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Vermicomposting
Vermicompost is the use of worms to digest organic matter. They eat food scraps and excrete worm castings, a dark crumbly substance we call Black Gold! Vermicompost is a more concentrated and rich fertilizer than ordinary compost, and it greatly improves the health of soil and plants. By creating vermicompost systems, we can easily turn food scraps into valuable resources rather than sending them to a landfill.
Worms
Red worms, also called “red wrigglers,” are best suited for the job. This is because they eat large quantities of organic material and can digest up to their body weight every day. Unlike “night crawlers” and other common earthworms, they can thrive in the confined space and environment of a worm bin. The species Eisenia foetida and Lumbricus rubellus are most commonly used.
Worms have no eyes, and they move through the soil with the help of a feeling pad or “prostomium.” They don’t have teeth either, so a little dirt in the gizzard helps grind up their food.
Worms are hermaphroditic (having both ovaries and testes) and can reproduce at about 6 weeks of age. They join together via mucus secretions and both deposit sperm onto the other worm. A cocoon then forms over the clittelum, collecting both eggs and sperm as it slides off the worm’s body. After a two to three weeks, baby worms hatch from the cocoon!
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