In the early 2000s, at the instigation of the Kovrov company NPO Green-Peak, the idea of producing vermicompost as a business with huge profitability and small starting capital, began to spread throughout Russia.
What is vermicompost?
Organic fertilizer produced by earthworms.
Already this innovative definition guaranteed the interest of summer residents, gardeners, farmers, and other enterprising citizens.
300% profitability! Business from scratch! Guaranteed sales! Hundreds of beginning and experienced entrepreneurs could not help but rush to this.
But 10 years have passed since the first successes of the Green Peak company. The technology for the production of vermicompost, earthworms, called “technological”, vermicompost itself and aqueous preparations based on it - this is an incomplete list of its products.
During this time, the company has trained more than 600 entrepreneurs and individuals in this technology. The price of the technology has increased 10 times compared to 2002. Training costs money, but this does not stop those who want to receive the proud title of “vermicultivation specialist.”
But is everything as smooth as the leaders of Green Peak promise? general director Konin Sergei Stepanovich?
Particularly interesting is the business plan for the production of vermicompost, posted on the company’s official website.
This is where we will begin to identify myths and discover the reality of vermicompost production in Russia.
The mythical profitability of vermicompost production
If you look at the website of NPO Green-Peak, then you may see a Technological and economic calculation for the production of vermicompost per 1000 m² of heated area.
At the end of this document you will see some startling numbers.
They promise you that after a year of work you will have 3 million rubles worth of finished products, and costs will not exceed 500 thousand rubles.
This takes into account the fact that you will heat 1000 m² of premises, refurbish them, and pay wages to workers. And you will spend another half of this amount on purchasing a worm.
250 tons of produced vermicompost, which you will sell for 12 rubles. per kg, will cover all your costs and allow you to make a profit of 2.5 million rubles.
How is profitability calculated?
This is the ratio of the amount of profit to the amount of costs for production and marketing of products. How many rubles of profit will we receive from each ruble of our expenses on production and commercial expenses.
In this case, we get about 5 rubles per 1 ruble invested. And this is already from the realm of fantasy. This looks more like a scam than a real and serious business plan.
Is all this really important?
Is production relevant?
There is no point in saying that the production of organic fertilizers in our country is the right and necessary type of activity.
Our fields are depleted and polluted with mineral fertilizers and pesticides. Productivity falls every year.
Even summer residents and gardeners complain that nothing grows, that the harvests are no longer the same, and diseases and pests destroy everything in the bud.
In this situation, vermicompost, as a natural organic fertilizer with unique properties, as well as aqueous preparations based on it, can really help.
But this is not a panacea. This is only part of a set of measures.
But enterprising businessmen have appeared who sell a fairy tale, a dream. But in fact, they only make money, creating the illusion of solving all problems.
“Open your own business and get 5 rubles for every ruble invested.”
“Tomatoes don’t grow - pour 200 grams of humus into the hole.”
“Pests have infested - water extracts from vermicompost will not only protect the plants, but will also increase productivity.”
Buy, use, experiment. But don't expect instant stunning results. Do not count on millions in profits that are not backed by strict calculations.
Myth No. 1. Is it realistic to produce 250 tons of humus per 1000 m2 per year?
In principle, this is real. And even more. But the crux of the matter is different. Can this be done in the first year of work? This is assuming you need:
1. Prepare raw materials for preparing a nutrient substrate. This should be rotted manure aged for six months.
2. Prepare a room for the worms to populate.
In a rented or purchased barn, this is just:
- fill the floor with concrete so that there is a flat surface for the beds;
- brick the windows to prevent heat from blowing out in winter;
- make the suspended ceiling as low as possible, for the same reason;
- access roads, renovation of interior premises, division of the premises into working areas for drying raw vermicompost, crushing dry humus, packaging;
- prepare storage areas where you will store it until spring.
Yes. Only…
3. Bring and populate worms into the beds.
And this is provided that you already have working water supply and heating systems. You can imagine the amount of work.
You throw out one year from the production process. Let it be six months. There are six months left for the worms to populate the beds and the production process to begin.
If out of 1000 m² only 400 m² are allocated for ridges, then when populating a million individuals in six months you will receive only 100 tons of humus. And then, this will be humus in the beds.
It will still need to be dried, which is impossible without heated floors, and passed through a crushing apparatus. You won't be packing it in chunks of earth, will you?
The rosy prospects dissipate like a cloud.
Myth No. 2. The reality of costs
How much should we invest there? 500 thousand rubles?
The actual numbers for the first year are:
– Purchase of land and premises (cow barn) – 2-3 million rubles (the higher the price, the less to invest in repairs later).
– Carrying out repair work and re-equipment of the barn - at least a million rubles.
A lot of? Calculate heated floors in the drying area, suspended ceilings, arrangement of access roads for the possibility of trucks entering, heating systems, water supply, floor pouring, separation common area to work areas. Maybe a million will be enough.
– Purchase of 500 tons of manure for a year of work. Its delivery.
Hence the consequence is that production must be located either next to or in conjunction with a dairy farm, where manure is always in abundance.
- Worms. A million pieces is about 200 thousand rubles, not counting delivery.
– Inventory (wheelbarrows, shovels, buckets, thermometers, soil moisture meters, acidity meters).
– Equipment for packaging, separating, crushing humus.
– At least one tractor with a blade and a trailer. Or are you going to manually shovel 500 tons of manure?
– 6 workers for humus production and equipment maintenance. Not to mention management personnel. This is if you manage and handle sales yourself.
What? Did I hear it? Someone talked about 500 thousand rubles per year for production costs?
Just calculate your salary. Just half a million will come out.
Myth No. 3. Profitability 300%
Okay, let's not take investment costs into account.
But there’s no way your expenses will be 500 thousand rubles a year! This is only salary plus taxes on it.
But other? What about raw materials, heating, and water?
Real costs for production activities amount to about one and a half to two million rubles per year. These are real data from a similar production facility located in the Rostov region. Even the volumes and number of personnel too.
The main expense item, in addition to wages heating, raw materials, electricity are supplied. It is not so easy to create even 15 degrees temperature in a room with an area of 1000 m2 in winter with minus 20 degrees outside.
Accordingly, with a production volume of 250 tons and a price of 10 rubles per kg, we will receive only 500 thousand rubles in profit.
Producing 400 tons of humus on the same area will not cost you much more.
Therefore, by producing 350-400 tons per year, which is quite realistic on an area of 400 m2 of beds, we will receive goods worth 3.5 - 4 million rubles, at prices of 10 rubles per kg.
And this will allow you, as an entrepreneur, to receive a good annual income. Product profitability will be up to 100%, which is quite good. But the most important question still lies ahead!
TO WHOM and FOR HOW MUCH should we sell our vermicompost?
Myth No. 4. The reality of prices and sales
Everything can be taken into account, everything production work carry out, follow the technology to the smallest detail. But to whom to sell?
And we have to return to earth from the clouds and myths about unrealistic profitability and super-income.
But the reality is that vermicompost is needed by hundreds of farmers, thousands of summer residents and gardeners throughout Russia. You need it like air, you could say so. But not at a price that would provide you with super-profitability.
In Moscow, a kilogram of humus in stores costs 25 rubles. The solvency of the capital's residents allows them to buy several hundred kg for their dachas per season at this price.
In the regions, even 10 rubles per kg is too much high price, which most people are unable to pay.
You can invest hundreds of thousands of rubles in packaging and advertising. Try to negotiate with wholesale stores and supermarkets. Visit all farms and greenhouses. But vermicompost will not be sold and bought en masse in Russia anytime soon.
Summer residents, gardeners, gardeners, farmers, and even managers of greenhouses and nurseries are not ready to buy vermicompost.
They lack information about effectiveness. They don't know what it is. Technologies for growing various crops are not adapted to the use of vermicompost.
Organizing sales will be extremely difficult.
What to do?
How to produce vermicompost in Russia, and is it necessary to do it?
It is necessary, if only because it great way rid the country of millions of tons of organic waste that accumulate annually on farms and subsidiary plots.
But how to do this?
In complex. This is one of the best options.
If you have a rabbit farm, rabbit droppings can become food for worms.
The worms themselves are a great commodity to sell to fishermen. The remaining humus can be used in a utility plot or packed into bags and tried to be sold.
Read the article: “breeding worms for fishing”
Start with neighbors and acquaintances. If there is demand, then we can think about expanding.
But owners and managers get a special advantage farms and collective farms, especially those who have at least some cattle.
By processing huge amounts of manure, which simply rots on farms and is not always used even to fertilize their own fields, farmers and collective farmers receive invaluable fertilizer that is much more effective than manure.
But it is even more effective and profitable to make water extracts from vermicompost even at home. Their use for foliar feeding can not only reduce pest damage to plants, but also increase productivity.
At the same time, fertilizer costs are reduced significantly!
After all, you don’t have to pay for expensive chemicals. Everything is yours. Only cost. And it is 5 times lower than the cost of mineral fertilizers.
It turns out that economic efficiency farms can be increased many times over by introducing technologies for processing organic waste with earthworms. And this is a question of the survival of all farming and Agriculture countries.
But there is no need to count on the fact that tomorrow, having started producing vermicompost, in 2-3 years you will become a millionaire. Don't blindly believe all the promises and advertising tricks.
Explore the market and look for wholesale buyers among farmers and greenhouse managers.
Your efforts will be successful only if you understand the needs of your customers. And if his only need is to reduce the cost of producing 1 kg of tomatoes, then why does he need you with your vermicompost? After all, this is not a cheap product.
But if you can convince the manufacturer that land restored with vermicompost will require two to three times less chemical fertilizers, then you have a chance to succeed in such a matter as the production of vermicompost and liquid organic fertilizers based on it.
Good luck to your business!
Among all the various fertilizers, vermicompost, also known as vermicompost, occupies a special position - it is a valuable bioactive composition obtained through the processing of organic matter by earthworms. It ensures good crop germination and helps protect plants from diseases. But what’s even more valuable is that you can organize the production of vermicompost at home - this does not require any complex or expensive equipment.
Vermicompost is a fertilizer that compares favorably with compost or humus in its composition, nutritional value and effect on vegetation. Earthworms, which process agricultural organic waste, ensure environmental cleanliness and an almost ideal balance of the produced humus, as well as provide many other valuable qualities:
Required Components
Like other fertilizers, vermicompost can be purchased at specialized stores, however, not everyone is satisfied with its quality. What to do if the quality of the purchased vermicompost leaves much to be desired? Of course, make it yourself.
At home, vermicompost can be produced without any serious difficulties; you just need to know what components are needed for this.
Compost preparation
To produce vermicompost, two main components are needed: worms and a nutrient substrate where they will be kept. The latter is quite simple to create, since its components can be found it won't be difficult:
- one part of rotted sawdust, hay or straw, tree leaves;
- one part of organic waste: lying cow manure or bird droppings, chopped vegetable peelings, leaves, tops, etc.;
- sand (about 5% of the total amount of compost).
Before adding worms to the substrate, it must be composted for ten days.
To do this, the mixture must either be warmed well in the sun, or peat and lime must be added to it (about 2% of the total mass). You can test readiness by throwing several worms into a container with compost, which should burrow deep. If they have not done so, then composting must continue.
Growing worms
Red Californian worms are most often used to produce vermicompost: they live a long time (from 10 to 16 years), actively reproduce and process organic waste well. But it is necessary to take into account that at the same time they do not tolerate low temperatures well, and therefore additional insulation for the winter may be required for the place where they are kept.
However, this is not the only species that can be used for the production of fertilizers. The market offers a fairly extensive selection, and if desired, you can even use ordinary red dung worms.
It all depends on how large volumes of the final product are required.
There are several important conditions regarding the keeping of worms that must be kept in mind. They are associated with the characteristics of the life activity of these animals, and Failure to comply may result in the death of the worms:
There is no doubt that vermicompost is very valuable and does not require serious cash investments fertilizer. At home, you can get vermicompost using a homemade vermicomposter, which can be made both at the dacha and in the apartment.
In the case of a private house, you can organize a compost heap or pit, or, if this is not possible, you will have to find a suitable container.
A wooden or plastic box is suitable for this, carton boxes about 70-100 cm deep. But in the case of the latter, one must take into account that they will become damp over time, and therefore they will have to be rearranged into larger boxes. It is also worth taking care of some kind of lid for the container so that the worms do not crawl out, but with the obligatory holes for ventilation.
At the bottom of a drawer or box you need to lay out the drainage: a layer of crushed stone or just make a few small holes there. This is necessary so that the moisture does not stagnate, otherwise the worms may die. The container is then filled with ingredients for the nutrient mixture and heated for ten days until it is suitable for launching worms. You can test the readiness of the mixture by introducing 50-100 individuals into it and checking after a day - they should all be alive.
If the compost is ready, you can carefully lay out the remaining worms. Standard for making vermicompost: 700−1500 pieces per 1 square meter. For the first 1-2 months they will adapt to new conditions, after which they will begin to actively feed and reproduce. New compost must be added every 10 days to feed the soil.
Fertilizer collection
On average, it takes worms about 4-5 months to produce vermicompost, after which they will need to be removed so that the fertilizer can be collected. To do this, the worms are put on a hunger strike: the application of the next portion of feeding is delayed for 3-4 days.
After this, they spread it in a thin layer on the soil surface, attracting the attention of hungry worms, which rise to the surface, after which it is enough to just remove the top layer of the substrate along with the invertebrates and move it to another place.
It is quite possible that over the next three weeks this procedure will have to be repeated 1-2 more times.
The remaining mass in the box needs to be pre-dried and then sifted, after which the finished vermicompost can be stored for long-term storage. Dry fertilizer can be stored for a year.
Vermicompost is a granular bioactive fertilizer obtained from organic waste processed by the red Californian worm. Its use ensures good development of plants, increasing yields by 30-70%. Set fruits are less affected by diseases. They are distinguished by more delicate pulp, pronounced taste and aroma. Producing vermicompost at home is not particularly difficult and does not require significant expenses.
Properties and composition of vermicompost, its advantages
Biological humus is a fertilizer that is superior in composition and nutritional value to ordinary compost and manure. Its addition to the soil in a ratio of 10-20% of the total volume makes it possible to improve the health of depleted soil or soil containing a large amount of salts. During the processing process, the organic masses are completely disinfected and cleaned of helminth eggs. Vermicompost contains many useful components in an optimally balanced form:
- Mineral elements in a form that is easily absorbed by plants.
- Enzymes. They ensure the conversion of organic residues into nutritional compounds.
- Substances that prevent the proliferation of pathogens.
- Phytohormones. They improve plant growth and stress resistance.
This type of environmentally friendly fertilizer contains 4-8 times more humus than cow manure or compost obtained from plant residues. Its advantages include good moisture capacity, friability, compatibility with other types of organic fertilizers, and the absence of the need to use significant energy costs during production and use. The ability to sell surplus products allows you to recoup costs and receive a certain income.
Components for the production of vermicompost
Before you start producing vermicompost at home, you should prepare a substrate for vermicompost and the necessary equipment. The substrate includes:
- Rotted cow dung and
- Plant tops in fermented (silage) or dried form (hay).
- Vegetable peelings, leftover unused food.
- Rotted sawdust, tree leaves.
- Peat and lime (2% of the total weight of the mixture) to improve the quality of vermicompost.
Californian worms are also needed for vermicompost, whose function is to process the nutrient mixture. The equipment you will need are boxes made of wooden planks or plastic, a spatula for collecting the substrate, and a sieve with cells with a diameter of 2 mm.
Features of growing Californian worms
Californian worms are practically no different in appearance from ordinary earthworms. But they process organic substances into a form convenient for absorption by plants much faster. When using them, you can get ready-made fertilizer in 1-1.5 weeks. The cost of one individual varies in different regions of the country: from 25 kopecks to 1 ruble. The following rules should be observed when using vermicompost for preparation:
- Breeding at home requires maintaining certain values temperature regime. Its lower limit should not be below +4°C, and its upper limit should not be above 40°C. Lower and higher values can lead to the death of biological material.
- In winter, the worms are placed in containers with a nutrient substrate and brought into a room with the required air temperature or covered with insulating material. It ensures free flow of air into the soil mixture.
- For the normal functioning of this type of invertebrate, it is necessary to maintain the humidity of the compost heap at 70-80% by regular irrigation with water in hot weather. In addition, they should be protected from direct sunlight by placing them in the shade.
To prevent the death of California worms in severe frosts, covering the place where they are kept with the arrival of autumn with a layer of compost 40 cm thick or more. After snow falls, additional protection will be provided by insulating the embankment with a thick snow cover.
Preparation of nutrient substrate
Producing vermicompost at home requires special preparation of the substrate before introducing worms into it. First, a wooden box, plastic container or hole in the ground is prepared. It is recommended that their depth be from 70 to 100 cm. You can prevent the penetration of technological worms beyond the pit by finishing its bottom and walls with some natural material.
Then a mixture prepared from well-rotted manure, mature compost, rotted plant tops, food waste. The substrate must mature. To do this, keep it for the required time, regularly moistening it with warm water and stirring every 2-3 days. Initially, under the influence of processes occurring in the mixture, the temperature will rise to 40-50 °C. Upon completion of fermentation of the components, its values decrease and remain stable.
Vermiculture technology
When the substrate is completely ripe, Californian ones are added to it at home, allowing you to obtain them in sufficient quantities for the required volume of the mixture. The laying rate is 700-1500 pieces per cubic meter of substrate. You can determine the suitability of the mixture for launching worms by first placing 50 individuals in it. If they feel good, add the rest, evenly distributing them over the surface of the substrate.
The acidity of the prepared mixture should be within 6-8 points. Periodic gentle loosening will provide free access to the internal layers of air necessary for the worms to breathe. Regular irrigation with settled water heated to 20 °C will create a sufficiently humid environment. To maintain optimal temperature and humidity values of the substrate, the container is covered with a layer of straw.
Collection of vermicompost
During the first 1-2 months, the worms adapt to the new environment. Then they begin to actively multiply and process the components of the mixture into vermicompost. Every 10 days it is necessary additional contribution nutrient substrate as a top dressing. After 3-4 months, you need to check the number of worms. If it has increased significantly, you can begin to separate them and use the finished fertilizer for its intended purpose.
There are 2 ways to free vermicompost from the worms in it. One of them involves sifting the substrate through a sieve. The worms are then transferred to another container. In the second method, the application of fertilizing is delayed for several days. Then pour a new portion of the substrate onto the surface of the box. When the hungry worms rise up, they are separated and moved to another place.
Application of vermicompost
Producing vermicompost at home has certain benefits. It can be used not only to fertilize a garden or summer cottage, but also sold. Having pets that provide technological process sufficient manure.
Excess vermicompost can be sold to neighbors in the country and farmers. With a significant volume of production - on the market or in wholesale quantities in your own online store. Worms can be in demand by fish and poultry farms. In order to sell vermicompost, the price of 1 kg of which ranges from 10 to 20 rubles, it should be offered to potential buyers in easy-to-use packaging.
Product packaging
When dry, vermicompost is packaged in polyethylene bags. When producing liquid humus in concentrated form, the best option is to bottle it in plastic bottles. Like the widely used “Em” preparations, they contain many beneficial soil microorganisms that improve soil fertility and ensure high yields using the most environmentally friendly methods.
When packing in bags, you should first weigh the vermicompost. The price for 1 kg may be indicated on the label or not indicated when wholesale sales material. The cost of goods in different regions varies significantly. Just like liquid preparations "Em", it is desirable that the packaged vermicompost contains instructions outlining the properties of the material and the rules for its use.
Instructions for use
Vermicompost is in demand not only for growing fruits and vegetables. It is widely used in floriculture to restore depleted soil that has lost its natural properties. It can also be used to reduce the number of harmful insects, since the microorganisms included in the drug are capable of breaking down the chitin of their exoskeleton.
In what quantities and how best to use vermicompost - the instructions cover in detail all the issues that arise when using fertilizer. The time for its application to the soil is not limited. The drug has a prolonged action, giving good results for several years. Concentrated vermicompost is diluted three times. It is recommended to add it to water when watering plants and spraying trees.
Features of application
The drug is used for preparing soil mixtures. Vermicompost is especially useful for seedlings. It is enough to add 1 part of the product to 3-5 parts of peat. Before planting grown plants in the ground, approximately 150 g of fertilizer should be added to the holes, mixed with soil. The planted bushes are watered abundantly, and the surface of the soil around the seedling is mulched with a small layer of vermicompost.
You can protect plants from damage by insect pests by adding the product to the soil or by surface treating their vegetative parts with an aqueous solution. Regular fertilizing of vegetables, trees, shrubs, and flowers has a good effect. For these purposes, it is enough to apply 0.5 kg of vermicompost per 1 m2 to the plants every 30 days.
Using vermicompost to restore soil
Vermicompost quickly increases the nutritional value of the soil, supplementing it with a complex of substances necessary for the good development of plants. The soil microorganisms it contains help convert plant and animal residues into easily digestible compounds.
Adding vermicompost to soil that has lost fertility due to excessive application of chemicals increases the content of useful elements in it, improves the soil structure, and neutralizes high acidity. This allows you to create an environment in which those involved in the formation of the fertile soil layer can live. Increasing the concentration of humus most directly affects the quantity and quality of the resulting crop.
This idea is a kind of continuation of what was started in the article about selling manure. I sold compost made from cow manure until I decided to slightly increase the profitability of my venture.
Here I will not talk about what an excellent fertilizer vermicompost is and what nutritious food Californian worms are. It is what it is.
A bag of compost in the city costs 50 rubles. A kilogram of vermicompost costs about 10 rubles. I carried 4 bags of compost with me in the trunk from the village to the city and earned money for gasoline. Now, if I sold 4 bags of vermicompost, then I received 1000 rubles. clean.
I purchased a red stock culture California worm(Eusenia fetida). A thousand pieces cost 500 rubles, I bought two thousand. It is the Californian red worm, and not the ordinary earthworm - because it does not go to sleep for the winter, it eats (which means it produces vermicompost) 10 times more.
According to vermiculture technologies I prepared ordinary plastic boxes with a lattice bottom for vegetables and fruits. These boxes stack conveniently on top of each other. I poured a layer of rotted manure several centimeters into the box, then a layer of ordinary soil 1 cm thick. Once every two weeks I added new layer manure and a new layer of soil. After 3 months, you got a whole box of vermicompost, about 5 kg, and an increased worm population. When the vermicompost was ready, I placed a new one with a nutrient medium on top of the old box, the worms crawled to the top.
With such vermicomposting technologies a lot of trouble. A large number of boxes and a separate room are required. In addition to regularly adding manure and soil, if you need to get good harvest worms, then the compost needs to be loosened once a week - the worms need air. In addition, not all the worms crawled into the top drawer. However, this is the most productive method; if you are going to do business with vermicompost, then only in this way.
It was much easier to make compost heaps from boards directly on the ground. The heaps were filled with 1 m3 of manure and worms were launched into it. For about 6 months they did their job there, and then I separated the worms from the vermicompost. I spread out a piece of linoleum and poured a bunch of vermicompost onto it. The worm does not like bright light, wind and dryness, so it slowly crawled down the heap. All I had to do was remove the top of the pile every 30 minutes until the worms appeared, until finally there was a ball of worms left on the linoleum. However, it took special effort to ensure that the worms did not crawl across the linoleum. The disadvantage of this method is that the vermicompost is not entirely pure (not completely processed). In winter, the worms in the pile died from Russian frosts.
I composted the entire manure pile, about 10 tons, in 2 years without much effort. Unfortunately, it was not possible to count the money, and a large amount of vermicompost was used on their farm. Now I am not selling vermicompost, because... I did all this, firstly, for the sake of experiment, and secondly, for the sake of freeing the backyard from the waste products of my parents’ cows.
Almost all worms die in winter, so I keep a reserve supply of worms in the house in winter, and start almost from scratch every year. No matter what they say about their unpretentiousness, they will not live and work on their own for our benefit; it is necessary to create conditions. Especially if we want to get a harvest not only from vermicompost, but also from worms.
I fed the worms poultry, which made the latter incredibly happy. Now all the manure and droppings on our farm are composted using these worms in one big pile. Every spring I launch reserve worms from the house into a common pile. By autumn, their population in the heap increases, and almost all of them die over the winter. Composting proceeds quickly, the pile does not grow. Vermicompost, due to the fact that it can be applied without restrictions, is used everywhere on your own farm.
Soil fertility depends on the humus content in it, in the formation of which soil animals and microorganisms take part. However, the widespread use of chemical pesticides and mineral fertilizers has its consequences. Such as a decrease in soil fertility, accumulation heavy metals and toxic substances. As a result, the soils become unsuitable for growing agricultural products. One solution to the problem is to add vermicompost (vermicompost) to the soil, obtained by processing food waste using earthworms from industrial lines.
The technology for producing this biofertilizer is simple and easily accessible. On this page we will provide you with text materials and videos on this issue. But first, let's look at the main stages of obtaining biofertilizer.
Selection of worms and preparation of substrate
Vermicomposting technology is virtually waste-free. It is based on the natural ability of worms to process organic matter and soil, which in their body are chemically transformed, crushed, and enriched useful substances. For production on a large scale, this process is carried out in special vermifactories. However, the simplicity of the technology makes it possible to set up production in small quantities at home or in a summer cottage.
The main condition for obtaining vermicompost is worms, among which Californian worms and their domestic analogue, the hybrid “Staratel”, are popular. Californians are distinguished by their gluttony, omnivory, and ability to reproduce quickly, but they do not tolerate frost well and must winter in a warm place. While "Staratel" continues humus formation even at low temperatures. To save money, you can dig up ordinary earthworms, but the technology will not lose its effectiveness.
As noted in many educational videos and informational articles, organic waste is used to produce vermicompost:
- manure;
- leaf litter;
- branches;
- hay;
- straw;
- leftover food;
- feces.
First, prepare the substrate for fertilizer production. A pile is formed from the waste, moistened, additional soil, sawdust, sand are added, and left to rot. Fresh manure and chicken droppings are toxic to worms due to their urea, uric acid and ammonia content, so they are composted together with straw (hay) in a 1:2 ratio. To speed up the process of decay of organic matter, you can use special biological products - Tamir, Baikal-Em, Bioyodis, which will improve the quality of vermicompost.
Release and feeding
Once the composting process is complete, the worms can be added. But before you start, it will be useful to watch a video on this topic. For convenience, the substrate is placed in any containers, boxes or baskets made of natural, harmless material, such as wood.
How to make vermicompost
If necessary, you need to drill holes in them for sufficient aeration and water drainage. It will be convenient to transport such containers to a warm room during cold periods to continue the biofertilizer production process.
A damp bedding of hay, straw or shredded paper should be used to provide additional ventilation. The technology involves filling the box three-quarters full with bedding, after which compost is added. Then holes are made on the surface of the mixture and the worms are released. Wait until the worms are completely hidden in the substrate, cover the box with straw and leave it in a ventilated place.
The recommended population density for worms is 2000 zkz/m2. For their growth and improved nutrition, fresh waste must be periodically added. One of the most important conditions obtaining vermicompost and constant moistening of the processed mixture.
The vermicomposting process lasts from 1 to 3 months depending on the type of waste used. The end result is a loose mass consisting of small granules of brown or black color, with the smell of black soil, which is an organic fertilizer.
Separating worms from fertilizer
- Two methods are used to separate worms from vermicompost. They are quite simple, but if necessary, you need to refer to videos or other training materials. Most often, this is sifting a small amount of the mixture through a regular sieve. When shaking the sieve, humus is separated from the substrate with worms and falls down. Everything that remains in the sieve is transferred to another box and then the technology is repeated.
- The second way to extract vermicompost is to not feed the worms for a long time (3-4 days). As a result, they become hungry, and it is only necessary to apply a layer of fresh waste (5 cm) to the entire surface of the substrate. The layer is removed after two days and, together with the worms in it, is transferred to a new place. If dead individuals are found among them, they can be used to feed chickens, pigs and other domestic animals. For the winter, the containers are moved to a warm room, under such conditions the process of obtaining vermicompost continues.
The result of using vermicompost
The production of biofertilizer is not only an environmentally and economically feasible method of increasing soil productivity, but also a safe way to dispose of organic waste. The use of vermicompost provides a stable increase in soil fertility. At the same time, along with increasing the yield of agricultural products, the costs of expensive chemical pesticides are reduced. This makes agricultural production virtually waste-free, environmentally friendly and profitable.
