (genetically modified) crops and cannot use
chem ical fertilizers or additives or spray artificial pesticides O rganic
farmers use crop rotation to improve the fertility of their soil Healthy soil
= healthy plant = healthy humanrdquo
Anonymous (Go Farming 2(2)7)
Vermiculture
Page 24 of 27
Therefore the advice for emerging farmers or vegetable growers is to learn their trade through
LEISA techniques and not to attempt to go all the way to being certified organic without having
the skills and experience to make a success of that The Internet is full of very useful tips on how
to farm better with low external inputs type LEISA and vermiculture in a search engine such as
Google and youll be amazed with the information that comes up
8 Some Vermicomposting Stories from All over
the World
Commercial vermicomposting is just beginning in the USA San Diego in California has employed
worms to convert part of its organic waste stream into useable products The castings are in high
demand In Oregon a research and demonstration project has become a thriving business A large
urban hospital in Ontario has been using worms to process some of its waste stream for several
years (Attra 2007)
We read of the ldquoworm womanrdquo Mary Appelhoff No one in this country has done more for the
self-image of worms than Mary Appelhof the undisputed and nationally recognized
Worm Woman (Green Living Magazine)
Worms eat my garbage Theyve been doing it for twenty-seven years I set up my basement worm
bin with shredded newspaper a bit of soil and a few thousand redworms I bury food waste in it
The worms eat it They also eat the bacteria and protozoa and fungi and other microorganisms
which decompose it They grind and mix and secrete and excrete and eventually the food waste
and bedding turns into worm castings which we use in our garden The whole process is truly on-
site recyclingrdquo
Mary Appelhoff published her first book Worms eat my garbage How to set up and maintain a worm
composting system in 1982 Her newest endeavour is t bring a new voice to the vermicomposting
field by publishing a childrens picture book about vermicomposting Compost by gosh Her website
for worm composting resources can be visited at httpwwwwormwomancom
Other countries have been researching and using commercial vermicompost systems for a decade
or more Cuba for instance started their vermicomposting programme in 1986 with two small
boxes of red worms By 1992 172 vermicompost centres were producing 93 000 tons of worm
humus annually (Gersper et al 1993)
Vermiculture
Page 25 of 27
Currently France Germany Italy Japan Hong Kong India Australia and many countries
in South America have research or commercial vermicomposting projects underway (Attra 2007)
One of the largest commercial producers of vermicompost is Vermitech (Pty) Ltd in Australia
This company is dedicated to the beneficial management of organic waste through the use of very
large scale Vermiculture Their website documents considerable research on the use of their
product on various crops (httpwwwvermitechcomhomehtm)
In the past ten years an organisation in India has prompted over 2 000 farmers and institutions to
switch from conventional chemical fertilisers to that of an organic fertiliser namely vermicompost
Vermiculture has been the prim ary focus at M aharashtra Agricultural Bioteks w hich w as
established in 1985 The organisation currently produces 5 000 tons of vermicompost annually In
1991 to 1992 this group promoted the adoption of vermicompost technology in 13 states in India
The organisation has also created a programme which trains housewives and home gardeners to
produce their ow n vermicompost from household garden waste (Dr Henamgee Jambhekar
wwwfadrmsuru)
The Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town added a feature to its list of facilities that is a South African
first A fully-functioning worm farm The hotel has decided to go green by instituting an organic
waste recycling programme where its kitchen waste are turned into worm droppings which
constitute some of the best fertiliser to keep the hotels lawns pot plants and vegetable gardens
flourishing They have thousands of worms housed in plastic crates behind one of the hotels
parking areas They estimate that the farm currently hosts about 33 000 worms (South Africa
Logue)
There are also plans to work on methods to combine conventional composting with super
vermicompost and to put up commercial composting plants at the two new markets for emerging
farmers at Philippi Market Cape Town and Ugu Agricultural Market in Port Shepstone The
conventional compost spiked with super vermicompost will be made available for emerging
farmers near these markets through the subsidised transport linking the markets with the emerging
supply base via a depot system (Charl Pienaar 2007)
Happy Worming
Vermiculture
Page 26 of 27
SOURCES
Anonymous [sa] Organic agriculture What does it all means Go Farming 2(2)6-8
A TTR A (A ppropria te T echnology T ransfer for Rural Areas) 2007 W orms for com posting
(Vermicomposting) National Center for Appropriate Technology
Earthworms as a natural resource httpwwwwormfarmcom
G e r s p e r e t a l 1 9 9 3 C u b a s c o m p o s t in g A g r ic u l t u r e a n d H u m a n V a lu e s X (3 ) 1 6 - 2 3
httpfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art1html
Ja m b h h e k a r H e m a n g e e V e r m ic u l t u r e in I n d i a I n t e rn a t ion a l A g -S iev e 7 (1 ) A r t 3
(httpwwwfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art3html)
Journey to Forever Organic Garden Vermicomposting
httpwwwjourneytoforeverorgcompost_wormhtml
Munro G [sa] Manual of on-farm vermicomposting and vermiculture Organic Agriculture Centre of
Canada
Nell W T Engelbrecht G M amp Du Plessis D M 2006 Growing vegetables A comprehensive guide
on how to establish maintain and manage a vegetable garden Centre for Agricultural Management
University of the Free State Bloemfontein
Organic farming and organic gardening using vermicompost httpwwwhappydranchcom92html
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 1 How to grow super vermicompost Go Farming 1(3)22-
23
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 2 How to use super vermicompost Go Farming 1(4)20-22
Pienaar Charl 2007 Vermiculture short course presented at MUCPP Mangaung Bloemfontein
Supertill cc Paarl
Recycling advocates Vermicomposting httpwwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Seasons India Vermicompost
httpwwwseasonsindiacomlifestylegrdnVermicompost_seahtm
Vermiculture
Page 27 of 27
SEED (Schools Environmental Education and Development) 2006 Improving the soil ndash worm
farms (worksheet 53) Growing the living laboratory Permaculture for environmental education in the
NCS Used with permission from Leigh Brown The complete document is available for download
on the SEED website (httpwwwseedorgza)
Setting up a worm bed httpwwwwormpoopcomWormBedWormBedhtm
Sherman Rhonda 2003 Raising earthworms successfully North Carolina Cooperative Extension
Service Publication no EBAE 103-83 North Carolina State University
South Africa Logue Mount Nelson Hotel creates ldquopermaculturerdquo of excellence with worm farm
httpwwwsouthafricaloguecom
Vermiculture Indoor composting
httpredworms-greenearthcomcgi-binshopplpage=indoorhtml
Vermiculture Canada Earthworm castings as plant growth media
httpwwwvermiculturecaarticlesearthworm_castingshtm
Vermiculture composting httpwwwwormpoopcomCompostingCompostinghtm
Vermicompost httpwwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost
Weisenhorn Julie Vermiculture Promote global warming Sustainable urban landscape information
series University of Minnesota httpwwwsustlandumnedu
What kind of earthworms do we recommend httpwwwvermicocomwormshtm
Wikipedia httpenwikipediaorg wikiVermicompost
Worm Digest Young persons guide to vermicomposting
httpwwwwormdigestorgcontentview152
Worm Farm Free worm farming newsletter ndash Vermiculture
httpwwwwormfarmingsecretscom
Worm Research Centre
httpwwwwormresearchcentrecoukvermicompostinghtml
Wormwise How to use WormWisereg Earthworm Castings
httpwormwisecomid=help
Vermiculture
Page 21 of 27
Or you could start a conventional compost heap and turn the
heap with a fork every few days The micro-organisms will start breaking the organic matter down
heat will build up and oxygen will be used in the process
Within about three weeks the pre-composted matter should be ready to be placed inside the tyre
stacks as described previously
If you have access to ldquooldrdquo organic matter (for instance manure that has been lying in a heap for
a few months) pre-composting should not be necessary
53 Harvesting the tyre stack
The following technique works well and although it is slower it is much easier and less stressful
for the little workers
Oslash Start building a new tyre stack next to the old one and put fresh worm food only in the round
bottom section of the tyre starting with shredded paper then manure (ldquopensmisrdquo)
Ugrave Fill the rest of the tyre with the harvested compost (plus worms) from the old tyre stack and
continue with the next tyre when the bottom one is full And so on until the stack is six tyres
high
Uacute The next step is to disturb the top few layers of vermicompost by stirring with your hands
which causes the worms to take flight downwards
Turning of compost
Conventional compost containers
Vermiculture
Page 22 of 27
Ucirc The clean compost can then be harvested from the top Continue with the harvesting until you
reach the fresh worm food And there you will find all the worms trapped in the round section
of the tyre ready to be scooped out with the fresh worm food
Uuml The little workers embedded in the fresh organic matter could then be scooped out and used
to populate a new tyre stack that was first filled with fresh worm food And so the cycle is
repeated over and over
7 Worming Towards LEISA and Organic Farming
Techniques
In this part we will explain how to utilise the super vermicompost that your little workers so
willingly and cost-effectively prepared for you We will also provide insights on how to build up
your soil so that the local little workers will be able to continue the good work that their brothers
and sisters in the tyre stacks did for you
LEISA is short for Low External Inputs Sustainable Agriculture simply meaning that instead of
looking for expensive external farming inputs (chemical fertilisers chem ical w eed killers
insecticides and pest control chemicals) the clever farmer or vegetable gardener should find items
and materials available locally and inexpensively to do the same or better job as the expensive
external inputs
For instance a flock of geese on the farm could do a great job to keep snails and other insects under
control while at the same time providing a renewable source of meat and eggs to feed the farmers
family As they are good for security too
Using a chicken tractor to work the soil for
y o u i s a l s o s o m e t h i n g t h a t c a n b e
in co rp o ra te d in a v e g e ta b le g a rd en A
chicken tractor is basically a bottomless cage
built from old material It allows the chickens
to scratch and eat off of the ground such
things as grass weeds bugs worms etc
You can drag the chicken tractor around the
garden The chicken manure goes directly
onto th e s o il w here it fe rtilises th e so il
C h ick en tractors are perfect for a sm a ll
number of chickens
A chicken tractor at the experimental site of the Motheo
College in Bloemfontein
Vermiculture
Page 23 of 27
In the same way super vermicompost produced on the farm or at home from waste material and
making use of the free labour provided by the little helpers could go a long way towards replacing
expensive chemical fertilisers Furthermore vermicompost is good for building up the soils
putting carbon sources and essential microbes (good bugs)
back into the place where they belong the place that
Nature prepared for the over the ages
LEISA is therefore about helping to create a positive
ldquobalance of paymentsrdquo for the farm ing enterprise or
vegetable garden ndash more money should flow in to the
project than would otherwise flow out One important
aspect of this positive balance is to purchase as little as
p o s s ib le e x p en s ive ex te rn a l in p u ts fo r fa rm in g o r
vegetable gardening operations
And super vermicompost produced on the farm fits right into the LEISA philosophy
Organic farming techniques go one step further namely to receive certification (proof) that no
harmful substances were used n the farming operations Good quality compost (also certified as
organic) is an essential input for formal organic farming techniques
However for produce to be certified organic could be very expensive especially for a small-scale
farmer Then your pack house cold chain and transport system also needs to be certified organic
adding more complications
ldquoWhat does organic mean
Organic farming is producing food the natural way Organic farmers aim
to produce good healthy tasty food from balanced healthy soil Organic
farm ers cannot grow GM (genetically modified) crops and cannot use
chem ical fertilizers or additives or spray artificial pesticides O rganic
farmers use crop rotation to improve the fertility of their soil Healthy soil
= healthy plant = healthy humanrdquo
Anonymous (Go Farming 2(2)7)
Vermiculture
Page 24 of 27
Therefore the advice for emerging farmers or vegetable growers is to learn their trade through
LEISA techniques and not to attempt to go all the way to being certified organic without having
the skills and experience to make a success of that The Internet is full of very useful tips on how
to farm better with low external inputs type LEISA and vermiculture in a search engine such as
Google and youll be amazed with the information that comes up
8 Some Vermicomposting Stories from All over
the World
Commercial vermicomposting is just beginning in the USA San Diego in California has employed
worms to convert part of its organic waste stream into useable products The castings are in high
demand In Oregon a research and demonstration project has become a thriving business A large
urban hospital in Ontario has been using worms to process some of its waste stream for several
years (Attra 2007)
We read of the ldquoworm womanrdquo Mary Appelhoff No one in this country has done more for the
self-image of worms than Mary Appelhof the undisputed and nationally recognized
Worm Woman (Green Living Magazine)
Worms eat my garbage Theyve been doing it for twenty-seven years I set up my basement worm
bin with shredded newspaper a bit of soil and a few thousand redworms I bury food waste in it
The worms eat it They also eat the bacteria and protozoa and fungi and other microorganisms
which decompose it They grind and mix and secrete and excrete and eventually the food waste
and bedding turns into worm castings which we use in our garden The whole process is truly on-
site recyclingrdquo
Mary Appelhoff published her first book Worms eat my garbage How to set up and maintain a worm
composting system in 1982 Her newest endeavour is t bring a new voice to the vermicomposting
field by publishing a childrens picture book about vermicomposting Compost by gosh Her website
for worm composting resources can be visited at httpwwwwormwomancom
Other countries have been researching and using commercial vermicompost systems for a decade
or more Cuba for instance started their vermicomposting programme in 1986 with two small
boxes of red worms By 1992 172 vermicompost centres were producing 93 000 tons of worm
humus annually (Gersper et al 1993)
Vermiculture
Page 25 of 27
Currently France Germany Italy Japan Hong Kong India Australia and many countries
in South America have research or commercial vermicomposting projects underway (Attra 2007)
One of the largest commercial producers of vermicompost is Vermitech (Pty) Ltd in Australia
This company is dedicated to the beneficial management of organic waste through the use of very
large scale Vermiculture Their website documents considerable research on the use of their
product on various crops (httpwwwvermitechcomhomehtm)
In the past ten years an organisation in India has prompted over 2 000 farmers and institutions to
switch from conventional chemical fertilisers to that of an organic fertiliser namely vermicompost
Vermiculture has been the prim ary focus at M aharashtra Agricultural Bioteks w hich w as
established in 1985 The organisation currently produces 5 000 tons of vermicompost annually In
1991 to 1992 this group promoted the adoption of vermicompost technology in 13 states in India
The organisation has also created a programme which trains housewives and home gardeners to
produce their ow n vermicompost from household garden waste (Dr Henamgee Jambhekar
wwwfadrmsuru)
The Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town added a feature to its list of facilities that is a South African
first A fully-functioning worm farm The hotel has decided to go green by instituting an organic
waste recycling programme where its kitchen waste are turned into worm droppings which
constitute some of the best fertiliser to keep the hotels lawns pot plants and vegetable gardens
flourishing They have thousands of worms housed in plastic crates behind one of the hotels
parking areas They estimate that the farm currently hosts about 33 000 worms (South Africa
Logue)
There are also plans to work on methods to combine conventional composting with super
vermicompost and to put up commercial composting plants at the two new markets for emerging
farmers at Philippi Market Cape Town and Ugu Agricultural Market in Port Shepstone The
conventional compost spiked with super vermicompost will be made available for emerging
farmers near these markets through the subsidised transport linking the markets with the emerging
supply base via a depot system (Charl Pienaar 2007)
Happy Worming
Vermiculture
Page 26 of 27
SOURCES
Anonymous [sa] Organic agriculture What does it all means Go Farming 2(2)6-8
A TTR A (A ppropria te T echnology T ransfer for Rural Areas) 2007 W orms for com posting
(Vermicomposting) National Center for Appropriate Technology
Earthworms as a natural resource httpwwwwormfarmcom
G e r s p e r e t a l 1 9 9 3 C u b a s c o m p o s t in g A g r ic u l t u r e a n d H u m a n V a lu e s X (3 ) 1 6 - 2 3
httpfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art1html
Ja m b h h e k a r H e m a n g e e V e r m ic u l t u r e in I n d i a I n t e rn a t ion a l A g -S iev e 7 (1 ) A r t 3
(httpwwwfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art3html)
Journey to Forever Organic Garden Vermicomposting
httpwwwjourneytoforeverorgcompost_wormhtml
Munro G [sa] Manual of on-farm vermicomposting and vermiculture Organic Agriculture Centre of
Canada
Nell W T Engelbrecht G M amp Du Plessis D M 2006 Growing vegetables A comprehensive guide
on how to establish maintain and manage a vegetable garden Centre for Agricultural Management
University of the Free State Bloemfontein
Organic farming and organic gardening using vermicompost httpwwwhappydranchcom92html
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 1 How to grow super vermicompost Go Farming 1(3)22-
23
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 2 How to use super vermicompost Go Farming 1(4)20-22
Pienaar Charl 2007 Vermiculture short course presented at MUCPP Mangaung Bloemfontein
Supertill cc Paarl
Recycling advocates Vermicomposting httpwwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Seasons India Vermicompost
httpwwwseasonsindiacomlifestylegrdnVermicompost_seahtm
Vermiculture
Page 27 of 27
SEED (Schools Environmental Education and Development) 2006 Improving the soil ndash worm
farms (worksheet 53) Growing the living laboratory Permaculture for environmental education in the
NCS Used with permission from Leigh Brown The complete document is available for download
on the SEED website (httpwwwseedorgza)
Setting up a worm bed httpwwwwormpoopcomWormBedWormBedhtm
Sherman Rhonda 2003 Raising earthworms successfully North Carolina Cooperative Extension
Service Publication no EBAE 103-83 North Carolina State University
South Africa Logue Mount Nelson Hotel creates ldquopermaculturerdquo of excellence with worm farm
httpwwwsouthafricaloguecom
Vermiculture Indoor composting
httpredworms-greenearthcomcgi-binshopplpage=indoorhtml
Vermiculture Canada Earthworm castings as plant growth media
httpwwwvermiculturecaarticlesearthworm_castingshtm
Vermiculture composting httpwwwwormpoopcomCompostingCompostinghtm
Vermicompost httpwwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost
Weisenhorn Julie Vermiculture Promote global warming Sustainable urban landscape information
series University of Minnesota httpwwwsustlandumnedu
What kind of earthworms do we recommend httpwwwvermicocomwormshtm
Wikipedia httpenwikipediaorg wikiVermicompost
Worm Digest Young persons guide to vermicomposting
httpwwwwormdigestorgcontentview152
Worm Farm Free worm farming newsletter ndash Vermiculture
httpwwwwormfarmingsecretscom
Worm Research Centre
httpwwwwormresearchcentrecoukvermicompostinghtml
Wormwise How to use WormWisereg Earthworm Castings
httpwormwisecomid=help
Vermiculture
Page 22 of 27
Ucirc The clean compost can then be harvested from the top Continue with the harvesting until you
reach the fresh worm food And there you will find all the worms trapped in the round section
of the tyre ready to be scooped out with the fresh worm food
Uuml The little workers embedded in the fresh organic matter could then be scooped out and used
to populate a new tyre stack that was first filled with fresh worm food And so the cycle is
repeated over and over
7 Worming Towards LEISA and Organic Farming
Techniques
In this part we will explain how to utilise the super vermicompost that your little workers so
willingly and cost-effectively prepared for you We will also provide insights on how to build up
your soil so that the local little workers will be able to continue the good work that their brothers
and sisters in the tyre stacks did for you
LEISA is short for Low External Inputs Sustainable Agriculture simply meaning that instead of
looking for expensive external farming inputs (chemical fertilisers chem ical w eed killers
insecticides and pest control chemicals) the clever farmer or vegetable gardener should find items
and materials available locally and inexpensively to do the same or better job as the expensive
external inputs
For instance a flock of geese on the farm could do a great job to keep snails and other insects under
control while at the same time providing a renewable source of meat and eggs to feed the farmers
family As they are good for security too
Using a chicken tractor to work the soil for
y o u i s a l s o s o m e t h i n g t h a t c a n b e
in co rp o ra te d in a v e g e ta b le g a rd en A
chicken tractor is basically a bottomless cage
built from old material It allows the chickens
to scratch and eat off of the ground such
things as grass weeds bugs worms etc
You can drag the chicken tractor around the
garden The chicken manure goes directly
onto th e s o il w here it fe rtilises th e so il
C h ick en tractors are perfect for a sm a ll
number of chickens
A chicken tractor at the experimental site of the Motheo
College in Bloemfontein
Vermiculture
Page 23 of 27
In the same way super vermicompost produced on the farm or at home from waste material and
making use of the free labour provided by the little helpers could go a long way towards replacing
expensive chemical fertilisers Furthermore vermicompost is good for building up the soils
putting carbon sources and essential microbes (good bugs)
back into the place where they belong the place that
Nature prepared for the over the ages
LEISA is therefore about helping to create a positive
ldquobalance of paymentsrdquo for the farm ing enterprise or
vegetable garden ndash more money should flow in to the
project than would otherwise flow out One important
aspect of this positive balance is to purchase as little as
p o s s ib le e x p en s ive ex te rn a l in p u ts fo r fa rm in g o r
vegetable gardening operations
And super vermicompost produced on the farm fits right into the LEISA philosophy
Organic farming techniques go one step further namely to receive certification (proof) that no
harmful substances were used n the farming operations Good quality compost (also certified as
organic) is an essential input for formal organic farming techniques
However for produce to be certified organic could be very expensive especially for a small-scale
farmer Then your pack house cold chain and transport system also needs to be certified organic
adding more complications
ldquoWhat does organic mean
Organic farming is producing food the natural way Organic farmers aim
to produce good healthy tasty food from balanced healthy soil Organic
farm ers cannot grow GM (genetically modified) crops and cannot use
chem ical fertilizers or additives or spray artificial pesticides O rganic
farmers use crop rotation to improve the fertility of their soil Healthy soil
= healthy plant = healthy humanrdquo
Anonymous (Go Farming 2(2)7)
Vermiculture
Page 24 of 27
Therefore the advice for emerging farmers or vegetable growers is to learn their trade through
LEISA techniques and not to attempt to go all the way to being certified organic without having
the skills and experience to make a success of that The Internet is full of very useful tips on how
to farm better with low external inputs type LEISA and vermiculture in a search engine such as
Google and youll be amazed with the information that comes up
8 Some Vermicomposting Stories from All over
the World
Commercial vermicomposting is just beginning in the USA San Diego in California has employed
worms to convert part of its organic waste stream into useable products The castings are in high
demand In Oregon a research and demonstration project has become a thriving business A large
urban hospital in Ontario has been using worms to process some of its waste stream for several
years (Attra 2007)
We read of the ldquoworm womanrdquo Mary Appelhoff No one in this country has done more for the
self-image of worms than Mary Appelhof the undisputed and nationally recognized
Worm Woman (Green Living Magazine)
Worms eat my garbage Theyve been doing it for twenty-seven years I set up my basement worm
bin with shredded newspaper a bit of soil and a few thousand redworms I bury food waste in it
The worms eat it They also eat the bacteria and protozoa and fungi and other microorganisms
which decompose it They grind and mix and secrete and excrete and eventually the food waste
and bedding turns into worm castings which we use in our garden The whole process is truly on-
site recyclingrdquo
Mary Appelhoff published her first book Worms eat my garbage How to set up and maintain a worm
composting system in 1982 Her newest endeavour is t bring a new voice to the vermicomposting
field by publishing a childrens picture book about vermicomposting Compost by gosh Her website
for worm composting resources can be visited at httpwwwwormwomancom
Other countries have been researching and using commercial vermicompost systems for a decade
or more Cuba for instance started their vermicomposting programme in 1986 with two small
boxes of red worms By 1992 172 vermicompost centres were producing 93 000 tons of worm
humus annually (Gersper et al 1993)
Vermiculture
Page 25 of 27
Currently France Germany Italy Japan Hong Kong India Australia and many countries
in South America have research or commercial vermicomposting projects underway (Attra 2007)
One of the largest commercial producers of vermicompost is Vermitech (Pty) Ltd in Australia
This company is dedicated to the beneficial management of organic waste through the use of very
large scale Vermiculture Their website documents considerable research on the use of their
product on various crops (httpwwwvermitechcomhomehtm)
In the past ten years an organisation in India has prompted over 2 000 farmers and institutions to
switch from conventional chemical fertilisers to that of an organic fertiliser namely vermicompost
Vermiculture has been the prim ary focus at M aharashtra Agricultural Bioteks w hich w as
established in 1985 The organisation currently produces 5 000 tons of vermicompost annually In
1991 to 1992 this group promoted the adoption of vermicompost technology in 13 states in India
The organisation has also created a programme which trains housewives and home gardeners to
produce their ow n vermicompost from household garden waste (Dr Henamgee Jambhekar
wwwfadrmsuru)
The Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town added a feature to its list of facilities that is a South African
first A fully-functioning worm farm The hotel has decided to go green by instituting an organic
waste recycling programme where its kitchen waste are turned into worm droppings which
constitute some of the best fertiliser to keep the hotels lawns pot plants and vegetable gardens
flourishing They have thousands of worms housed in plastic crates behind one of the hotels
parking areas They estimate that the farm currently hosts about 33 000 worms (South Africa
Logue)
There are also plans to work on methods to combine conventional composting with super
vermicompost and to put up commercial composting plants at the two new markets for emerging
farmers at Philippi Market Cape Town and Ugu Agricultural Market in Port Shepstone The
conventional compost spiked with super vermicompost will be made available for emerging
farmers near these markets through the subsidised transport linking the markets with the emerging
supply base via a depot system (Charl Pienaar 2007)
Happy Worming
Vermiculture
Page 26 of 27
SOURCES
Anonymous [sa] Organic agriculture What does it all means Go Farming 2(2)6-8
A TTR A (A ppropria te T echnology T ransfer for Rural Areas) 2007 W orms for com posting
(Vermicomposting) National Center for Appropriate Technology
Earthworms as a natural resource httpwwwwormfarmcom
G e r s p e r e t a l 1 9 9 3 C u b a s c o m p o s t in g A g r ic u l t u r e a n d H u m a n V a lu e s X (3 ) 1 6 - 2 3
httpfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art1html
Ja m b h h e k a r H e m a n g e e V e r m ic u l t u r e in I n d i a I n t e rn a t ion a l A g -S iev e 7 (1 ) A r t 3
(httpwwwfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art3html)
Journey to Forever Organic Garden Vermicomposting
httpwwwjourneytoforeverorgcompost_wormhtml
Munro G [sa] Manual of on-farm vermicomposting and vermiculture Organic Agriculture Centre of
Canada
Nell W T Engelbrecht G M amp Du Plessis D M 2006 Growing vegetables A comprehensive guide
on how to establish maintain and manage a vegetable garden Centre for Agricultural Management
University of the Free State Bloemfontein
Organic farming and organic gardening using vermicompost httpwwwhappydranchcom92html
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 1 How to grow super vermicompost Go Farming 1(3)22-
23
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 2 How to use super vermicompost Go Farming 1(4)20-22
Pienaar Charl 2007 Vermiculture short course presented at MUCPP Mangaung Bloemfontein
Supertill cc Paarl
Recycling advocates Vermicomposting httpwwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Seasons India Vermicompost
httpwwwseasonsindiacomlifestylegrdnVermicompost_seahtm
Vermiculture
Page 27 of 27
SEED (Schools Environmental Education and Development) 2006 Improving the soil ndash worm
farms (worksheet 53) Growing the living laboratory Permaculture for environmental education in the
NCS Used with permission from Leigh Brown The complete document is available for download
on the SEED website (httpwwwseedorgza)
Setting up a worm bed httpwwwwormpoopcomWormBedWormBedhtm
Sherman Rhonda 2003 Raising earthworms successfully North Carolina Cooperative Extension
Service Publication no EBAE 103-83 North Carolina State University
South Africa Logue Mount Nelson Hotel creates ldquopermaculturerdquo of excellence with worm farm
httpwwwsouthafricaloguecom
Vermiculture Indoor composting
httpredworms-greenearthcomcgi-binshopplpage=indoorhtml
Vermiculture Canada Earthworm castings as plant growth media
httpwwwvermiculturecaarticlesearthworm_castingshtm
Vermiculture composting httpwwwwormpoopcomCompostingCompostinghtm
Vermicompost httpwwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost
Weisenhorn Julie Vermiculture Promote global warming Sustainable urban landscape information
series University of Minnesota httpwwwsustlandumnedu
What kind of earthworms do we recommend httpwwwvermicocomwormshtm
Wikipedia httpenwikipediaorg wikiVermicompost
Worm Digest Young persons guide to vermicomposting
httpwwwwormdigestorgcontentview152
Worm Farm Free worm farming newsletter ndash Vermiculture
httpwwwwormfarmingsecretscom
Worm Research Centre
httpwwwwormresearchcentrecoukvermicompostinghtml
Wormwise How to use WormWisereg Earthworm Castings
httpwormwisecomid=help
Vermiculture
Page 23 of 27
In the same way super vermicompost produced on the farm or at home from waste material and
making use of the free labour provided by the little helpers could go a long way towards replacing
expensive chemical fertilisers Furthermore vermicompost is good for building up the soils
putting carbon sources and essential microbes (good bugs)
back into the place where they belong the place that
Nature prepared for the over the ages
LEISA is therefore about helping to create a positive
ldquobalance of paymentsrdquo for the farm ing enterprise or
vegetable garden ndash more money should flow in to the
project than would otherwise flow out One important
aspect of this positive balance is to purchase as little as
p o s s ib le e x p en s ive ex te rn a l in p u ts fo r fa rm in g o r
vegetable gardening operations
And super vermicompost produced on the farm fits right into the LEISA philosophy
Organic farming techniques go one step further namely to receive certification (proof) that no
harmful substances were used n the farming operations Good quality compost (also certified as
organic) is an essential input for formal organic farming techniques
However for produce to be certified organic could be very expensive especially for a small-scale
farmer Then your pack house cold chain and transport system also needs to be certified organic
adding more complications
ldquoWhat does organic mean
Organic farming is producing food the natural way Organic farmers aim
to produce good healthy tasty food from balanced healthy soil Organic
farm ers cannot grow GM (genetically modified) crops and cannot use
chem ical fertilizers or additives or spray artificial pesticides O rganic
farmers use crop rotation to improve the fertility of their soil Healthy soil
= healthy plant = healthy humanrdquo
Anonymous (Go Farming 2(2)7)
Vermiculture
Page 24 of 27
Therefore the advice for emerging farmers or vegetable growers is to learn their trade through
LEISA techniques and not to attempt to go all the way to being certified organic without having
the skills and experience to make a success of that The Internet is full of very useful tips on how
to farm better with low external inputs type LEISA and vermiculture in a search engine such as
Google and youll be amazed with the information that comes up
8 Some Vermicomposting Stories from All over
the World
Commercial vermicomposting is just beginning in the USA San Diego in California has employed
worms to convert part of its organic waste stream into useable products The castings are in high
demand In Oregon a research and demonstration project has become a thriving business A large
urban hospital in Ontario has been using worms to process some of its waste stream for several
years (Attra 2007)
We read of the ldquoworm womanrdquo Mary Appelhoff No one in this country has done more for the
self-image of worms than Mary Appelhof the undisputed and nationally recognized
Worm Woman (Green Living Magazine)
Worms eat my garbage Theyve been doing it for twenty-seven years I set up my basement worm
bin with shredded newspaper a bit of soil and a few thousand redworms I bury food waste in it
The worms eat it They also eat the bacteria and protozoa and fungi and other microorganisms
which decompose it They grind and mix and secrete and excrete and eventually the food waste
and bedding turns into worm castings which we use in our garden The whole process is truly on-
site recyclingrdquo
Mary Appelhoff published her first book Worms eat my garbage How to set up and maintain a worm
composting system in 1982 Her newest endeavour is t bring a new voice to the vermicomposting
field by publishing a childrens picture book about vermicomposting Compost by gosh Her website
for worm composting resources can be visited at httpwwwwormwomancom
Other countries have been researching and using commercial vermicompost systems for a decade
or more Cuba for instance started their vermicomposting programme in 1986 with two small
boxes of red worms By 1992 172 vermicompost centres were producing 93 000 tons of worm
humus annually (Gersper et al 1993)
Vermiculture
Page 25 of 27
Currently France Germany Italy Japan Hong Kong India Australia and many countries
in South America have research or commercial vermicomposting projects underway (Attra 2007)
One of the largest commercial producers of vermicompost is Vermitech (Pty) Ltd in Australia
This company is dedicated to the beneficial management of organic waste through the use of very
large scale Vermiculture Their website documents considerable research on the use of their
product on various crops (httpwwwvermitechcomhomehtm)
In the past ten years an organisation in India has prompted over 2 000 farmers and institutions to
switch from conventional chemical fertilisers to that of an organic fertiliser namely vermicompost
Vermiculture has been the prim ary focus at M aharashtra Agricultural Bioteks w hich w as
established in 1985 The organisation currently produces 5 000 tons of vermicompost annually In
1991 to 1992 this group promoted the adoption of vermicompost technology in 13 states in India
The organisation has also created a programme which trains housewives and home gardeners to
produce their ow n vermicompost from household garden waste (Dr Henamgee Jambhekar
wwwfadrmsuru)
The Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town added a feature to its list of facilities that is a South African
first A fully-functioning worm farm The hotel has decided to go green by instituting an organic
waste recycling programme where its kitchen waste are turned into worm droppings which
constitute some of the best fertiliser to keep the hotels lawns pot plants and vegetable gardens
flourishing They have thousands of worms housed in plastic crates behind one of the hotels
parking areas They estimate that the farm currently hosts about 33 000 worms (South Africa
Logue)
There are also plans to work on methods to combine conventional composting with super
vermicompost and to put up commercial composting plants at the two new markets for emerging
farmers at Philippi Market Cape Town and Ugu Agricultural Market in Port Shepstone The
conventional compost spiked with super vermicompost will be made available for emerging
farmers near these markets through the subsidised transport linking the markets with the emerging
supply base via a depot system (Charl Pienaar 2007)
Happy Worming
Vermiculture
Page 26 of 27
SOURCES
Anonymous [sa] Organic agriculture What does it all means Go Farming 2(2)6-8
A TTR A (A ppropria te T echnology T ransfer for Rural Areas) 2007 W orms for com posting
(Vermicomposting) National Center for Appropriate Technology
Earthworms as a natural resource httpwwwwormfarmcom
G e r s p e r e t a l 1 9 9 3 C u b a s c o m p o s t in g A g r ic u l t u r e a n d H u m a n V a lu e s X (3 ) 1 6 - 2 3
httpfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art1html
Ja m b h h e k a r H e m a n g e e V e r m ic u l t u r e in I n d i a I n t e rn a t ion a l A g -S iev e 7 (1 ) A r t 3
(httpwwwfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art3html)
Journey to Forever Organic Garden Vermicomposting
httpwwwjourneytoforeverorgcompost_wormhtml
Munro G [sa] Manual of on-farm vermicomposting and vermiculture Organic Agriculture Centre of
Canada
Nell W T Engelbrecht G M amp Du Plessis D M 2006 Growing vegetables A comprehensive guide
on how to establish maintain and manage a vegetable garden Centre for Agricultural Management
University of the Free State Bloemfontein
Organic farming and organic gardening using vermicompost httpwwwhappydranchcom92html
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 1 How to grow super vermicompost Go Farming 1(3)22-
23
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 2 How to use super vermicompost Go Farming 1(4)20-22
Pienaar Charl 2007 Vermiculture short course presented at MUCPP Mangaung Bloemfontein
Supertill cc Paarl
Recycling advocates Vermicomposting httpwwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Seasons India Vermicompost
httpwwwseasonsindiacomlifestylegrdnVermicompost_seahtm
Vermiculture
Page 27 of 27
SEED (Schools Environmental Education and Development) 2006 Improving the soil ndash worm
farms (worksheet 53) Growing the living laboratory Permaculture for environmental education in the
NCS Used with permission from Leigh Brown The complete document is available for download
on the SEED website (httpwwwseedorgza)
Setting up a worm bed httpwwwwormpoopcomWormBedWormBedhtm
Sherman Rhonda 2003 Raising earthworms successfully North Carolina Cooperative Extension
Service Publication no EBAE 103-83 North Carolina State University
South Africa Logue Mount Nelson Hotel creates ldquopermaculturerdquo of excellence with worm farm
httpwwwsouthafricaloguecom
Vermiculture Indoor composting
httpredworms-greenearthcomcgi-binshopplpage=indoorhtml
Vermiculture Canada Earthworm castings as plant growth media
httpwwwvermiculturecaarticlesearthworm_castingshtm
Vermiculture composting httpwwwwormpoopcomCompostingCompostinghtm
Vermicompost httpwwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost
Weisenhorn Julie Vermiculture Promote global warming Sustainable urban landscape information
series University of Minnesota httpwwwsustlandumnedu
What kind of earthworms do we recommend httpwwwvermicocomwormshtm
Wikipedia httpenwikipediaorg wikiVermicompost
Worm Digest Young persons guide to vermicomposting
httpwwwwormdigestorgcontentview152
Worm Farm Free worm farming newsletter ndash Vermiculture
httpwwwwormfarmingsecretscom
Worm Research Centre
httpwwwwormresearchcentrecoukvermicompostinghtml
Wormwise How to use WormWisereg Earthworm Castings
httpwormwisecomid=help
Vermiculture
Page 24 of 27
Therefore the advice for emerging farmers or vegetable growers is to learn their trade through
LEISA techniques and not to attempt to go all the way to being certified organic without having
the skills and experience to make a success of that The Internet is full of very useful tips on how
to farm better with low external inputs type LEISA and vermiculture in a search engine such as
Google and youll be amazed with the information that comes up
8 Some Vermicomposting Stories from All over
the World
Commercial vermicomposting is just beginning in the USA San Diego in California has employed
worms to convert part of its organic waste stream into useable products The castings are in high
demand In Oregon a research and demonstration project has become a thriving business A large
urban hospital in Ontario has been using worms to process some of its waste stream for several
years (Attra 2007)
We read of the ldquoworm womanrdquo Mary Appelhoff No one in this country has done more for the
self-image of worms than Mary Appelhof the undisputed and nationally recognized
Worm Woman (Green Living Magazine)
Worms eat my garbage Theyve been doing it for twenty-seven years I set up my basement worm
bin with shredded newspaper a bit of soil and a few thousand redworms I bury food waste in it
The worms eat it They also eat the bacteria and protozoa and fungi and other microorganisms
which decompose it They grind and mix and secrete and excrete and eventually the food waste
and bedding turns into worm castings which we use in our garden The whole process is truly on-
site recyclingrdquo
Mary Appelhoff published her first book Worms eat my garbage How to set up and maintain a worm
composting system in 1982 Her newest endeavour is t bring a new voice to the vermicomposting
field by publishing a childrens picture book about vermicomposting Compost by gosh Her website
for worm composting resources can be visited at httpwwwwormwomancom
Other countries have been researching and using commercial vermicompost systems for a decade
or more Cuba for instance started their vermicomposting programme in 1986 with two small
boxes of red worms By 1992 172 vermicompost centres were producing 93 000 tons of worm
humus annually (Gersper et al 1993)
Vermiculture
Page 25 of 27
Currently France Germany Italy Japan Hong Kong India Australia and many countries
in South America have research or commercial vermicomposting projects underway (Attra 2007)
One of the largest commercial producers of vermicompost is Vermitech (Pty) Ltd in Australia
This company is dedicated to the beneficial management of organic waste through the use of very
large scale Vermiculture Their website documents considerable research on the use of their
product on various crops (httpwwwvermitechcomhomehtm)
In the past ten years an organisation in India has prompted over 2 000 farmers and institutions to
switch from conventional chemical fertilisers to that of an organic fertiliser namely vermicompost
Vermiculture has been the prim ary focus at M aharashtra Agricultural Bioteks w hich w as
established in 1985 The organisation currently produces 5 000 tons of vermicompost annually In
1991 to 1992 this group promoted the adoption of vermicompost technology in 13 states in India
The organisation has also created a programme which trains housewives and home gardeners to
produce their ow n vermicompost from household garden waste (Dr Henamgee Jambhekar
wwwfadrmsuru)
The Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town added a feature to its list of facilities that is a South African
first A fully-functioning worm farm The hotel has decided to go green by instituting an organic
waste recycling programme where its kitchen waste are turned into worm droppings which
constitute some of the best fertiliser to keep the hotels lawns pot plants and vegetable gardens
flourishing They have thousands of worms housed in plastic crates behind one of the hotels
parking areas They estimate that the farm currently hosts about 33 000 worms (South Africa
Logue)
There are also plans to work on methods to combine conventional composting with super
vermicompost and to put up commercial composting plants at the two new markets for emerging
farmers at Philippi Market Cape Town and Ugu Agricultural Market in Port Shepstone The
conventional compost spiked with super vermicompost will be made available for emerging
farmers near these markets through the subsidised transport linking the markets with the emerging
supply base via a depot system (Charl Pienaar 2007)
Happy Worming
Vermiculture
Page 26 of 27
SOURCES
Anonymous [sa] Organic agriculture What does it all means Go Farming 2(2)6-8
A TTR A (A ppropria te T echnology T ransfer for Rural Areas) 2007 W orms for com posting
(Vermicomposting) National Center for Appropriate Technology
Earthworms as a natural resource httpwwwwormfarmcom
G e r s p e r e t a l 1 9 9 3 C u b a s c o m p o s t in g A g r ic u l t u r e a n d H u m a n V a lu e s X (3 ) 1 6 - 2 3
httpfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art1html
Ja m b h h e k a r H e m a n g e e V e r m ic u l t u r e in I n d i a I n t e rn a t ion a l A g -S iev e 7 (1 ) A r t 3
(httpwwwfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art3html)
Journey to Forever Organic Garden Vermicomposting
httpwwwjourneytoforeverorgcompost_wormhtml
Munro G [sa] Manual of on-farm vermicomposting and vermiculture Organic Agriculture Centre of
Canada
Nell W T Engelbrecht G M amp Du Plessis D M 2006 Growing vegetables A comprehensive guide
on how to establish maintain and manage a vegetable garden Centre for Agricultural Management
University of the Free State Bloemfontein
Organic farming and organic gardening using vermicompost httpwwwhappydranchcom92html
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 1 How to grow super vermicompost Go Farming 1(3)22-
23
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 2 How to use super vermicompost Go Farming 1(4)20-22
Pienaar Charl 2007 Vermiculture short course presented at MUCPP Mangaung Bloemfontein
Supertill cc Paarl
Recycling advocates Vermicomposting httpwwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Seasons India Vermicompost
httpwwwseasonsindiacomlifestylegrdnVermicompost_seahtm
Vermiculture
Page 27 of 27
SEED (Schools Environmental Education and Development) 2006 Improving the soil ndash worm
farms (worksheet 53) Growing the living laboratory Permaculture for environmental education in the
NCS Used with permission from Leigh Brown The complete document is available for download
on the SEED website (httpwwwseedorgza)
Setting up a worm bed httpwwwwormpoopcomWormBedWormBedhtm
Sherman Rhonda 2003 Raising earthworms successfully North Carolina Cooperative Extension
Service Publication no EBAE 103-83 North Carolina State University
South Africa Logue Mount Nelson Hotel creates ldquopermaculturerdquo of excellence with worm farm
httpwwwsouthafricaloguecom
Vermiculture Indoor composting
httpredworms-greenearthcomcgi-binshopplpage=indoorhtml
Vermiculture Canada Earthworm castings as plant growth media
httpwwwvermiculturecaarticlesearthworm_castingshtm
Vermiculture composting httpwwwwormpoopcomCompostingCompostinghtm
Vermicompost httpwwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost
Weisenhorn Julie Vermiculture Promote global warming Sustainable urban landscape information
series University of Minnesota httpwwwsustlandumnedu
What kind of earthworms do we recommend httpwwwvermicocomwormshtm
Wikipedia httpenwikipediaorg wikiVermicompost
Worm Digest Young persons guide to vermicomposting
httpwwwwormdigestorgcontentview152
Worm Farm Free worm farming newsletter ndash Vermiculture
httpwwwwormfarmingsecretscom
Worm Research Centre
httpwwwwormresearchcentrecoukvermicompostinghtml
Wormwise How to use WormWisereg Earthworm Castings
httpwormwisecomid=help
Vermiculture
Page 25 of 27
Currently France Germany Italy Japan Hong Kong India Australia and many countries
in South America have research or commercial vermicomposting projects underway (Attra 2007)
One of the largest commercial producers of vermicompost is Vermitech (Pty) Ltd in Australia
This company is dedicated to the beneficial management of organic waste through the use of very
large scale Vermiculture Their website documents considerable research on the use of their
product on various crops (httpwwwvermitechcomhomehtm)
In the past ten years an organisation in India has prompted over 2 000 farmers and institutions to
switch from conventional chemical fertilisers to that of an organic fertiliser namely vermicompost
Vermiculture has been the prim ary focus at M aharashtra Agricultural Bioteks w hich w as
established in 1985 The organisation currently produces 5 000 tons of vermicompost annually In
1991 to 1992 this group promoted the adoption of vermicompost technology in 13 states in India
The organisation has also created a programme which trains housewives and home gardeners to
produce their ow n vermicompost from household garden waste (Dr Henamgee Jambhekar
wwwfadrmsuru)
The Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town added a feature to its list of facilities that is a South African
first A fully-functioning worm farm The hotel has decided to go green by instituting an organic
waste recycling programme where its kitchen waste are turned into worm droppings which
constitute some of the best fertiliser to keep the hotels lawns pot plants and vegetable gardens
flourishing They have thousands of worms housed in plastic crates behind one of the hotels
parking areas They estimate that the farm currently hosts about 33 000 worms (South Africa
Logue)
There are also plans to work on methods to combine conventional composting with super
vermicompost and to put up commercial composting plants at the two new markets for emerging
farmers at Philippi Market Cape Town and Ugu Agricultural Market in Port Shepstone The
conventional compost spiked with super vermicompost will be made available for emerging
farmers near these markets through the subsidised transport linking the markets with the emerging
supply base via a depot system (Charl Pienaar 2007)
Happy Worming
Vermiculture
Page 26 of 27
SOURCES
Anonymous [sa] Organic agriculture What does it all means Go Farming 2(2)6-8
A TTR A (A ppropria te T echnology T ransfer for Rural Areas) 2007 W orms for com posting
(Vermicomposting) National Center for Appropriate Technology
Earthworms as a natural resource httpwwwwormfarmcom
G e r s p e r e t a l 1 9 9 3 C u b a s c o m p o s t in g A g r ic u l t u r e a n d H u m a n V a lu e s X (3 ) 1 6 - 2 3
httpfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art1html
Ja m b h h e k a r H e m a n g e e V e r m ic u l t u r e in I n d i a I n t e rn a t ion a l A g -S iev e 7 (1 ) A r t 3
(httpwwwfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art3html)
Journey to Forever Organic Garden Vermicomposting
httpwwwjourneytoforeverorgcompost_wormhtml
Munro G [sa] Manual of on-farm vermicomposting and vermiculture Organic Agriculture Centre of
Canada
Nell W T Engelbrecht G M amp Du Plessis D M 2006 Growing vegetables A comprehensive guide
on how to establish maintain and manage a vegetable garden Centre for Agricultural Management
University of the Free State Bloemfontein
Organic farming and organic gardening using vermicompost httpwwwhappydranchcom92html
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 1 How to grow super vermicompost Go Farming 1(3)22-
23
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 2 How to use super vermicompost Go Farming 1(4)20-22
Pienaar Charl 2007 Vermiculture short course presented at MUCPP Mangaung Bloemfontein
Supertill cc Paarl
Recycling advocates Vermicomposting httpwwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Seasons India Vermicompost
httpwwwseasonsindiacomlifestylegrdnVermicompost_seahtm
Vermiculture
Page 27 of 27
SEED (Schools Environmental Education and Development) 2006 Improving the soil ndash worm
farms (worksheet 53) Growing the living laboratory Permaculture for environmental education in the
NCS Used with permission from Leigh Brown The complete document is available for download
on the SEED website (httpwwwseedorgza)
Setting up a worm bed httpwwwwormpoopcomWormBedWormBedhtm
Sherman Rhonda 2003 Raising earthworms successfully North Carolina Cooperative Extension
Service Publication no EBAE 103-83 North Carolina State University
South Africa Logue Mount Nelson Hotel creates ldquopermaculturerdquo of excellence with worm farm
httpwwwsouthafricaloguecom
Vermiculture Indoor composting
httpredworms-greenearthcomcgi-binshopplpage=indoorhtml
Vermiculture Canada Earthworm castings as plant growth media
httpwwwvermiculturecaarticlesearthworm_castingshtm
Vermiculture composting httpwwwwormpoopcomCompostingCompostinghtm
Vermicompost httpwwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost
Weisenhorn Julie Vermiculture Promote global warming Sustainable urban landscape information
series University of Minnesota httpwwwsustlandumnedu
What kind of earthworms do we recommend httpwwwvermicocomwormshtm
Wikipedia httpenwikipediaorg wikiVermicompost
Worm Digest Young persons guide to vermicomposting
httpwwwwormdigestorgcontentview152
Worm Farm Free worm farming newsletter ndash Vermiculture
httpwwwwormfarmingsecretscom
Worm Research Centre
httpwwwwormresearchcentrecoukvermicompostinghtml
Wormwise How to use WormWisereg Earthworm Castings
httpwormwisecomid=help
Vermiculture
Page 26 of 27
SOURCES
Anonymous [sa] Organic agriculture What does it all means Go Farming 2(2)6-8
A TTR A (A ppropria te T echnology T ransfer for Rural Areas) 2007 W orms for com posting
(Vermicomposting) National Center for Appropriate Technology
Earthworms as a natural resource httpwwwwormfarmcom
G e r s p e r e t a l 1 9 9 3 C u b a s c o m p o s t in g A g r ic u l t u r e a n d H u m a n V a lu e s X (3 ) 1 6 - 2 3
httpfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art1html
Ja m b h h e k a r H e m a n g e e V e r m ic u l t u r e in I n d i a I n t e rn a t ion a l A g -S iev e 7 (1 ) A r t 3
(httpwwwfadrmsururodaleagsievetxtvol7art3html)
Journey to Forever Organic Garden Vermicomposting
httpwwwjourneytoforeverorgcompost_wormhtml
Munro G [sa] Manual of on-farm vermicomposting and vermiculture Organic Agriculture Centre of
Canada
Nell W T Engelbrecht G M amp Du Plessis D M 2006 Growing vegetables A comprehensive guide
on how to establish maintain and manage a vegetable garden Centre for Agricultural Management
University of the Free State Bloemfontein
Organic farming and organic gardening using vermicompost httpwwwhappydranchcom92html
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 1 How to grow super vermicompost Go Farming 1(3)22-
23
Pienaar Charl [sa] Vermiculture Part 2 How to use super vermicompost Go Farming 1(4)20-22
Pienaar Charl 2007 Vermiculture short course presented at MUCPP Mangaung Bloemfontein
Supertill cc Paarl
Recycling advocates Vermicomposting httpwwwrecyclingadvocatesorg
Seasons India Vermicompost
httpwwwseasonsindiacomlifestylegrdnVermicompost_seahtm
Vermiculture
Page 27 of 27
SEED (Schools Environmental Education and Development) 2006 Improving the soil ndash worm
farms (worksheet 53) Growing the living laboratory Permaculture for environmental education in the
NCS Used with permission from Leigh Brown The complete document is available for download
on the SEED website (httpwwwseedorgza)
Setting up a worm bed httpwwwwormpoopcomWormBedWormBedhtm
Sherman Rhonda 2003 Raising earthworms successfully North Carolina Cooperative Extension
Service Publication no EBAE 103-83 North Carolina State University
South Africa Logue Mount Nelson Hotel creates ldquopermaculturerdquo of excellence with worm farm
httpwwwsouthafricaloguecom
Vermiculture Indoor composting
httpredworms-greenearthcomcgi-binshopplpage=indoorhtml
Vermiculture Canada Earthworm castings as plant growth media
httpwwwvermiculturecaarticlesearthworm_castingshtm
Vermiculture composting httpwwwwormpoopcomCompostingCompostinghtm
Vermicompost httpwwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost
Weisenhorn Julie Vermiculture Promote global warming Sustainable urban landscape information
series University of Minnesota httpwwwsustlandumnedu
What kind of earthworms do we recommend httpwwwvermicocomwormshtm
Wikipedia httpenwikipediaorg wikiVermicompost
Worm Digest Young persons guide to vermicomposting
httpwwwwormdigestorgcontentview152
Worm Farm Free worm farming newsletter ndash Vermiculture
httpwwwwormfarmingsecretscom
Worm Research Centre
httpwwwwormresearchcentrecoukvermicompostinghtml
Wormwise How to use WormWisereg Earthworm Castings
httpwormwisecomid=help
Vermiculture
Page 27 of 27
SEED (Schools Environmental Education and Development) 2006 Improving the soil ndash worm
farms (worksheet 53) Growing the living laboratory Permaculture for environmental education in the
NCS Used with permission from Leigh Brown The complete document is available for download
on the SEED website (httpwwwseedorgza)
Setting up a worm bed httpwwwwormpoopcomWormBedWormBedhtm
Sherman Rhonda 2003 Raising earthworms successfully North Carolina Cooperative Extension
Service Publication no EBAE 103-83 North Carolina State University
South Africa Logue Mount Nelson Hotel creates ldquopermaculturerdquo of excellence with worm farm
httpwwwsouthafricaloguecom
Vermiculture Indoor composting
httpredworms-greenearthcomcgi-binshopplpage=indoorhtml
Vermiculture Canada Earthworm castings as plant growth media
httpwwwvermiculturecaarticlesearthworm_castingshtm
Vermiculture composting httpwwwwormpoopcomCompostingCompostinghtm
Vermicompost httpwwwanswerscomtopicvermicompost
Weisenhorn Julie Vermiculture Promote global warming Sustainable urban landscape information
series University of Minnesota httpwwwsustlandumnedu
What kind of earthworms do we recommend httpwwwvermicocomwormshtm
Wikipedia httpenwikipediaorg wikiVermicompost
Worm Digest Young persons guide to vermicomposting
httpwwwwormdigestorgcontentview152
Worm Farm Free worm farming newsletter ndash Vermiculture
httpwwwwormfarmingsecretscom
Worm Research Centre
httpwwwwormresearchcentrecoukvermicompostinghtml
Wormwise How to use WormWisereg Earthworm Castings
httpwormwisecomid=help