PRACTICAL

VERMICULTURE
 WORM COMPOSTING

 Relies on hungry
worms to break
down farm waste
into a very nutrient
rich fertilizer for
 Casting
plants. 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;
 Very efficient farm workers
Voracious appetite -They – works 24 hours without
can consume as much as pay! All you need to do is
their body weight per day; just to give them food.
They breath through their  Very complex digestive
skin system
 They have 5 hearts
 SITE SELECTION
CONSIDERATIONS
 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)
VERMICULTURE IN LAYERED
CRATES
VERMICULTURE IN A DRUM
VERMICULTURE IN
CEMENTED PLOTS
VERMICULTURE IN PIGPENS
VERMICULTURE IN IRON BARS
AND LAMINATED SACKS
THE MOST PRACTICAL VERMI BIN
OPTION - 1
THE MOST PRACTICAL VERMI
BIN
OPTION - 2
DESIGN OF VERMI BIN
DESIGN OF VERMI BIN
 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

1. Crop residue (rice straw, corn stalks,

sugar cane bagasse, weeds. etc)
2. Animal manure (All animal manure
except dog and cat)
3. Leguminous plants (Ipil-ipil, Duckweed,
Azolla)
4.Kitchen wastes
SELECTION OF RAW MATERIALS
Identify materials rich in carbon:
Grass Saw dust (from non treated wood)
Rice Coco dust(from non treated wood)
Straw Paper
Corn
Size and kind of materials:
Stalks
• Wood
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

1.. Spray or drench IMO 20ml/L

of water
2. Cover the bin with laminated sack or
used tarpaulin
3. Leave for 2 weeks
 Aerobic Stage

AFTER 15 DAYS

1. Remove the plastic covering

2. Deploy the worms
3. The earthworms will start to
feed on the substrate.
4. Maintain optimum moisture
5. 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

1. 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

3. 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:
 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
• Vermi compost can
content.
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
Step 3 – 2nd 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
 In vermi-culture,
It is always what you
feed,
is what you get!