What is worm composting (vermicomposting) and vermiculture?
Worm composting, or vermicomposting, is ‘the process of using earthworms to break down kitchen and garden waste, to create faster than normal composting. Compared to ordinary soil, the earthworm castings (the material produced from the digestive tracts of worms) contain five times more nitrogen, seven times more phosphorus and 11 times more potassium. They are rich in humic acids and improve the structure of the soil’ (Ref: www.wikipedia.org, Jan. 2006). Vermiculture is the rearing of worms for the purpose of making compost, to improve the condition of soil. Worms have evolved into efficient, natural composters; they never sleep so are producing compost all the time. In the right environment, they eat and digest between half and all of their body weight in a day (depending on the types of worms, the quality of the plant material and the environmental conditions), converting this plant waste into nutrient-rich worm casts; this process quickly reduces the bulk of the organic waste, by up
