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Worm Composter

Worm composting is a special kind of composting technique that makes use of worms to decompose organic wastes into reusable fertilizers. A worm composter can actually use different worm species but the most popular kinds utilized are the earth worms, the white worms and the red wrigglers.

The degradation process begins when worms eat up the organic scraps (which are usually the kitchen wastes and left over foods), digest them into simpler compounds and excrete the remaining materials out of their bodies. The wastes excreted are now known as vermicast or worm humus, which contain high amounts of water-soluble nutrients, soil conditioners and organic fertilizers.

Compared to traditional composting, vermicomposting can actually give you several advantages that you will seldom find in other composting methods. First off, a worm composter can give you far superior compost products than any other composting procedure available to farmers today.

Worm castings can thoroughly break down organic scraps into compounds as small as 2 microns. This makes them very easy to be absorbed by plants.

Studies have also revealed that worm humus contains high amounts of growth hormones, which are highly beneficial to plants. These substances are rarely seen in other kinds of compost products, giving vermicompost a huge edge over the traditional composting methods. Apart from that, worm humus also possesses higher anti-bacterial properties that can help ward off the growth of potentially harmful plant pathogens. Using these materials can largely reduce the incidence of plant disease.

One of the most common dangers to using traditional compost is that the metals derived from organic scrap can easily be transmitted and made available to plants.

On the other hand, the heavy metals in a worm composter can be so tightly bound to the humus that they are made totally unavailable to plants. Hence, you'll never have to worry about heavy metals getting into your crops from your composts and fertilizers. Worm humus can also produce composts with higher nutrient content compared to the traditional composting methods.

The product of vermicompost can be easier to store as well. The compost produced by the traditional methods need to be placed on a separate storage space which can be an added cost for you. Worm humus however, can easily be stored anywhere - even under the sink, given they are placed in secure containers.

Apart from that, vermiculture will not require huge amounts of space as of that with traditional composting. You can even start out your worm composter in a shoe box if you are a bit limited on space. A worm factory never heats up as well so you'll never have to worry about ventilation and space. Worm factories are also very easy to maintain. Although a worm factory will require occasional stirring, this can easily be done with a shovel or a big spoon.

And lastly, this system can also be the perfect way to rid your homes of kitchen wastes. You can easily throw in all of your biodegradable scraps into your composter and spare yourself of all the organic waste. Although the traditional composting procedures can degrade organic wastes faster, the products produced by a worm composter are far more superior and much more beneficial to your plants.