Archive for the ‘Worm Farming’ Category

What is Worm Farming?

Wednesday, January 11th, 2012

If you have even a passing interest in the topic of Worm Farming, then you should take a look at the following information. This enlightening article presents some of the latest news on the subject of Worm Farming.

Worm farming has been around for years on various scales. While the reasons for worm farming are not widely known, those who participate are big believers in the benefits that these worms have on the environment.

Many worm farmers commercially culture worms for profit. Specific breeds of worms are bred and are typically kept in breed specific quarters. Commercially raised worms are typically sold for composting. Some worm farmers distribute to landfills providing a natural method for composting waste.

These specifically bred worms are also used for soil fertilization. As worms dig through the soil, they aerate and stir up the soil carrying water with them. The waste that is composted by the worms is broken down into a substance that can be better used by the soil, improving the fertilization of the soil. A healthy soil is then produced for better growing plants, vegetables and crops.

In recent years, the supply of worm farming equipment and accessories has made it easier for individuals to make a hobby of this technique. Household sized bins are on the market in a variety of shapes and sizes. Home owners and apartment dwellers have been given the opportunity to raise their own worms for waste compost and soil fertilization.

The more authentic information about Worm Farming you know, the more likely people are to consider you a Worm Farming expert. Read on for even more Worm Farming facts that you can share.

Worm farming provides worms with a nutrient rich diet of what many times is thrown out with the garbage including discarded fruits and vegetables. Other compostable materials include paper products and cotton rags, leaves, egg shells and hair. Excreted by the worm is a nutrient rich substance called vermicompost or worm compost.

Worms are also farmed for bait. Small bait and tackle shops often receive their livestock inventory from worm farmers providing fishermen with various worms to use as live bait. Fishermen who fish on a larger scale than the hobbyist often use these worms for bait for anglers and other large catches.

Many different worms are available depending on the job. Each variety of worms is used for its own reasons. Red worms are commonly used for composting while the Belgian worms are good for both composting and bait. Home owners looking for worms to keep in lawns and flower beds will find success with Night Crawlers and Wigglers.

Worm farming can also be an excellent educational tool. As using worms provide a more space effective way for composting, small kits can be purchased and even hand made to be used in a classroom setting. Students are able to participate in the project learning about how composting occurs. Using natural methods for composting and reducing waste in landfills is easily demonstrated by classroom worm farms.

Worms can be farmed just about anywhere. With the various systems available on the market today, home owners can raise their own supply of worms outside or in an apartment. Providing the correct amount of moisture, light, bedding, temperature and food will ensure a long living worm population. In return, the reward will be a natural way for composting without filling up local landfills. As a result, nutrient rich soil is provided that can be used right away or stored for use during gardening season.

That’s the latest from the Worm Farming authorities. Once you’re familiar with these ideas, you’ll be ready to move to the next level.

About the Author
John Cane is a health care enthuaist writer who writes for health care companies around the country. To find out more about one of the companies he endorses go to michigan health insurance quote,health insurance quote,small business health insurance quote

Feeding the Worms in a Worm Farm

Wednesday, January 11th, 2012

Naturally composting waste, providing an organic matter that enriches soil and even supplying hobbyists and fisherman with live bait. These are all reasons for worm farming. Taking care of the worms in a worm farm is typically quite easy but there some guidelines to follow. Proper feeding is important for the health of the worms, and therefore important for the health of the farm.

Worms are fed a variety of food items, and nonfood items, for composting. Some food type items that can be offered are fruits, vegetables, greens, bread products, cereals, tea bags, coffee grounds and filters and egg shells. The worms will eat just about anything so it is imperative to know which foods are appropriate and why.

Fruits and vegetables are easily composted by the worms. The important thing to remember when serving fruits and vegetables is the size of the portions. Fruit pieces should be cut down to 1/2 inch pieces or slices. Smaller pieces will be consumed more quickly. Food blended up with water will also help the worms find the food and consume it faster.

Fruits and vegetables are highly nutritious. Worms that are fed an appropriate diet will in turn produce a nutrient rich substance that is beneficial to crops, gardens, flower beds and even indoor flower pots. Some nonfood items that can be offered to worms for composting are paper products, cotton rags, hair clippings, leaves and soaked cardboard. A pizza box that has been torn up and soaked is a wonderful treat for worms.

When offering leaves to a worm farm, be careful to only use products that have never been treated with chemicals. For the safety of the worms, grass clipping and other yard clippings should be avoided incase chemicals have been used.

Dog and cat droppings can be used in a worm farm with care. Cats and dogs that have been dewormed recently will still have the substance within their bodies. The medicine used for deworming can be excreted in the droppings. If fed to the worms, the droppings can kill the worms quickly. If a pet has been dewormed recently, avoid using the droppings in the worm farm.

Truthfully, the only difference between you and Worm Farming experts is time. If you’ll invest a little more time in reading, you’ll be that much nearer to expert status when it comes to Worm Farming.

Care should also be taken when offering cat droppings from a litter box. Inorganic litters are unsafe for the worms. If your plan is to use the worms to compost the droppings, using a natural and organic litter will keep the worms happy.

While there are many foods that can be offered readily, there are also those that should be avoided. Care should always be taken with items that have been treated with chemicals, medications or other substances that may prove harmful.

Meats should not be offered to the worms in a worm farm. Being voracious eaters, the worms will gladly consume whatever meat is offered. The problem with meat is with the pests it will attract. Flies and maggots will be found in a worm farm that uses meat and the best way to eliminate these pests is to eliminate the use of meat.

Citrus fruits, onions and garlic should not be used either. The worms appear to find the smell of these items offensive. Most worms will try to escape the bin to get away from the smell. Dairy products will also attract unwanted guests into the worm farm. Another problematic issue with serving dairy products is the foul smell that is emitted as it rots.

Feeding worms is a pretty easy job. The key is to know which items are good and which are bad for the health of the worms. Another point to always remember is to not over feed. New worms should be fed in small amounts when they are becoming established within the farm. Once settled, the amount can be increased over time.

Over feeding leads to problems such as foul smells and pests. Keep feeding down to a minimum, offering new food only when the old food supply is running low. Worms can eat over half their body weight in food per day. The worm population can double every few months. Overfeeding can cause a problem but keep an eye on the population as well to be sure that underfeeding isn’t an issue.

A well fed worm population is a happy worm population. Happy worms produce a lot of naturally composted, healthy castings for soil enrichment therefore keeping the worm farmer happy as well.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit his Perpetual20 training site for great bonuses: Perpetual20

Choosing the Right Worms for Worm Farming

Tuesday, January 10th, 2012

The best course of action to take sometimes isn’t clear until you’ve listed and considered your alternatives. The following paragraphs should help clue you in to what the experts think is significant.

Worm farming is done for several reasons. Composting, the production of nutrient rich soil and providing live bait are three of the most common reasons for worm farming. Some worms do a better job at their duties than others so it is important to know how to choose the right worms for your worm farm.

Composting is one common reason for worm farming. Worms are used to compost waste and discarded material naturally and without adding to the local landfills. To do this, the worms eat fruit and vegetable scraps, along with other compostable items such as paper products, leaves, cotton rags and egg shells.

If composting is the primary reason for setting up a worm farm, choices should be made for the appropriate types of worms that are known as being the best for this option. The Red Wiggler, or Eisenia fetida, is reportedly the best worm for composting. These worms reproduce easily and are extremely hardy. The trait that makes them best as compost worms is their ravenous appetites.

Because of their eagerness to devour anything edible, Red Wigglers produce a high quality substance resulting in a nutrient rich soil that is so desirable with worm farming.

Perhaps raising worms for the purpose of providing live bait is the goal of a worm farm. Bait can be raised for personal use or even supplied to local fisherman through bait and tackle shops. The best worms for this purpose are the European Night Crawlers. These worms can be used for baiting fish in all types of conditions, even in saltwater.

Those of you not familiar with the latest on Worm Farming now have at least a basic understanding. But there’s more to come.

The European Nightcrawler is reported to be one of the hardiest fish available for worm farming. They can also be used as a live food source for other animals such as birds, reptiles, exotic pets and aquarium fish. They can be used in a composting type worm farm but work best as live food and bait. Night Crawlers are readily available and have similar care requirements as the Red Wigglers.

Worms used for garden and lawn farming are typically available in sets of three different varieties of worms. The Red Wiggler and the Night Crawlers are often two of the types of worms in these sets. The third worm is usually Pheritema, or Florida Wiggler which are worms that burrow deep into the soil.

Over 3000 varieties of worms exist. The worms mentioned here are the most commonly used and readily available on the market today. They can be found at various online distributors. Local worm farmers can be found through online directories or by looking up the topic in the local telephone book.

Most types of worms are typically made available as adult worms, young worms and egg capsules. Typically sold by the pound, the number of worms per unit will vary depending on their age and size. Egg capsules yield a higher number of worms per unit once hatched.

A worm farm will be most successful when the appropriate worm is chosen for the job at hand. While most worms will compost discarded items and waste and act as live bait, some have some small traits that make them the best choice for a worm farm with a particular purpose.

Hopefully the sections above have contributed to your understanding of Worm Farming. Share your new understanding about Worm Farming with others. They’ll thank you for it.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, now offering the host then profit baby plan for only $1 over at Host Then Profit

Why Worm Farming is Important

Sunday, January 8th, 2012

The following paragraphs summarize the work of Worm Farming experts who are completely familiar with all the aspects of Worm Farming. Heed their advice to avoid any Worm Farming surprises.

It may come as a surprise to some that worm farming is beneficial to our environment. After some research into the topic it may be shocking to learn how important these hidden crawlers really are. There is more to them than just crawling through the garden.

Worms have been around since the beginning. During the age of the dinosaurs, worms ploughed through rotting debris and excrement, composting it into a more usable substance. Millions of years ago they were efficient creatures and today they remain the same.

So why is worm farming so important? There are three common reasons for worm farming both commercially and individually. The first reason is for composting.

Worm farming provides an effective and efficient way for composting food waste and other biodegradable items. On the larger scale, worms are used in place of landfills by commercial companies. The worms compost waste eliminating unnecessary overflows in landfills. Certain landfills also use worms to help compost the waste that has build up over time to try to prevent an overflow.

On a smaller scale, home owners and apartment dwellers are able to run their own personal worm farms. The purpose is to provide a more natural way for composting discarded food products and other items, instead of sending them to the local landfills. Various sizes of personal worm farms are available on the market today. These can typically be used both outdoors and indoors for those with limited space.

Having a personal worm farm means that individuals are able to employ worms to naturally compost items such as fruits, vegetables, breads, cereals, paper products, soaked cardboard, egg shells and hair. What is given in return by the worms is a naturally nutrient rich organic substance that can enrich soil for gardens, crops and house plants.

The best time to learn about Worm Farming is before you’re in the thick of things. Wise readers will keep reading to earn some valuable Worm Farming experience while it’s still free.

This brings us to the next reason for worm farming. Vermicompost, or worm castings, is the product the worms produce as they compost and digest their provided diet. These castings are as rich in nutrients as the food items provided to them. This substance is so rich in nutrients that it can be used as an effective plant food for a small pot for up to two months. Vermicompost is one of the best fertilizers available.

Chemical fertilizers can be replaced by using natural vermicompost. Chemical fertilizers often produce a fast effect, but when the soil is analyzed, it is found that the nutrients in the soil are being further broken down by the chemicals. This requires that even more fertilizer be used later on to produce the same effect.

Chemical pest removers and poisons have led to the destruction and evacuation of worms in many areas. The worms are either killed by the poison or they leave the area as the soil is no longer healthy enough for them to live in.

Using vermicompost as a natural fertilizer helps eliminate the need for chemicals that destroy the soil and rid the area of these helpful worms. Some worms can be used in garden beds, improving the quality of the soil as they plough through pulling water into the soil and aerating the bed as they go.

Another reason for worm farming is the production of worms to be used as live food and live bait. Many exotic pets, birds and aquarium fish require the addition of live worms to their diets. Offering worms for this reason gives pet owners an opportunity to purchase live food that has not been chemically altered or treated.

Professional fishermen, bait and tackle shops, and the fishing hobbyist are often on the search for good suppliers of various worms that are best suited for live bait in both freshwater and salt water. Worm farms offer these buyers a chance to purchase organically raised worms that will produce the best results when fishing.

As surprising as it may seem, worms are a very important part of our environment. Worm farming is just a way to be able to appreciate their effects on a more personal level. They are hard workers and keeping them happy in a worm farm will help ensure a healthier environment, less overflow of the landfills and a higher level of plant growth.

It never hurts to be well-informed with the latest on Worm Farming. Compare what you’ve learned here to future articles so that you can stay alert to changes in the area of Worm Farming.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit his Perpetual20 training site for great bonuses: Perpetual20

Understanding Worm Farming

Saturday, January 7th, 2012

So what is Worm Farming really all about? The following report includes some fascinating information about Worm Farming–info you can use, not just the old stuff they used to tell you.

Some people ask, “Why in the world would I want to have a worm farm? There are plenty of other useful farms that sell vegetables, fruits, animals, and eggs. What good is a worm farm?” Well, it’s an understandable reaction. After all, it’s usually the quiet people in society that go unnoticed; so why shouldn’t there be quiet creatures that go unnoticed? People underestimate the value of the worm.

It’s true that there are worms that do damage to crops, animals, and people. Worms in your intestinal system are best flushed out. That’s why dogs and cats, even horses and cows receive worm treatments. These worms are taking away nutritional values the animals need to survive.

What about the good worms? The first reaction to a worm is, “Ewww, gross.” Or, “Is that a snake?” Well, understanding anything is the key to appreciating it more. No, a worm is not a snake. The good worms are not poisonous and have positive benefits that are not readily seen. They’re hard-working little creatures and deserve our respect.

So, what are good worms? Earthworms, compost worms, and fishing worms are good worms. Earthworms are found in rich soil. If your plants are healthy and growing, chances are there are earthworms down there toiling away to help make this happen. Those die-hard fishermen can tell you about the benefits of a good, fat fishing worm! Catfish and bream are two of the type of fish that enjoy worms. Let’s not forget the healthy birds that flock to your yard to sing and play for you and your children or husband. These birds eat more than just the seed in your feeder, which is a good thing since the seed will run out and be forgotten by the well-meaning providers. That’s where the worms come in to take up your slack!

Now that we’ve covered those aspects of Worm Farming, let’s turn to some of the other factors that need to be considered.

People farm worms for useful reasons. But there are also reasons most people can’t accept in general society yet. Worms can be great food for people. Mealworms, earthworms, grub worms, butterworms, and tomato horn worms are all edible. There are restaurants in Singapore that offer worms as a meal choice. Worms are eaten in Thailand, Mexico, Australia, Africa, Asia, and South America. People who are trying to survive in the wild, like our military soldiers, are taught to eat worms as a source of protein. They’re low in fat, too.

Although people may not readily eat worms in America, worm farms can still provide a source of exotic food for those who do. The worms can also be shipped to other places, but the temperature has to be right so they’ll live during shipment and upon arrival.

Worm farms can also produce special food called “hornworm chow”, meal, and flours for use in cooking breads and cakes. Hornworm chow is sold as a powder for about $10 per 1/2 pound to feed about 85 worms to adulthood. This chow also feed chameleons.

So, as you can see worm farms are special and understanding them can be interesting and helpful.

Knowing enough about Worm Farming to make solid, informed choices cuts down on the fear factor. If you apply what you’ve just learned about Worm Farming, you should have nothing to worry about.

About the Author
John Cane is a health care enthuaist writer who writes for health care companies around the country. To find out more about one of the companies he endorses go to michigan health insurance quote,health insurance quote,small business health insurance quote

Worm Farming History

Monday, January 2nd, 2012

Worm composting or worm farming is a process where worms are used to consume organic waste. Their waste or castings are used as soil fertilizer or conditioner. Vermicomposting is another term for worm farming.

This process is very important when processing left-over food or kitchen waste. Worms can eat more than half of their body size, and they eat the waste so quickly that there are no problems with the odor of the food scraps. That is why worm farming is best used for recycling food, yard and paper wastes. The wastes coming from the worms are used to grow plants.

These legless creatures have been around for such a long time and have been helping the environment for decades. For most of the time we have neglected them, aside from instances in our youth when we study them. While others under the process of worm farming or worm composting, were able to put these guys into business.

Worms played a big role in making big lands fertile. In Nile, during 51 from 30 B.C. in time of the rule of Cleopatra VII, Queen of Egypt, export of worms was banned. During that period, those who export and remove worms from their habitat receive death as their punishment. That is why Nile, until today, has the most fertile lands.

Worms have aerating and fertilizing the soil for such a long time. Charles Darwin had a study about his observations of the actions and habits of worms. Through his work, which was published, he claimed that worms are the most important creatures on earth. Plowing, which he also considered as the most important invention of our time, was in the same concept of how worms work. It looses up the soil to aerate it and make sure that the necessary minerals needed for plant growth reaches the plant roots.

It seems like new information is discovered about something every day. And the topic of Worm Farming is no exception. Keep reading to get more fresh news about Worm Farming.

When Industrial revolution came in 1800s, natural farming were cast aside. Efforts were directed into making sure that there are more products being harvested. So, how can that be possible? This paved the way for looking chemical agriculture enhancements to yield more growth.

As early as 1927, there were already discoveries on how to develop and produce nitrophosphate. This is used as nitrogen fertilizer to the plants. Yes, these fertilizers indeed developed and produced more crops, but then started the question about the long term effects of these chemicals. Because of constant chemical supply being poured into the soil, earthworms started to die.

These worms once considered to be helpful in making the soil fertile are considered pests and should be stopped. The decrease in the earthworm population led to the fall of the fertility of land.

But the people started to remember the past and the environment again. Currently, there are efforts to encourage most producers to do organic farming. But because chemical and artificial fertilizers are easier to use and more available, most of the farmers still use chemical fertilizers and pesticides. But there are still people who would like to get the soil back to its previous condition. Worm farming or the worm composting went back to its track. This process became a commercial one in 1975. Currently, there are worm farmers who sell worms and organic wastes to organic farmers and gardeners.

Worm farms may not that financially stable and may experience ups and downs in its market, but it is significantly saying that there re still individuals who believed that worms can still do and should do as assigned by Mother Nature

I hope that reading the above information was both enjoyable and educational for you. Your learning process should be ongoing–the more you understand about any subject, the more you will be able to share with others.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit his soon to be top ranked Perpetual20 training site: Perpetual 20

How to Make your Own Worm Farm

Saturday, December 31st, 2011

Are you looking for some inside information on Worm Farming? Here’s an up-to-date report from Worm Farming experts who should know.

Worm farming is one of the best and simplest way of advocating environmental consciousness through the process of recycling and how to make your own worm farm is just as easy as setting up your garden.

You can start building your own worm farm using old styrofoam boxes, used tires, wooden crates or similar type of box or crate containers.

You will also need to make sure the worm trays are kept moist -not too wet nor too dry, as long as it is damp and cool. Should it start drying up, just pour in water evenly until the compost bed absorb enough water to stay moist.

Various kinds of worm farm containers are available at hardware stores and garden shops, you may need to check around for fair prices and good buys, should you need to acquire new ones and save yourself the hassle of modifying boxes to make into worm farms.

Worm farms must be kept away from direct contact with the ground to prevent pests getting into the farm and there should also be a drainage tap or water collection area within the container in case it gets too wet, the liquid overflow can also be used a liquid fertilizer.

You must use special composting worms that can be purchased from garden shops and hardware stores, since ordinary earthworms are not ideal types for farming.

The ideal types of composting worms for your worm farms are Indian blues, red wrigglers or Tiger Worms.

You can start of with 1,500-2,000 worms to get your worm farm started.

Composting worms only eat organic matter, thus are good composters, instead of the usual earthworms that you find in the garden, which are earthworkers that aerate and burrow the soil and do not make them good composters.

The primary purpose of setting up a worm farm is not to mass produce worms or culture them, but to get the product that the worms produce when fed with organic material similar to that used in a compost pile.

This by-product is called castings and while it’s technically worm manure, it is a highly productive fertilizer or add-on for garden soil or potted plants.

The technical term for using worms to process compost and produce castings is ‘vermicomposting’, and the by-product is called vermicompost or vermicast.

To get high quality castings from worm farm, it is necessary use the proper type of worms.

Getting on all fours and digging the ground to look for worms is not exactly the way to go about it, since there are actually worms that are of the composting types.

Is everything making sense so far? If not, I’m sure that with just a little more reading, all the facts will fall into place.

These are worms that adapt well to living in a limited area or boxed container and those processing organic waste are the ones used for worm farms.

The wrong type of worm, especially the usual earthworms, tends burrow down deep and are not suited to cramped spaces.

You may want to purchase your worms from an experienced vermicomposting supplier, as you go along, you may be able to identify your local worms and be able to establish whether or not they are good ones for suited to your farm.

An easy structure would be start the farm using a cubic container, be it a styrofoam box or wooden crate.

You begin by placing a couple of sheets of shredded newspaper or cardboard on the worm tray to serve as bedding, followed by a few handfuls of soil.

Moisten the bedding material lightly with water, and begin add some organic waste for food, and then the worms.

Cover with the top of the container with something that will keep out the light while retaining moisture, using materials such as burlap, shredded box board or newspaper.

As much as possible, try and resist the urge to look at the worms for a couple of weeks, then take off the cover and add some more food.

Continue to do this process as the worms multiply and if the container starts to smell bad, you may be supplying the worms with excess food than they can process.

Be sure not to add any animal products or waste like spoiled meat, milk products or oil-based matter, which can cause the smell or attract pests.

If you notice the bin is about half full, it?s a good time to harvest the castings.

There are several of ways to do this.

Some just push everything to one side, being sure to pull out large non-decomposed food and then they add the new bedding, dirt, food to the empty side and wait a couple of weeks for the worms to move over to the new side, leaving the vermicompost behind that can be removed and used in the garden.

So this is how to make your own worm farm and by now you already know how to go about it.

If you’ve picked some pointers about Worm Farming that you can put into action, then by all means, do so. You won’t really be able to gain any benefits from your new knowledge if you don’t use it.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit his Perpetual20 training site for great bonuses: Perpetual20

Worm Farming is a Fisherman’s Friend

Tuesday, December 27th, 2011

Are you looking for some inside information on Worm Farming? Here’s an up-to-date report from Worm Farming experts who should know.

Red worms, red wigglers, or manure worms are said to be best for composting. They’re also known as fishing worms. You can find them in leaf litter, manure piles, and bait shops.

The ability to produce fast makes these worms appealing for worm farmers and fishermen.

You can start your red fishing-worm farm in a small, cheap plastic container such as a margarine dish or cool whip container. Start with a small collection, say….under a dozen, just to get a feel for the journey ahead and decide if you want to invest further. Add at least one big spoonful of dirt or compost, some thin strips of notebook paper or newspaper (not glossy), a cup of water (you want moisture, not soggy contents), fine sand or crumbled eggshells, and a little cereal or fruit. (The worms aren’t as partial to citrus fruits because of the acid content.)

Sometimes the most important aspects of a subject are not immediately obvious. Keep reading to get the complete picture.

You’ll have to punch holes in the sides and the lid, at least a dozen in each. There must be oxygen flow and drainage. Worms can’t survive without oxygen. And you may have noticed that they rise to the top of the ground after a hard rain.

Your worms will eat many things that you would normally throw away. Almost any food scrap will do, but there are some that are discouraged. Meat scraps, citrus scraps, garlic, onion, and hot peppers or really spicy foods are not good choices. You should be careful about exposing your worms to pesticide residues used on food or contained in manures. Although the fishermen’s friend will eat cardboard because it’s a wood product, make sure the cardboard is not contaminated with any poisonous residues. You have to feed them at least three times a week. Bury the food under the bedding for the best results.

You can check out bait shops to get an idea of how much to price your worms if you plan to sell them. You don’t want to be too high or too low compared to other worms sold in the area for fishing bait. You can, of course, just grow them for your own fishing excursions. Also, consider the area where you live. If you live in a small area, there may not be enough market for a large worm farm to earn enough profit unless you sell over the internet or ship to other places. You want to make sure you don’t invest too much too soon.

If you live near a lake, you may do very well with your worm farm business. People do like convenience. Even avid fishermen can run out of bait or forget to buy it, although they may not like to readily admit it! There are plenty of people who prefer to use natural bait, too. Of course, this means customers will be knocking on your door on weekends and after normal work hours. So, you may do better to post your office away from your living area and make sure your hours are compatible, but not overwhelming for you. Post them plainly and large enough for those early rising fishermen/women to readily see them.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit his Perpetual20 training site for great bonuses: Perpetual20

Worm Farm: More Than Just Lose Earth

Monday, December 26th, 2011

Worm farms? Sometimes you wonder if you have heard things correctly.

Worm farming or vermicomposting is the process of getting compost, vermicast or worm humus and waste from organic matter being broken down by earthworms. Through worm farming, we are able to get the best organic fertilizer that ca condition the soil in producing good crops and produce.

This practice is being done by gardeners and environmentalists to aid in waste reduction. Most of the requirements for worm farming would be both yard and kitchen wastes. Vermicomposting or worm farming can put kitchen waste into use and produce black, earth smelling and nutrient rich humus.

Earthworms are the primary workers for creating rich, organic humus. Earthworms and bacteria are the primary catalyst for the decomposition process. Other species like insects, other worms and molds also play an important role in the decomposition process. Earthworms mostly used in this process are the Red wigglers. This kind of composting worm can be found in different parts of Europe and South America. They are present in rotting vegetables, compost and of course piles of manure or animal wastes.

The kind of compost produced by the vermicomposting process is odorless, clean, and organic. It also has high quantities of micronutrients N, P, and K which are very important for the growth of plants. Aside from providing necessary nutrients, it also environmental friendly, since it helps in recycling energy. Aside from being eco-friendly, it also non-toxic and uses low energy to aid the process.

Ever since the wide use of chemical pesticides, people have been expressing their concern on the effects of chemical fertilizer residue left on the crops and produce. In a 2001 study, results showed that children who ate organically grown produce have lower organophosphorus pesticide exposure than children who do not eat organic.

The information about Worm Farming presented here will do one of two things: either it will reinforce what you know about Worm Farming or it will teach you something new. Both are good outcomes.

Though most of the studies conducted are limited on the levels of organophosphorus and not on its effects, there are assumptions that those with lower levels have lower risk of neurological health problems.

Food grown organically, therefore, can be said to have higher nutritional value than food grown using modern conventional methods. It is just simple, healthy plants mean healthy people. And this is what vermicomposting hopes to achieve.

You can use the humus from the worms as another layer of rich soil in your potted plants. Another way is by directly adding the humus in the soil while repotting. Another good thing about this kind of organic fertilizer there is no need to worry about overfertilizing or accidentally burning or harming the plant due to excessive exposure to chemicals.

Worm farming is not only something that you can do in your on backyard. Yes, you can do this to reduce waste in your house and somehow help the environment. But this can also be a business venture. Through proper business strategies, surely you can start your own vermiculture business.

You can start your business by selling worm castings. You can check nurseries that would need organic fertilizer. You just need patience in educating people about the importance of organic farming and alternative ways of fertilizing the land.

Marketing or selling worms can b more different. Once in a while, a commercial vermicompost company would think of adding additional worms to their tiny working group. This commercial group would call a worm grower and most of the times, they buy the entire worm selection. Worm farms have indeed a bright marketing and economic future.

There’s a lot to understand about Worm Farming. We were able to provide you with some of the facts above, but there is still plenty more to write about in subsequent articles.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, now offering the host then profit baby plan for only $1 over at Host Then Profit

How to Keep Your Worm Farm Safe

Friday, December 23rd, 2011

So what is Worm Farming really all about? The following report includes some fascinating information about Worm Farming–info you can use, not just the old stuff they used to tell you.

When you are doing worm farming, it does not mean that you can leave you worms unattended. There are worm predators which can pounce on your worms and eat everything. Why keep your worms for profit if you just let predators take them away.

You have to make sure that you worm farm is safe for your worms. Who are the predators and what should you do?

? Make sure that you worm farm has proper drainage. Make sure that you are not using contaminated water. Also avoid using paper which had contact with pesticides since this is also source of contamination.

? Make sure that your worms are safe from predators like birds, moles, hedgehogs, foxes, toads, snakes, beetles, leeches, slugs, and parasites. All of these feed on worms.

? Even if there are predators in the area which are not interested in eating the worms but are eating the worm?s food. Then you should also be careful. If worms are not fed enough, they try to leave the worm beds.

? If you are feeding birds in your area, then it would be ok. Just make sure to feed them in a different section, you definitely do not want them to eat your profit.

If you base what you do on inaccurate information, you might be unpleasantly surprised by the consequences. Make sure you get the whole Worm Farming story from informed sources.

? If you are living in a populated area, you would have to have a different kind of worm protection. There could be thieves that are looking for free fishing bait. So make sure that your worm farms are duly protected.

To protect your worm farm, you can have shed that can be locked to make sure that unwanted people and presence are kept out. Make sure that the floor is kept clean. If you have concrete flooring, you can hose it down to remove the dirt and leftover scraps. Some worm farm owners have a technique of keeping their farm safe from predators. They would put their worm bin on a stand with legs, then they would put it a container where there is water surrounding it.

Aside from being cautious in providing safety measures in the worm farm?s surroundings, you also need to be cautious of the food you provide to your worms. Some worm farmers aside from giving ready to eat food, also give food treated with chemicals. These medications and chemicals should be handled with care since these substances could be harmful.

Although worms eat meat, or eat anything that is offered to them, it is for the best altogether to remove meat among the things that farmers offer. With meat, there is a higher possibility that pets will be attracted to and eventually will be bad for the worms. Flies and maggots can also be attracted to the worm farm if meat is offered to the worms.

Aside from these foods, we should also avoid offering citrus fruit, onions, and garlic. Its strong smell drives the worm away. Another kind of food that needs to be avoided are dairy products, aside from attracting also predators, they also emit foul odors as they rot.

Taking care of worms are easy job, as long as you take note of what you should and should not do. Worm farming can be both financially profitable and enjoyable. There are even studies saying that worm farming relieves stress. So, happy farming!

As your knowledge about Worm Farming continues to grow, you will begin to see how Worm Farming fits into the overall scheme of things. Knowing how something relates to the rest of the world is important too.

About the Author
Bob Roberts,ex PE teacher, did not start playing golf until he was well into his 50′s but now plays two to three times a week. He knows the pitfalls a beginner faces and has written two websites targeted mainly at high handicap golfers. For more information about his tips for golf go here===> Start Playing Golf and Tips For Golf


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