Earthworms are known to be valuable allies to those who cultivate: in fact, they work the soil by transforming organic matter (manure and plant residues) into fertile humus, ready to be used by plants.
However, not everyone knows that it is very easy to do vermicomposting yourself and that you can also set up a small worm farm under your house to transform organic waste into natural fertilizer. Worm castings are, in fact, one of the best organic fertilizers and soil amendments for vegetables.
For those who grow a garden, they keep a small litter of worms in which vermicomposting is a valuable resource, as well as an environmentally friendly form of waste disposal that in some municipalities also translates into energy savings. taxes.
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Make earthworms for hobbies
Small-scale earthworm farming can be done without the need for special structures or equipment. Earthworms can just be in the ground, outside without any cover. All you need is a wheelbarrow, shovel and pitchfork, and the availability of water to soak the worm bedding, and the term bedding simply refers to all the worms and their soil.
It is not necessary to build anything, if you wish, you can contain the space for aesthetic reasons with stones or wooden planks. Earthworms should be in direct contact with the ground and there should be no large pebbles at the bottom. If handled correctly, earthworms do not cause much odor, so they do not cause any nuisance to the house or neighbors. As a size, a suitable litter box can be made to dispose of kitchen, orchard, and garden waste from around two square meters. In a litter box of this size, 100,000 earthworms (adults, eggs and babies) can be placed. To start vermicomposting, it is better to buy a good quantity of worms (at least 15 thousand) to act as a starter. You can find Compagnoni earthworms.
Earthworms must be fed regularly and well moistened: without drying out the soil, but avoiding stagnation. The amount of litter wetting obviously depends on the weather, certainly in winter it will be less frequent and in the warmer months shading the litter can reduce irrigation.
How much space do you need
Two square meters is a good home worm plant, suitable for those who make a self-producing garden and humus. If, on the other hand, you want to try to start an income-generating activity, you have to increase the number of litters, which does not fundamentally change the methodology. Vermiculture is an activity that can be started with a very low investment and requires little permit and bureaucracy, so it can be interesting.
Raising worms at home is great from an ecological point of view: it turns waste into compost, but it is also economical, producing free compost with little work. You also get worms that can be put in the ground, used as fishing bait, or used as animal feed if you also have a small chicken coop.