Question

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT COMPOSTING AND VERMICULTURE

Answer 1

Worms eat two times their body weight each day.

1 lb./worms = 1,000 worms ( 1 16 worms “ eat ” 2 lbs./food )

Red worms ( a lot smaller than earthworms ) are great composters—the biggest eaters. They will

come to an outdoor compost bin and also can be ordered.

Worms:

• have no eyes, no ears, no teeth
• have 5 hearts, breathe through their skin
• lay eggs ( cocoons ) inside cocoon are 2-3 baby worms
• cocoon is shaped like a lemon—worms come out ends
• Can often see cocoons in healthy soil—look like little styrofoam pieces in potting mix— except they are goldish in color.
• Wastes of worms make excellent fertilizer
• Myth: You really can ’ t cut an earthworm ( or red worm ) in half and have each end grow back.

Good in compost bin: fruits, vegetables, egg shells ( c alcium from egg shells needed by worms )

Not good: meat, bread, cheese

Bury foods—keeps animals away

Compost can be mixed with soil ( about 1 part compost to 3 parts soil )

If you have an inside composter, you need a place for the liquid to drain out—liquid is great fertilizer ( a gain, 1 part compost to 3 parts soil )

Turn material in compost bin to aerate.

If wastes ( banana peels, apple cores, etc. ) are thrown in a landfill—will not decompose to aid soil not enough air and water in a landfill—it is packed too tightly. People have dug up landfill areas 5-10 years later and found banana peels not even partially decomposed.

Composting is important because it puts nutrients that plants need to grow back into the soil.