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- Agriculture, Environment
- 4 min read
Compost VS Vermicompost: which is better?
One of the main goals of organic farming is to maintain fertile soil over the long term by feeding the soil only with products of natural origin. Adding compost on a regular basis is one of the best ways to improve soil organic content in open fields and in cultivated greenhouses.
The earthworm is a natural resource of fertility and life. This organism that lives in the subsoil in fact feeds on decaying organic material creating nutrient-rich matter for the soil.
The benefits of earthworms in the soil
The waste material produced by earthworms is odorless and contains bacteria that allow the decomposition process to continue in the soil, promoting microbiological activity. The “droppings” contain much more nitrogen, potassium, and calcium than is contained in good potting soil. The presence of this waste material promotes the maintenance of moisture in the soil and consequently improves fertility.
What is vermicompost?
Vermicompost is the product obtained from the process of decomposing the waste of various types of worms. They may be red wigglers, white worms, or earthworms of various kinds. Vermicomposting uses worms and earthworms to decompose waste and make a kind of “worm manure” for use in agriculture.
The process can be done on a large scale at the industrial level or on a small scale at the household level by purchasing or building an appropriate shelter where the worms can do their work.
What is the difference between vermicompost and compost?
Although the two products obtained are useful for agricultural purposes, in reality they are very different both for the production process and for the characteristics of the material. Vermicompost is the product of the decomposition of organic material carried out through the digestion of worms, while in order to obtain compost various types of microorganisms are required, essentially aerobic bacteria, fungi and larvae.
Production method:
- Home compost is produced in the composter, in which the material hot because the aerobic decomposition of organic matter releases carbon dioxide and heat, resulting in piles that can exceed 65 ° C . This is good because the heat can kill pathogens in the incoming products.
- Vermicompost is a process that requires less heat (partly because worms could not survive otherwise), its temperature ranges from 10°C to 30°C. The disadvantage of less heat is that vermicomposting will not kill all the pathogens in the incoming waste.
Microbial populations:
- In compost are thermophilic microbe populations, which do not tolerate high temperatures
- In vermicompost are mesophilic microbes, which require more moderate temperatures to survive.
Vermicomposting is faster
- Composting, if done in the right way requires from 6 to 9 months to get the product ready for use, moreover it requires various interventions to aerate the material. A disadvantage compared to worm composting is the impossibility to carry out the process inside buildings.
- Vermicomposting takes less time, generally 8 to 12 weeks are needed to obtain the material to be used to feed plants. In this case the worms will be the same actors in the aeration of the compost. Another factor to consider is that worms do not dig, and only process the first 20 to 30 centimeters of material, so if a lot of waste material is added, the process will not work. As mentioned earlier, the worm composter can also be placed inside residential buildings.
Which is best for use in agriculture?
Vermicompost, compared to traditional compost is better because of its higher nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium content, and its ability to improve soil structure and increase its water holding capacity. However, its cost is higher, so for large areas, it is necessary to evaluate the cost-benefit ratio.
The right environment to store the compost produced by earthworms:
What to do when the vermicompost produced is not used for several months? It can be stored, but some precautions must be taken in order not to ruin its properties.
The proper environment for storing vermicompost is a cool and dry place. It is necessary to provide air flow without letting the material dry out completely. If it is very humid or wet, you can arrange the material in a thin layer on a concrete pad and let it dry for a while. It should be nice and crumbly and not wet to the touch.
The resulting material should never be stored outdoors and without shelter as rain and sun remove many of the beneficial compounds. However, cold winter temperatures allow the worm compost to be stored outside sheltered with plastic sheeting. In fact, the frozen micro organisms, will reactivate once temperatures allow.
Alessandro Azzolin
Digital marketing intern, with interests in different cultures. My priority is the preservation of ecosystems.
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