Worms and Composting
The proper name for composting with worms is vermicomposting for those
interested. Whatever you call it, still comes down to the same thing, that is
using worms to compost material that would otherwise be added to the ever
growing heap of refuse.
Normal composting methods do not allow the introduction of cooked vegetables or
even small scraps of meat since these will encourage vermin and such like. Worms
composting does allow the addition of cooked produce, in fact it is said that if
something once lived it can be composted by worms. Because of the enormous
appetite of the worms the food does not have time to begin to smell as could be
the case with normal composting methods. With normal composting pathogens are
only killed in the heap reaches a certain temperature, worms however destroy the
pathogens as they pass through from one end to the other. The time taken from
adding material to a normal compost heap and getting a usable product is much
longer than with the use of worms. Another advantage is that large quantities of
liquid are produced by the worms and can be collected and provides a dilutable
liquid feed.
Rather than bore some of you to tears with facts and statistics before you get
to the real juicy bits, I have added a list of pages below to take you to the
relevant bits about worm composting. Oh for those interested there are some
facts and figures on the sorts of benefits vermicomposting can produce. The
sources of the data are referenced so you can either get the books or else check
out the websites as they appear.