How to prepare the setup for vermicomposting?
A box made up of wood or a pit in the ground can be used to keep the red worms. A net or a meshwork is put at the base, and then shredded paper or even cardboard pieces are added on it. They are made slightly wet by sprinkling some water on them. This becomes the floor for the vermicompost.
Degradable wastes like fruit peels, agricultural wastes, dried leaves, or any other organic waste can now be added to the compost pit. Meat or oil items should be removed as these wastes can lead to unwanted microbes which will cause harm to the worms. The layer of food should be loose to allow movement of air and water.
The next step is to add the worms into the box or the pit. The man-made surroundings are different from the natural surroundings of the worms. So to make them feel comfortable, some soil is added on top of the worms. Water is sprinkled on the soil to make it moist.
The last step is to lay a simple gunny bag, an old cloth or some grass on the box or the pit as a shelter. This completes the setup for the vermicomposting process.
Vermicompost setup
How is the vermicomposting setup maintained?
The worms consume the food and grow in size. A single worm can consume as much food as its own body weight in a single day. That is the reason why food needs to be added to the box at regular intervals. It is also important that the contents in the box are turned upside down for air movement.
How is vermicompost collected?
After a few days, the waste supplied to the worms as food turns into useful manure, which can now be collected. But along with the compost formation, the number of red worms in the box would have doubled as they reproduce, thanks to the abundant food available for their growth.
In order to separate the worms from the compost, some more food is added in only one side or corner of the box. All the worms get attracted to the newly added food and move to one side. Now the compost can be collected from the other side of the box.
The compost can be directly used as excellent manure.