Vermicomposting

Advantages of vermicomposting in effective waste management

1. VERMICOMPOSTING -Niraj Kumar Payal Gunaki

2. Background Vermicomposting is as old as life on Earth Michigan biology teacher ,Mary Appelhof arrived at the idea of home Vermicomposting In the winter of 1972, she created a Vermicomposting Pit in her basement . The end of the season saw 65 lbs. of garbage consumed and resultant worm compost aiding impressive vegetable growth in her garden

3. The process of using worms and micro-organisms to turn kitchen waste into a black, earthy-smelling, nutrient-rich humus- Vermicompost Containing water-soluble nutrients, Vermicompost is an excellent, nutrient-rich organic fertilizer and soil conditioner What is it?

4. Materials Required Worm Bin Bedding Water Worms Food Scraps Temperature- 12`c to 25`c, ideally

5. E isenia fetida Lumbricus rubellus Eisenia hortensis Eudrilus eugeniae Perionyx excavatus Suitable Species

6. Procedure Select a location for your worm bin Prepare bedding. It should be very damp, spread evenly and filling three-quarters of the bin Sprinkle a couple of handfuls of soil (from outdoors or potting soil) into it to introduce beneficial microorganisms and to aid the worms' digestive process Gently place worms on top of the bedding. Leave the bin lid off so worms will burrow into the bedding. Add food scraps, once they settle

7. Dig a hole in the bedding, place food scraps and cover with at least an inch of bedding. Wait a week before adding more food Leave untouched to get worms used to new surroundings Bury food scraps in a different area of the bin each time (any time of the day)  Other creatures may be observed

8. Harvesting Worms & Compost After about six weeks, worm castings  seen In three or four months, harvest the castings. Partially decomposed bedding, food scraps and worms will be seen with castings This mixture is Vermicompost  

9. Harvesting Vermicompost Two Methods: -Place food scraps on only one side of worm bin for several weeks, most of the worms will migrate to that side. Remove the Vermicompost from the other side of the bin and add fresh bedding. Repeat process on the other side of the bin

10. -Empty contents of worm bin onto a plastic sheet where there is strong sunlight/artificial light. Wait 20-30 minutes and scrape off top layer of compost Pick up worms that get scattered in groups and gently return them to the bin in fresh bedding Worm eggs contain two to ten baby worms. Place the eggs back inside bin

11. Mechanism Earthworm gut is an effective tubular bioreactor with feed entering from one end and castings leaving through other end 73 % gram - ve, facultative anerobic,  Vibrio  sp A novel temperature regulatory mechanism accelerates bioprocess and prevents enzyme inactivation due to high temperature Mucous produced by glands in anterior region of gut provides favorable substrate

12. Using Vermicompost Either use immediately or after storing For outdoor plants, mulch/mix material into soil. Can also be used as a top dressing on outdoor plants or sprinkled on your lawn as conditioner For indoor plants mix with potting soil. For top dressing, remove decaying bedding and food scraps from the castings. No worms or eggs in the castings, as they will not survive "compost tea" to feed plants

13. Advantages Enriching soil (5-10% richer in K, P, N) Increasing harvest yields Suppressing plant disease Media is freely generated!

14. Thank You!