If you’ve been gardening any amount of time, or have friends that do, you’ve probably heard of compost. Compost is the natural process of recycling yard waste to produce a usable soil amendment. Traditional composting requires extreme temperatures, manually rotating heavy piles and plenty of open space.
But what if there is an easier way to get all that compost goodness (but much, much better)?
There is, it is called vermicomposting. With vermicomposting, you still get a much more nutrient filled fertilizer while letting our little bug friends do the work for you! As an added bonus, the finished product is SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER! For reference, your average cubic yard of compost costs $6 - $40. Alternatively, vermicompost can cost anywhere from $400 - $2,000 per cubic yard! Why… you ask? Read on!
Compost vs Vermicompost - No contest!
I could drone on and on about the differences between the two, but I thought it would be more fun to put it in a chart. ‘Cuz who doesn’t love a good chart!? Check it out…
The down n’ dirty about the POOP!
The composting worms are introduced into their home (usually an unused container you have sitting around the house) with a bedding of shredded cardboard and paper, kitchen scraps and just enough moisture to keep them happy. These little wigglers will quickly get to work eating up those kitchen scraps and carbon sources and, you guessed it, poop it all out in the form of worm castings!
As little as these worms are, they can eat up to half their own body weight in food every day! Imagine the impact on our grocery stores if humans could match their appetite.
Using this information, it is easy to predict how much worm castings you can expect to produce when using a pound of worms. In no time at all, you will have usable vermicompost scattered throughout that worm bin (way, way faster than traditional composting!).
You might be wondering, does it stink?
Nope! When done right, vermicomposting does not stink at all. In fact, we know many folks who keep their worm bins indoors and even under their kitchen sink!
Ok this sounds interesting, but why vermicompost?
First and foremost, you are keeping your kitchen scraps out of harmful landfills and transforming it into an amazing fertilizer for your plants. Trash in, gold out!
Secondly, the castings are teaming with beneficial bacteria which bring life to your soil and help break down existing nutrients, making them plant accessible.
Last but not least, as someone who may be interested in both lowering your negative impact on the earth and wanting to positively impact your garden, vermicomposting can be a simpler way to produce and maintain your own soil amendment and fertilizer.
Ready to dive in?
We would love to help you learn more and get started vermicomposting. Check out our other informative posts HERE or, if your ready to get your journey started, check out our products page HERE. We have worms, castings and even "worm farm starter kits!"