Vermicomposting: A possible small scale industry

Vermicompost appears to be generally superior to conventionally produced compost in a number of important ways; (i) Vermicompost is superior to most composts as an inoculant in the production of compost (ii) Worms have a number of other possible uses on farms, includingvalue as a high-quality animal feed (iii) Vermicomposting and vermiculture offer potential to organic farmers as sources of supplemental income. All of the above will be discussed in detail later in this document. At the same time, the reader should take note at the beginning that working with worms is a more complicated process than traditional composting: (i) It can be quicker, but to make it so generally requires more labour (ii) It requires more space because worms are surface feeders and won’t operate in material more than a meter in depth (iii) It is more vulnerable to environmental pressures, such as freezing conditions and drought (iv) Perhaps most importantly, it requires more start-up resources, either in cash (to buy the worms) or in time and labour (to grow them).