WORMS4AFRICA
Maintenance in Howick

I am proudly South African, bread, meat, l offer a service to help the population of RSA recycle and diminish what is put onto our landfill sites/dumps by using earthworms and effective micro-organisms breakdown process excess degradable waste (veges, dairy etc). I have people from all over the country coming for demo mornings on Saturdays to learn how to make earthworms work optimally to process their kitchen scraps, excessive amounts of manure etc. Please visit my website. I am based in the beautiful Kzn midlands.

When earthworms are used primarily for the production of compost, the practice is referred to as vermicomposting. Earthworms are truly amazing creatures that hold vast potential for addressing many of our current ecological concerns, including climate change and food security. After writing The Origin of Species Charles Darwin devoted much of the rest of his life to the study of earthworms. Earthworms aerate, till and fertilize the soil, breaking down organic waste into plant-available forms, improving the soil structure and nutrient and water-holding qualities of soil. In the past 50 years in particular, the use of chemical fertilizers, over-tillage of the soil and the use of pesticides have killed earthworms and other beneficial organisms, leading to poor soil fertility, loss of soil structure and soil erosion. Earthworms eat organic waste and give us healthy soil and organic fertilizer in return. As worms move through soil and decaying organic matter they ingest (eat) and aerate it, depositing castings as they go. These castings are rich in nutrients and beneficial soil organisms. Everything that passes through the gut of an earthworm is coated with these beneficial microbes and bacteria. In the soil, these microbes continue break down organic matter into plant-available forms, thereby enabling plant roots to take up nutrients that would otherwise have stayed bound in the soil. These beneficial organisms also suppress the growth of pathogens, which means healthy soil and healthy plants. As long as the decaying organic matter is maintained at the correct pH and prevented from becoming anaerobic (when there is too little oxygen), no foul odors are created, pests are not attracted and the process remains hygienic. Researchers have identified and named thousands of distinct species of earthworm, but to date only around six have been identified as useful in vermiculture systems. Other qualities that make these species suitable include relatively short life spans, and rapid growth and reproductive rates. These two species are often raised together and are difficult to tell apart. Earthworm systems are typically managed for one of three reasons; waste management, production of worm biomass and production of castings (vermicomposting). Worms 4 Africa’s interest in vermiculture primarily has to do with the promotion of environmentally sound waste management practices, but also the beneficial re-use of waste/resources through the production of solid (vermicompost) and liquid fertilizer (vermi-tea or worm tea). Earthworms play an important role in decomposition, cycling of nutrients and building up healthy soils. There are quite a few things that you can do to make sure your bin is operating optimally, so take the time to get to know how your bin works (read the instructions that come with it). Maintaining a healthy worm bin depends on keeping the environmental conditions in the bin just right. The next most important consideration is the condition of the vermicompost and the bedding. Allow the excess water run off the strips, bunch them together and then place a layer 4-6 cm thick over the surface of the top. Keep the bedding fluffed (don’t allow it to compact into a dense, smothering layer) and place the worm food into and under the bedding. If things don’t look as they should, the table provided below is a handy way to work out what is wrong and how to correct it.