How to Make a Vermicomposting Box, with Shirley Bovshow : Gardens Of The Rich & Famous

How to Improve Your Garden Using Red Worms

 By James W Shaw

Red worms have been put on this earth to bring its elements back to life. If you could just imagine, the very soil and plants in your garden can be simply revived with just an application of worm compost. Red worms are actually capable of creating high-quality compost, which can be used instantly to improve your garden.
Worm Compost Production

Vermicomposting is a process that involves the use worms and of other beneficial microorganisms contained inside the worm bin. These compost worms are then used to help convert all the natural wastes into a more finer, and richer garden resource. 'Black Gold' is what it's typically referred to, but in simpler terms, 'worm compost' that is produced by red wigglers starts when they ingest organic scraps. These organic materials can be a mixture of kitchen and garden wastes such as fruit and vegetable peels, crushed eggshells, used coffee grinds, grass clippings, old tea bags, bread, presoaked strips of cardboard or newspaper, twigs or barks, and even dead foliage.

Worm Compost Composition
Worms for composting can create the best and most natural fertilizer product to date. But what makes worm castings so nutritious? Simple. Compost that is excreted by composting worms contains high amounts of nutrients, minerals, enzymes, humus, plant stimulants, and of course, good microbes. Worm compost is also found to be rich in Nitrogen, Phosphate, and Potash.

Why the application of worm compost works well on garden soil and plants
The nutrients that are contained in the worm's compost go through a slow-release, making all of these elements exclusively available for both the soil and plants usage. Since it's also water soluble, castings from worms have been established to be an organic material that can be easily absorbed. So if your garden soil has been experiencing erosion or looks worn out at some point, the application of castings can help bring it back to life. It can also help improve the soils texture, soil-binding and water-retention properties. A healthy soil will also be able to retain nutrients that will pose beneficial for the later consumption of plants.

Other benefits to using worm castings on your garden
Aside from strengthening the properties of your garden soil, the use of red worms castings can also be used to fight the factors that causes diseases to your plants. It can certainly help protect both garden soil and plants from potential root and plant diseases.

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Improve your garden using red worms read other interesting articles on red worms or buy worms from GardenWorms.com.
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Organic Gardening and Red Wiggler Worms Go Hand in Hand!

 By James W Shaw

Yes, you've read the heading right! Organic gardening and Red Wiggler Worms can go hand in hand. Now if you're not into worm composting yet, then you should know that you haven't experienced and seen your garden at its best. So if you want to get more out of your garden, then you must have a try on some red wiggler worms castings. Castings, also known to many as compost from worms, are full of nutrients and minerals. You can use this to feed your garden soil and plants.
When you start feeding your garden with worm castings, then you're definitely nourishing them with more than they can ever produce on their own. You should know that worms only eat organic stuff, so you can be assured that what they excrete is all-natural (it has been recognized as the richest kind of natural fertilizer). And unlike other types of manure, their castings are odorless (has an earthy smell to it). But besides that, using worm compost as a fertilizer becomes a better alternative to chemical fertilizers. Fertilizers that are made organically are a lot safer to use around humans and pets, and are also safe for the environment. So if you're growing vegetables and other aromatic plants in your garden, then you can be guaranteed with a safe intake of these.
You can reap a lot of benefits by just using red wigglers compost on your garden. Not only is this natural fertilizer valuable to plant and soil life, it is also acts as a supplement. You can definitely count on these worms castings to provide your garden (especially when it comes to a plants growth) with some nitrogen, carbon, potassium, calcium, and other more essentials minerals.
In an organic herb gardening that uses nothing but organic fertilizer, also boosts the microbial life in the soil (especially where the roots are). So when there are a lot of beneficial microbes present in the system, then there's a lesser chance for your plants to experience diseases. Other than that, a fertilized soil also helps a worn-out soil get back into better shape. Soil erosion can be avoided, and the water retention capability of the soil will also improve (nutrients will also be absorbed more).
When it comes to organic gardening, you can continue to provide your plant, vegetable or herb garden with a continuous supply of worm compost by trying to raise your own red wiggler worms. You can do this at home, without much fuss as you can use recycled materials for a worm bin set-up (you can use Rubbermaid containers with lids). And since you generate a daily amount of household wastes, then you no longer have to worry about your worms bedding and food source. Your kitchen scraps and garden wastes can help fill this for you.

There are a lot more to red wiggler worms (one of the many kinds of red worms for composting) than just their valuable castings. You can learn more about them by just visiting this very handy worm farm site, UncleJimsWormFarm.com.

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Garden Wormeries: An Introduction to Vermiculture

By Andy Machin A garden wormery is a simple thing which brings with it various benefits. By setting one up in your own garden you can save money and protect the environment at the same time. But it might not be something you have considered doing before and you might be missing out. Here is a brief introduction which may surprise you. The wormery is little more than a self-contained area in which worms live and by their natural action can naturally recycle your food waste and scraps in to a compost - known as vermiculture - which is a natural fertilizer which you can use on your own garden for free. No more expensive trips out to buy product brand compost as you can now produce your own. A wormery consists of a number of tiers in which the worms live and do their magic. A shallow layer of soil is at the bottom of the structure on to which is placed material which the worms can use for bedding. This is often simple paper scrapping. On top of that goes your food waste and a lid finishes things off so the worms cannot escape. The worms hang out and feed on the food waster you give them all the while slowly turning it all in to the natural vermicompost which you can pull out and use on your own garden as a totally natural fertiliser. The humble garden worm is actually an extremely important part of our planet's natural balance. Even more so these days as people take a more responsible attitude to environmental protection and it is here where the worm comes in to play. Any garden needs worms to do many things, not only natural composting. They help to ventilate soil through their burrowing to encourage oxygenation which is essential for a healthy garden in which plants can thrive. In addition to saving money by using your natural organic fertiliser, utilising your own wormery also means that the amount of rubbish you produce is much less. The vermicompost produced by your wormery is a totally natural alternative to commercial chemical plant based fertilisers which is environmentally friendly. If you have children then it can be fun and educational for them to get them involved and take an interest in. They will learn about how important it is to take a responsible outlook on recycling and how easy it is to do using things which are already in the garden. So now you have discovered a little about just how easy it is to get started with your own wormery and some of the benefits you can enjoy as a result. All that is left for you to do is get on with it. May your vermicompsting be successful and fun. To lean even more about starting your own garden wormery please visit http://gardenwormeryguide.com for practical hints and tips. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andy_Machin Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6172771

The Advantages Of Vermiculture Compost Over Other Types Of Natural Compost By Gert Demsky

Vermiculture is a centuries old technique of cultivating earthworms with the intention of making compost using the worms. To be more specific, the vermicompost that is generated does not consist of the worms themselves but of their excretions, also known as 'castings'. Earthworms can consume around half their body weight in a single day which passes through their digestive tracts to become the nutrient-rich vermicompost. This composting method has survived for so long because it is simple and effective. You will soon see the plants in your garden begin to flourish when you have used vermicompost and there should be fewer garden pests around as worm compost is an excellent pest deterrent. This type of natural compost also has the advantage of being cheaper than most commercial fertilizers and plant foods and is non-toxic which cannot be said for chemical fertilizers. In addition, compost made with vermiculture worms possesses a number of advantages over and above other natural types of compost that makes it highly appealing for use in gardens and fruit orchards as well as on farms and plantations. Some common types of natural compost aside from vermicompost are manure, mushroom, aerobic and garden clippings compost but there are also some usual varieties such as compost made of seaweed, blood meal, decomposed fish and recycled sewage. Seaweed fertiliser is very high in plants nutrients but it can be hard to come by, particularly if you do not live by the sea. Blood meal, which is the powdered blood of slaughtered cattle, contains a lot of nitrogen which can potentially burn your plants, and fertiliser made from decomposed fish and recycled sewage, while nutritious, do not seem particularly appealing somehow. If we look only at the more common types of compost, however, it is evident that vermicompost has a number of advantages over these other types. Worm compost is odourless compared to manure which reeks. It is also debatable whether or not manure contains sufficient plant nutrients compared to vermicompost which is rich in nutrients. Mushroom compost does not smell as badly as manure but may contain traces of a number of chemicals originally used to kill off pests in mushroom crops. Because it is made from the waste resulting from mushroom growing, mushroom compost may contain anything from hay to manure and ground-up chalk. Vermicompost is quick to produce compared to compost made from lawn refuse which can take years to mature. Vermiculture also assists in recycling household waste because you can feed all your fruit and veggie peelings to the worms. Worm compost is not particularly labour-intensive to make either because the worms do all the work. Fertiliser made using aerobically is labour-intensive because it needs to be turned regularly and you need to keep the internal temperature of the compost heap high. For more information about vermiculture visit the website http://www.wormfarming.co.za Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gert_Demsky Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6029877