Article Directory
Free Online Article Directory. For Article Authors & Publishers

Adding Vermicompost to Your Soil will Increase Vegetable Gardening Success

Vermicompost is the end result of organic material such as food waste after it has been digested by some species of earth worm. Commonly referred to as worm castings, vermicompost contains water soluble nutrients and bacteria that make a great organic fertilizer for your garden.

The process in which you feed a worm organic material and turn it into vermicompost has an actual name called vermicomposting.

Although every worm produces worm castings, the worm best for the job to produce quality vermicompost for your garden’s soil is called Eisenia foetida or the red wiggler earthworm. Most of North America will use this species of worm, but if you live in a tropical part of the world, look towards Perionyx excavatus (Blue worms) and if you have a more acidic soil then use Eisenia hortensis (night crawlers).

Vermicompost can be used to brew compost tea, a rich elixir that is sprayed on the plant’s leaves and stem as well as added to the soil so the roots of your vegetables can absorb the tea’s nutrients, and vermicompost can be mixed directly in with your soil.

You can buy vermicompost at many nurseries or garden centers, but you can actually make your own with a box, some worms, and a little water and some time.

The easiest way to make your own is to buy a large plastic or rubber container (similar to one you would store household items in), drill holes in the lid, and the sides for air ventilation, and drill holes in the bottom for water drainage. Then put down two inches of shredded newspaper, followed by shredded leaves, grass clippings (in limited quantities) and your food left scraps followed by another two inches of shredded newspaper.

To get some worms just look on your sidewalks or in the street after a heavy rainfall. They will be crawling everywhere. Their homes get flooded and they go to higher ground where it is wet but more tolerable.

You simply put the worms on top of your shredded newspaper and put the lid on. The worms will work their way down through the newspaper and find the food waste. It is very important that you keep the contents of your bin moist. Worms need a moist environment in order to thrive. A simple misting of the contents of the bin on a daily basis should suffice. As a side note, place something underneath the bin to catch any water drainage. Any moisture you capture you should then be dumped back into the bin.

You will know when it is time to retrieve and harvest your vermicompost by simply seeing that very little or no food scraps remain. There are a couple of ways to harvest the vermicompost. The first way is to dump the entire contents out, and remove the worms by hand. The second way is to divide your rubber container in half initially by only placing food scraps on one side of the container. Then when it is time to harvest the vermicompost you add food scraps to the other side. When you do this the worms will move to the side where there is food leaving you with a near wormless side of quality vermicompost.

Vermicompost is a great way to add much needed nutrients to your garden’s soil and the best part is you can do make it right in your own backyard all year round.

Author Resource:- About the Author
Bruce is the co-author of the book Vegetable Gardening for the Average Person. It is a practical easy to follow book that teaches gardeners everything from composting techniques, aeration and frost conditions, to choosing the right tools and picking the right seeds. To learn more about Mr. Tucker you can visit: AveragePersonGardening.com.
Submitted 2009-05-19 17:19:32
By: Bruce Tucker 29 or more times read
Article Read 83 Times
Article From
Article Listed
[Valid RSS feed]  Bruce Tucker's Author Feed
http://www.articlelisted.com/author-rss-feed.php?rss=779
[Valid RSS feed]  Category Rss Feed
http://www.articlelisted.com/rss.php?rss=93

Related Articles

  • The Various Ways Of Giant Hogweed Removal


    There are actually various giant hogweed eradication methods but there's no single method that will do the job alone. Often, a minimum of two(2) solutions are being used for higher chances of effectiveness. Severing is amongst the widely applied techniques in preventing the spread or killing off of hogweed. Just like many other plants, it grows by its roots and propagates through its seeds. Therefore slicing the roots seems to be the best solution, but this by itself does not guarantee success.
  • Spring is Coming


    The days are getting a little longer. In our Zone 5, Western New York neck of the woods, the sap is running. The arrowwood shrubs are red. The willow twigs are bright yellow. Snowdrops have been peaking through. It can only mean one thing. Spring will be here soon.
  • Rustic Garden Furniture


    The charm of country living is found in the rustic garden furniture. One of many big reasons individuals tend to love rustic garden furniture is as a result of it's usually not made in a manufacturing facility .The rustic garden furniture is exclusive with chairs, tables, benches, and arbors that depict early America.
  • Match Your Honey's Personality To Her Bouquet With The Help Of A Santa Rosa Florists Store


    Many times when people get ready to select a floral gift from their local Santa Rosa florists shop for someone that they care about they have a hard time determining exactly what that person would like best.
  • Why You Should Choose Office Furniture Leasing


    A business is more than just an office space. It is made up of ideas, hard work and determination. However, having an appropriate office space goes a long way towards creating the image you need to project to your clients and customers.
  • Flowers Portland Designers Help You Send Sympathy Bouquets


    You can give an arrangement of sympathy flowers Portland designers help you create. The loss of a loved one is tough to deal with, and expressing your feelings is often difficult.
  • Get Yourself A Swimming Pool For Your Back Garden This Summer Time


    Among the finest methods to take advantage of the warmer summer months is actually by unwinding within your backyard garden.
  • North American Trees Leaf Identification


    We sometimes wonder when we look at trees and say, I wonder what kind of tree that is? The proper way to identify different variations is by looking at their leaves.
  • Red Maple Leaf Identification


    The Red Maple tree is one of the most commonly found trees in North America. It is known for its ability to grow under nearly any conditions, as well as its beautiful leaf colors. These trees are often used in landscaping designs in street landscaping, parks, homes, and community centers.
  • Flower Leaf Identification - How To Know A Flower By Its Leaf


    Springtime brings about a huge variety of newly budding plants. A walk through a flower garden will reveal plants that are common and easily identified by just looking at them.

HTML Ready Article. Click on the "Copy" button to copy into your clipboard.




Firefox users please select/copy/paste as usual
Actions
Print This Article
Add To Favorites


Navigation
select
Home
select
Sign up
select
Login
select
Submit Articles
select
Submission Guidelines
select
learn more
select
Top Articles
select
About Us
select
Contact Us
select
Privacy Policy
select
RSS Feeds
   
Submit Your Articles To Our Other Article Directory
Morefreeinformation.com