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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


population every month;
No RH Bill- They double their


Hermaphrodites – when they mate,
the two worms
 will both become
pregnant;

Voracious appetite-They can
consume as much
weight per day;
as their body

They breath through their skin
  
Very efficient farm workers
 They shy away from light
 
 They have 5 hearts – works 24 hours without
  pay! All you need to do
Very complex digestive system
is just to give them food.
SITE SELECTION


 shy away from strong light)
It must be shaded (earthworms


 
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
Wood Paper

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 / CHOPPED BANANA TRUNK


LEGUMES
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  can attract
scraps- these
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 – 1ST LAYER(LIVESTOCK
MANURE)
SPREAD OUT EVENLY
ND
STEP 3 – 2 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!!!

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