PRACTICAL VERMICULTURE
WORM COMPOSTING
•Relies on hungry worms to break
down farm waste into a very
nutrient rich fertilizer for plants.
•Casting are often called
“Black Gold”, looks like
dark, rich coffee grounds
•AUXIN – a naturally occurring growth
hormone is present in the casting
•Vermi castings contain more nutrients
than conventional compost
•Sanitary and odorless if done properly
WORM COMPOSTING
ANC- “African Night Crawler”
(Eudrilus Euginae). A kilo of these
worms can consume a kilo of farm
waste per day
They reproduce quickly under
favorable conditions, doubling
their population in month
Started in the Philippines in the
1970’s.
ABOUT EARTHWORMS
African Night Crawler (Eudrilus
Eugenae) or referred to as the
composting worm have no scales
and are soft bodied.
They breathe through their skin
with a mouth at the tip of their
anterior portion.
They feed on moist organic
materials that have been
decomposed by bacteria and other
microorganisms.
ABOUT EARTHWORMS
The African Night crawler is
capable of breeding weekly and
produces up to three fertilized
eggs per capsule.
They can mature within a month,
attain a length more than 20 cm
long and live for more than a year.
Worms eat as much as their
bodyweight per day.
FASCINATING FACTS ABOUT OUR WORMS
No RH Bill- They double their
population every month;
Hermaphrodites – when they mate,
the two worms will both become
pregnant;
Voracious appetite-They can
consume as much as their body
weight per day;
They breath through their skin
They shy away from light Very efficient farm workers
They have 5 hearts – works 24 hours without
Very complex digestive system pay! All you need to do is
just to give them food.
SITE SELECTION
It must be shaded (earthworms
shy away from strong light)
Flood free
Accessible to water supply and
source of compost material
Well ventilated
DIFFERENT TYPES OF
HOUSING (WORM BIN)
COSTALES NATURE FARMS VERMICULTURE SECTION
VERMICULTURE IN A DRUM
THE MOST PRACTICAL VERMI BIN
OPTION - 1
THE MOST PRACTICAL VERMI BIN
OPTION - 2
STOCK FILLING OF SUBSTRATE
• Sandwich: stock with 2-inch layer
alternating substrate. Water every layer
with IMO (Dilution rate: 20ml IMO for
every liter of water)
PROTECTION FROM PREDATORS
Cover the bin with leaves, sacks or nets
SELECTION OF RAW MATERIALS
CONSIDER THE SOURCES OF MATERIALS
Market waste/Farm waste/Kitchen waste
Livestock manure/Leguminous plants
Identify materials rich in nitrogen
•Sea weeds •All legumes
•Wild •Vegetable Peels •All animal manure
Sunflower •Ipil-Ipil
except dog
•Katuray •Duckweed
and cat.
•Peanut •azolla
SELECTION OF RAW MATERIALS
Identify materials rich in carbon:
Grass Saw dust (from non treated wood)
Rice Straw
Coco dust(from non treated wood)
Corn Stalks
Paper
Wood
Size and kind of materials:
•Small material sizes are more favorable. Shredded
materials decompose more easily.
•Easily composted materials like banana leaves, stalks
and fruit peelings
Materials readily available in forms (decomposed kitchen
waste, EM Kitchen garbage, cow and carabao manure, paper
shreds and other biodegradable materials.
GRASS
MANURE
MADRE DE CACAO LEAVES / LEGUMES CHOPPED BANANA TRUNK
ANAEROBIC AND AEROBIC DECOMPOSITION
ANAEROBIC STAGE
AFTER PREPARING THE SUBSTRATE IN A SANDWICH TYPE
STOCK FILLING
Spray or drench IMO 20ml/L of
water
.
Cover the bin with laminated
sack or used tarpaulin
Leave for 2 weeks
AEROBIC STAGE
• Remove the plastic covering
• Deploy the worms
• The earthworms will start to
feed on the substrate.
• Maintain optimum moisture
• Cover with net or leaves
MAINTENANCE OF WORM BIN
TEST THE MOISTURE CONTENT
Squeeze a fistful of
substrate, five to seven
drops of water indicates
about 80% MC
MAINTENANCE OF WORM BIN
PROTECT YOUR WORMS FROM NATURAL PREDATORS
Birds, chickens, frogs
mice, snakes,
flatworms and even
pigs love to eat worms
MAINTENANCE OF WORM BIN
PROTECT YOUR WORMS FROM NATURAL PREDATORS
Ants do not eat worms
but they can kill your
population if left
unattended.
UNWANTED MATERIALS IN THE PILE
Meat scraps- these can
attract unwanted animal
visitors and create
unpleasant odors. Rotten
meat may produce bacteria
that can pose health hazard.
Fats, oils and grease- large
amounts of these will give
your microbes indigestion
slowing down composting
process. It also attracts
unwanted pests.
UNWANTED MATERIALS IN THE PILE
Droppings from caged
birds- Bird droppings may
contain dangerous disease
pathogens.
UNWANTED MATERIALS IN THE PILE
Droppings from dogs, cats
and other carnivores
UNWANTED MATERIALS IN THE PILE
Human waste: The
potential for spreading
diseases. Unsanitary.
Diseased plants:
disease could spread
later when compost is
applied to the plants
HARVESTING
• Manual Pick- Pick the
worms by hand and
transfer them to a new
worm bed. The vermi-
compost may be
allowed to dry in the
shade for few days and
sifted, if finer compost
is desired.
HARVESTING
• Migration-Move the contents of the
whole bed to one side. Fill the
empty half with new substrate.
Allow the worms to move freely to
the new food. Harvest the castings
left by the worms.
HARVESTING
Vermi castings (earthworm manure)
look like dark, rich coffee grounds.
They can be collected using:
Top Harvest Method is our favorite
method of harvesting vermicast
VERMI COMPOST SCREENER
Vermicompost can immediately be used after harvest. A 3/16”
mesh wire is recommended to separate pure vermicompost from
the remaining substrate.
ROTARY TYPE COMPOST SCREENER
DRYING AND STORAGE
•Dry the vermi-compost
by air, under shades
only. Exposing organic
fertilizer to the sun will
lose it’s nitrogen content.
•Vermi compost can
be stored at 30% MC
in plastic bags.
Store in cool place
away from direct
sunlight.
SUMMARY OF PROCEDURES
STEP 1 – PREPARE THE WORM BIN (BAHAY NG
BULATI)
STEP 2 – ST
1 LAYER(LIVESTOCK MANURE)
SPREAD OUT EVENLY
STEP 3 – 2 ND LAYER(PLANT PARTS-LEAVES,
TRUNKS, FRUITS)
STEP 4 – 3RD LAYER(LIVESTOCK MANURE)
STEP 5 – 4TH LAYER(PLANT PARTS-LEAVES,
TRUNKS, FRUITS)
STEP 6 – 5TH LAYER(LIVESTOCK MANURE)
NOTE: SPRAY IMO IN EVERY LAYER
STEP 7-COVER THE WORM BIN AND WAIT FOR 2 WEEKS.
MICROBES WILL DO THEIR DECOMPOSITION JOB!
STEP 8- AFTER 15 DAYS- DEPLOY THE WORMS
STEP 9- COVER THE WORM BIN TO PROTECT FROM
PREDATORS. WATER 2-3 TIMES A WEEK
HANDS-ON:VERMI CULTURE
IMPORTANT NOTE TO REMEMBER
IN VERMI CULTURE,
IT IS ALWAYS WHAT YOU FEED, IS
WHAT YOU GET!
THANK YOU!!!
