NUUS
Earthworms , nature ’ s best fertiliser
The breeding of earthworms is not only profitable , but also greatly beneficial in helping to provide sustainable growth and nutrients to crops when farming .
Kefiloe Manthata Senwes Journalist
Worm castings commonly referred to as Vermicast are rich in nutrients and can be considered one of the richest fertilisers for your soil . vermicast is high in nitrogen , phosphorus and potassium , amongst others , and is highly beneficial to plants and soil . It also improves the overall quality of your soil structure , which helps retain moisture in the soil .
Earthworm farming is a unique recycling system that gained popularity in South Africa in the early 2000s when farmers realised that soil that houses earthworms , produces plants and vegetables of a considerably higher quality .
HOW IT WORKS
An earthworm farm works in a very simple manner . The earthworms will basically feed on all your kitchen cuttings and peels and transform them into fine , rich organic castings or ‘ humus ’. The castings look very similar to ground filter coffee . Earthworm castings are regarded as the best organic fertiliser known to man . The farm uses a stack system to work by allowing your worms to move from the lower tray to the upper tray through the holes in their bases .
The idea is to feed the worms until the trays become near full . Once they are full , starve out the worms in the lower tray by only feeding the upper tray . The worms move instinctively to where the food is , leaving behind their rich organic castings in the lower tray . This process allows you to tip out the castings into your soil , before returning the empty tray back to the system where the same starving out approach is applied to the other tray . Once a system reaches maturity you can produce 20 litres of earthworm castings every 8 weeks , using this rotation system .
The earthworm farm has an extra tray called the collection tray ( the bottom tray ) which is fitted with a tap and is used to collect all the liquids in the system , called worm tea . This is an excellent liquid fertiliser and is used by competition vegetable growers to super-size their produce .
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SENWES SCENARIO | LENTE � SPRING 2021