Vermicompost

Vermicomposting describes the targeted composting with compost worms. There are very large professional composting plants that seek so purposefully faster composting. These are the Philippines and the United States operated, for example in Canada, Italy, Japan,.

Small Wurmkompostierer are mainly used to recycling organic kitchen waste incurred in the household. Advantage of these containers is the small space and care needs; also they can optionally be operated on balconies or vestibules, where another composting has no place. Further work Wurmkompostierer odorless and do not require converting the Kompostguts.

Features

The community in a worm composter is about the a compost pile. These include bacteria, fungi and other decomposers, such as various protozoa, springtails, some soil mites, small white annelids of the family of white worms and compost worms. This community produces the so-called worm humus ( Wurmmull ), a natural product with highly concentrated ingredients of plant- available nutrients.

In a worm composter, the number of individuals of soil animals is many times higher than in the garden, because here all year round prevail optimal living conditions. This requires the following conditions:

Maintenance and use

Taking care of a Wurmkompostierers is quite simple and hardly time-consuming. The fresh organic kitchen waste such as fruit, vegetables, coffee grounds or organic cat litter before they are placed in the composter, crushed and moistened. For hygienic reasons it should be avoided to compost cooked leftovers, meat, fish and cat litter in this way.

It is useful to damp - wet hemp or felt mat that covers the entire box contents; it keeps fruit flies away and prevents superficial drying of fresh organics and mold formation. In addition to this measure, the surface of the material to be composted can be covered with a thin layer of soil, which provides added protection.

Since the kitchen residues consist mainly of nitrogen-containing and water-containing plant residues whose rotting is associated with a strong reduction in volume. On average, about 1.5 to 2 liters of worm humus remain of 10 liters of kitchen waste.

Since the worm composting runs entirely aerobically, no interfering odors.

Types of Wurmkompostierer

Eben composter

In trade are frequently encountered Eben composter. These usually consist of a container for the leachates that accrues during the composting process, and multiple removable layers (often three). The levels are filled slowly through the gift of compostable and fit into each other. The bottom of each layer is provided with holes, such that the worms may switch to the other of a plane. Compost worms spend most of their time in the upper 5 to 10 cm; so the bottom layer can be removed with the finished worm humus, if the top level is full. Due to the identical levels, a continuous removal of the worm humus on the one hand and the addition of compostable waste are other ensures. The top level is used in each case to fill with compostable waste. Once this is full, the lowest level, the full worm humus is in the meantime, taken out, emptied and placed on the filled level; they can be so again accept compostable waste. Since the worms each migrate to the fresh waste, the waste once they have completely decomposed in a plane, the lowest level on removal is almost free of worms. From the collecting container the liquid can also be drained and used as liquid fertilizer.

Worm box

The worm box is usually a fully enclosed box made ​​of untreated, breathable wood, because as the oxygen supply to the box contents is ensured.

Worm boxes are suitable except for the production of compost also for use in environmental education. Equipped with a viewing window, the worm box opened the possibility to observe the otherwise hidden processes of composting and humus formation directly. Even thus be watching in their work, which is especially for children an experience that small soil organisms.

To obtain the worm humus, it is not necessary to separate the worm box on the basis of a perforated plate into two chambers. A proven method is the following:

• The entire chest area is still used at the beginning
• Is the box filled after some time nearly in half, the content is heaped on one page
• On the vacated side, the fresh kitchen waste are entered from now on only; the compost worms and their helpers get their food in the new half
• Is also that half grown, allowed to half with mature worm humus dry out, with the result that after some time most living things have changed sides.
• Now can the mature worm humus "harvest", without him to seven and to harvest the compost worms from it.

The crate must be dry to avoid a diffusion gradient between the wet - wet box content and the dry environment can build up. In this way, excess water from the worm box diffuse through the (untreated ) wood outwards, while oxygen from the ambient air can diffuse into the worm box into it where it is needed by the crate residents.

Flat composting with compost worms

In order to utilize large amounts of organic material ( horse manure ) to worm humus, the aerobic composting is flat with compost worms. Here, the composting material is applied over a large area and thin, so that the compost worms can process the material before a thermophilic reaction occurs. So there are no odors.