<b>Vermicomposting</b>: Are my Worms Eating at all? | Kitchen Compost

I just started a red worm vermicompost with 1 pound of baby red worms. They’re all really little right now, but there’s 1 pound of them, and I thought red worms were supposed to eat their own body weight in 2 days. It’s been almost a week and it doesn’t look like they’ve eaten almost anything.

Here’s what I did:
Got a 5 gallon bucket
Drilled 1/8" holes in the bottom, the sides, and the top. I don’t know how many, but I drilled quite a few.
I laid down strips of damp cardboard on the bottom.
I added the worms with 1 pound of soil.
I added probably 2 pounds of organic matter; vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, etc. No meat, dairy, or fatty stuff!
I added dry strips of cardboard and paper to the top.

The composting layer is only about 3-4 inches deep. The rest of the bucket is full of the top bedding, and a few inches for the bottom bedding.

There are no odors.

A little bit of liquid has come out of the bottom into the catch tray.

I check on them about once a day, and everything looks about exactly the same. I expect that 1 pound of red worms should finish 2 pounds of food in 4 days.

Are they supposed to be eating this slowly?

Eating their weight every two days is extremely optomistic. Yes, they are eating, but look at the size of a worm, and the weight of a worm. A couple of grams at the most. Call them 1 1/2 gram each for an adult worm. There are 28 1/2 grams per ounce, 16 ounces per pound, so it is going to take those worms quite a few days to eat a couple of pounds.

That is if they don’t escape by crawling between the cardboard and the bucket, and out the holes.

2011 <b>Vermicomposting</b> Conference in Las Vegas

NC State University’s 11th Annual Vermiculture Conference | Las Vegas, Nevada | University of Nevada-Las Vegas | May 26-27, 2011

North America’s only training on mid-to-large scale vermicomposting is heading west to Las Vegas! This year’s two day conference will provide more opportunities than ever to gather and share information with industry experts and peers.

Topics include:  What to Tell Customers about the Benefits of Vermicompost….How to Use Vermicompost: Application Rates & Techniques….Earthworm Husbandry: The Care and Feeding of Earthworms….….Vermicompost: How to Harvest, Store, and Bag It….Harvesting and Shipping Earthworms….Developing Markets for Vermicompost & Earthworms….How to Make Better Vermicompost for Plants….Latest Research on Vermicompost and Extracts….Vermicomposting On-Site at Businesses and Institutions….Earthworm Species Differences and Availability….Panel Discussion.. ….Breakout groups to discuss medium or large scale operations, on-site at businesses, and other topics.

What people are saying about NC State University’s Annual Vermiculture Conference: “Count me as an extremely satisfied conference attendee. I was truly impressed and hope to be one of your ‘frequent fliers.’ I was particularly impressed with the depth of the science presented.” SF, New York. “The information and resources provided are already quite useful. Everyone I spoke with was helpful and open to sharing info. I truly enjoyed the whole experience.” EM, North Carolina.

For details, and to register, go to http://www.bae.ncsu.edu/workshops/worm-conference (website will be updated frequently and more speakers will be added, so keep checking back)

Direct questions to Rhonda Sherman, Conference Chairperson, rhonda_sherman@ncsu.edu

Research Summary: Turnip Response to <b>Vermicompost</b> - eXtension

Vermicomposting separated swine solids is a way to reduce odor and pathogens in a product that can be used off site as a nutrient source and soil amendment. The solid separation system removes a portion of the nutrient and organic loads from the liquid waste stream prior to entering the lagoon system while the vermicomposting process stabilizes the nutrients and organics that are diverted from the lagoon, making it easier to find off-farm uses for the product.

The goal of this project was to demonstrate the usefulness of vermicompost in an agronomic setting. If crop growth can be enhanced without increasing nitrogen or phosphorus runoff pollution, then the vermicompost product can be evaluated further for economic efficiency. In the same manner, if nitrogen or phosphorus pollution can be decreased without reducing crop growth or quality, the product is also in a position for further evaluation.

We grew turnips in small plots with either 0, 10 or 20% vermicompost (by volume) mixed into the top 0.3 m of soil; nitrogen fertilizer was added to half of the plots. The experiment was repeated over four growing periods in two different soil types. Runoff from each plot was measured and analyzed for nutrients, solids, copper and zinc. Plant biomass was harvested at maturity. Both wet and dry weights were determined.

Plant biomass increased with the addition of vermicompost while the volume of runoff decreased. None of the pollution parameters were affected by inorganic fertilizer and only the mass of phosphorus and zinc in the runoff showed an effect of adding vermicompost.

The mass of zinc in runoff decreased but the mass of phosphorus increased because of the degradation activity of microorganisms and earthworms in the vermicomposting process would be expected to break down organic matter and release nutrients. Phosphorus, needed in smaller quantities than nitrogen, would be applied in excess and would end up in soil solution and runoff. Mass of nitrogen in run off was not affected by vermicompost addition, suggesting that the greater biomass growth did not come at the expense of additional nitrogen in runoff.

Examples of typical appearance of turnips with different amounts of vermicompost: 0%, 10%, 20%

This project demonstrated the usefulness of using vermicompost in a specific agronomic instance. Turnip growth was enhanced, runoff volume was reduced and pollutants in runoff were generally not greater than control plots of the same soil type. In phosphorus sensitive fields, any addition of manure based products must be used with caution.

Contact john_classen@ncsu.edu or (919) 515-6800.

Classen, J.J., J.M. Rice, and R. Sherman, 2007. The Effects of Vermicompost on Field Turnips and Rainfall Runoff. Compost Science and Utilization 15(1): 34-39

By John Classen, Mark Rice and Rhonda Sherman, NC State University

This report was prepared for the 2008 annual meeting of the regional research committee, S-1032 "Animal Manure and Waste Utilization, Treatment and Nuisance Avoidance for a Sustainable Agriculture". This report is not peer-reviewed and the author has sole responsibility for the content.

Browse related Articles by tag: animal manure management, manure treatment, manure research summaries

<b>Vermicomposting</b> Animal Manure - eXtension

Vermicomposting is a process that relies on earthworms and microorganisms to help stabilize active organic materials and convert them to a valuable soil amendment and source of plant nutrients. Earthworms will consume most organic materials, including animal manure, agricultural crop residues, organic byproducts from industries, yard trimmings, food preparation scraps and leftovers, scrap paper, and sewage sludge.

Of the more than 4,000 species of earthworms, only half a dozen are used for vermicomposting worldwide. The earthworm species most frequently used for vermicomposting is Eisenia fetida, which is commonly called Red Wiggler.

A variety of methods may be used to process large volumes of organic residuals with earthworms, ranging from land and labor-intensive techniques to fully automated high-tech systems. Types of systems include windrows, beds, bins, and automated raised bioreactors. Choosing which vermicomposting system to use will depend upon:

Amount of feedstock to be processed Funding available Site and space restrictions Climate and weather State and local regulatory restrictions Facilities and equipment on hand Availability of low-cost labor Swine Manure Vermicomposting, Vermicycle Organics, Tarboro, NC
Dairy Manure Vermicomposting, Worm Power, Geneseo, NY

Earthworm casts are covered with mucus from their intestinal tract; this layer provides a readily available carbon source for soil microbes and leads to a flush of microbial activity in fresh casts. Vermicompost improves soil structure, reduces erosion, and improves and stabilizes soil pH. In addition, vermicompost increases moisture infiltration in soils and improves its moisture holding capacity.

Plant growth is significantly increased by vermicompost, whether it is used as a soil additive, a vermicompost tea, or as a component of horticultural soilless container media. Vermicompost causes seeds to germinate more quickly, seedlings to grow faster, leaves grow bigger, and more flowers, fruits or vegetables are produced. These effects are greatest when a smaller amount of vermicompost is used—just 10-40 percent of the total volume of the plant growth medium in which it is incorporated. Vermicompost also decreases attacks by plant pathogens, parasitic nematodes and arthropod pests.

Turnips: 0%, 10%, 20% vermicompost by volume added to field plots, Biological & Agricultural Engineering, NC State University

Author: Rhonda Sherman, North Carolina State University

Browse related Articles by tag: animal manure management, manure treatment, manure composting

<b>Vermicompost</b> is far more than a soil enhancer

University researchers are conducting studies using the earthworm compost Worm Power, which has been shown to be effective in suppressing the common crop disease Pythium aphanidermatum (known as “damping off”) in cucumber seedlings.

Allison Jack, PhD candidate in the Department of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology at Cornell, has conducted disease suppression experiments in which cucumber seeds are sown in sterile sand or sterile sand mixed with 40% vermicomposted dairy manure (Worm Power). All of the seeds are then inoculated with an equal quantity of the pathogen Pythium aphanidermatum. Consistent light, moisture and temperature were maintained in a growth chamber. The results were startling: The cucumber seedlings sown in the sterile sand died at a much higher rate than the seedlings sown in the sand-vermicompost blend. “When we control all these variables, you see a very big difference in disease symptoms and plant survival,” Jack said.

Since sterilized vermicompost offers no protection from the pathogen, Jack theorizes that “living soil” is the secret. When sown in sand, germinating seeds release chemical cues that the pathogen uses to find and infect the plant. Microbes in the vermicompost colonize a seed almost as soon as it’s planted. These microbes alter the chemical signals released from the seed, which keeps the pathogen from finding the seed, thus preventing infection from occurring. “So, it’s not just the vermicompost itself,” Jack said, “It’s this very intimate and rapid interaction between the vermicompost, the seed and the pathogen.”