Vermicompost – Making of Vermicompost is followed by some simple steps. Here you will find Vermicompost Production Information Guide for How to Make or Prepare Vermicompost in Vermi Beds. This is an educational and informational article. Let’s start The Production Practice of Vermicompost.
There are different organic fertilizers available. Vermi compost is one of them. It plays very important role in land reformation. It helps in improving soil’s water holding capacity, plant’s nutrients uptake, Soil’s porosity etc.
- Earth worm.
Earth worms are a species of round worm found in soil. They are tubular structured. Body of earth worm is segmented. They can be seen anywhere in the world where moisture/water is available.
- Family: Lumbrucidae.
- Phylum: Annelida.
Earth worms are very important. They are called a farmer’s true friend. Barren land can be converted into fertile land. The some most important duty of an earth worm in farmer’s field are as follows:
- Maintaining soil fertility.
- Increasing porosity in agriculture land.
Vermicompost is prepared using earth worm. All species are not suitable for making compost. Species selected for composting are given in table 01.
Table: 01. Species of earth worms used in vermicomposting.
|Common Name||Other Names||Scientific Name||Remark|
|Red Whigglers||Red worm, Branding worm, Panfish worm, Californian worm, Trout worm, Tiger worm.||Eisenia fetida||Widely and commonly used earth worm species|
|European night crawlers||Dendrobaenas, Dutch night crawlers, Belgian night crawlers.||E. hortensis||Limited used species.|
|Dilong (China)||Rarely used species.|
From the above table the widely used earth worm species is Eisenia fetida. It is used both in commercial and small scale vermicompost production.
Complete biological information information of red worm is as fallow:
- Kingdom: Animalia.
- Phylum: Annelida.
- Family: Lumbricidae.
- Genus: Eisenia.
- Species: Fetida.
Note: Classification by saving, 1826.
Methods of Preparation of Vermicompst
Vermicompost can be prepared using different methods. Here we are going to describe some most popular and low cost methods.
(a). Commercial scale
- Vermi bag method.
- Commercial vermi tanks.
(b). Low Cost
- Under natural shade.
- Use of mulching.
Nowadays, HDPE or High Definition Polyethylene made bags are used as composting structure. These bags are also called vermi beds. Quality organic fertilizer can be produced by vermi beds.
The most popular colour is green. Outer surface is green coloured while inner is white. The standard size is always best. There are three-four holes in each lateral side of the bag. The number of hole can vary.
The 3 dimensional HDPE bag is water resistant and runs for a long time. The size of the bag can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.
- 12 × 4 × 2 ft (l×w×h).
- 4 × 4 × 2 (l×w×h).
- 6 × 3 × 1.5 (l×w×h).
Capacity depends on the overall size of bag. Up to 1 ton of manure can be produced form a standard sized bag.
WHERE To PURCHASE?
Vermibeds can be purchased ONLINE easily.
Always purchase a High GSM VERMIBED. 50-60 GSM Vermibeds can be purchased from any agricultural shop but it is very low in quality. A VERMIBEDS of 450 GSM is very good with UV Stabilised Capability and long life span about 3-5 years if maintained and managed properly.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: 450 GSM HDPE. “12*4*2 feet”.
Installation of Vermi beds
Step by step procedure is as fallow:
- Measure the length and width of purchased bag.
- Measure the distance between holes in bag.
- Mark the land according to these measurements.
- Dig the marked land.
- Fix fix iron angle or wooden pole in equi-distance.
- Open and spread the word bed and place it over the pole (Inserting the poles through holes).
Filling the Bed
Now follow these steps,
- Collect agriculture waste materials.
- Place first layer of agriculture waste such a used fodder. Thickness should be 5 inch.
- Shover the layer with water cane. Desired moisture level is 50-70%.
- Evenly spread vermi cast over first layer. 1 kg of vermicast contains up to 1000 worms. Vermacast is a body of vermicompost or soil which contains living worms and the eggs of worm.
- Place a layer of 4-5 inch of cow dung. The excess heat of fresh cow dung should be removed first.
- Finally, place second layer of agriculture waste. Thickness is 3-5 inch.
Commercial Vermi Tanks
Commercial vermi tanks are made from cement, sand, bricks and part of rocks. The width should be kept 3 feet. Length is adjustable.
The further procedure is same as vermi bag. Large quantity of vermicompost can be produced from commercial tanks as compare to vermi bags.
Under Natural Shade and Use of Mulching
In this method:
- No special structure is required.
- Select a shady place under a big tree and follow the same procedure for placing the layers of all materials.
- Paddy straw, polythene covers and other munching technique can be used as mulch. Mulch can prevent them from direct sun light.
Marketing: Price and Benefit
- Vermicast– 500-600 INR per kg.
- Vermicompost– 70-80 INR per kg.
- Vermi Beds: 1200 INR – 1250 INR per bed.
Production cost of vermicompost is affordable. Farmers and producers can get high price of vermicompost when they sold it to any government department e.g., forest, agriculture, horticulture and kvk.
The production of vermicompost is also promoted by the government.
Last Updated: 28-03-2021.
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