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!!!