Why is vermicompost so great?

Why is compost that is produced with large numbers of worms assisting in the decomposition better than ordinary compost?  Vermicomposts are generally of finer structure, contain more nutrients and have higher microbial activity than other types of compost.

To appreciate why vermicompost is so great, you have to understand the inner workings of worms.  Many tiny organisms, bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes, enzymes and protozoa live in the worm's gastrointestinal systems aiding digestion. They are microscopic and thrive by the hundreds of thousands within a single worm. These organisms assist in preparing the nutrients to be absorbed and utilized by the worm.  The worm produces numerous enzymes which aid in its own survival, including an insecticide and an antibiotic.  These enzymes emulsify with mucus produced in the worm's gut and sheath the castings when expelled through the anus. Plants are able to absorb the insecticidal and antibiotic enzymes through their roots to further utilize them in the plants' ongoing battle to ward off insects and disease.

Worm castings test low on a normal soil report. The nitrogen level of typical vermicompost tests at less than 1 percent. Phosphorous tests around 1 percent or lower. Potassium tests slightly higher than 1 percent. These levels appear to be low but all of the nutrients in a casting are in a form that is readily available for use by the plants.  This low test goes against the advertising by chemical companies that higher and higher NPK ratings are needed to grow plants.  That is true within chemical fertilizers only!  Castings achieve the same or higher rates of growth without the high concentrations of NPK that is now known to be an environmental hazard to our waterways and soils.  Castings provide a successful and balanced growth to all plants without overuse of any one nutrient.

Vermicompost not only helps plants grow better, it also helps protect plants from diseases and pests.  All thanks to the lowly worm.  If you are starting your own seeds this spring, mixing vermicompost with your potting mix will give you great results.

Converting to a no-till garden

The idea of gardening without rototilling or turning the soil may seem like an impossible idea.  Our garden is proof that it not only is possible, it actually makes gardening enjoyable.  Less weeds, less watering, planting in less than ideal weather conditions are only a few of the benefits of a no-till garden.

The key to a no-till garden is mulching. Mulch keeps the soil moist and cooler. It prevents water from evaporating from the soil and a hard crust forming on the top layer.  Mulch keeps weed seeds from seeing the light of day and germinating.  Most importantly, it adds organic matter to the soil that provides the habitat necessary for microorganisms.

Start this spring with a portion of your garden.  Begin by marking where the planting beds and the walking paths will be.  Determine how far you can comfortable reach from the walking aisle.  That should be half the width of the planting bed (rows are generally between 32-40" wide).  The width of the walking path should allow for a wheelbarrow, wagon, cart, etc. to be used.  If the ground is full of weeds, use newspaper as a barrier.  Place approx. 6 sheets thick of newspaper covering the entire planting bed.  Wet the paper thoroughly.  Next cover the paper with compost.  Make sure the compost is completely decomposed.  It should have an earthy smell and be the color of 70% cocoa.  If it smells, don't use it.  Allow it to finish decomposing.  If you don't have access to quality compost, you may use decomposed manure, straw, shredded leaves or a combination of all three.  Do not use wood chips or bark mulch in the planting bed.  It would be ideal to do this in the fall but if it is done in the spring, allow a few weeks for the microbes to start working.  When you plant, just push the mulch aside, plant and pull the mulch back over the soil.

If you have been gardening without chemical fertilizers or pesticides, you should have a decent microbe population.  A good test is to dig a 1'x1'x1' hole in the soil in the spring.  If the soil is healthy, you should find about 75 worms in the soil from the hole.  I know that sounds that a crazy number but our soil does have that many worms in the spring.

If you are just transitioning to a chemical free garden, you will need to work at restoring the microbes.  Good compost, especially vermicompost will accelerate the life building. 

Happy gardening!

The Long-term Effects of Tillage

Many farmers, gardeners and homesteaders avoid monoculture and harsh synthetic chemicals. However, many people committed to sustainable agriculture unknowingly till the soil in ways that inhibit long-term soil improvement.

Tillage of soil releases a flush of nutrients, which can give an impressive initial boost to crop growth. But this surge of available nutrients results mostly from the death of large numbers of soil organisms, whose biomass decomposes rapidly into the soil. These nutrients tend to be in soluble and volatile forms, and if not taken up immediately by plant roots, are leached to groundwater or outgassed to the atmosphere. In the meantime, life cycles of many soil species are disrupted — fungal threads are broken, and earthworm burrows are destroyed — and it can be some time before their populations recover. If the next tillage occurs before they have done so, we have started a cycle which degrades the health and diversity of the soil food web.

One of the worst effects of excess tillage is the loss of carbon bound in the soil in the form of humus. Oxygen is necessary to soil life, which is a major reason we work to improve aeration in soil through creation of looser, more open “pore structure.” Excessive exposure of the soil to oxygen, however, as occurs in heavy tillage, leads to oxidation of the carbon content and its loss to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide (CO_²). Not only is fertility — which is so dependent on humus content — impaired, but high-tillage agriculture is a major, and growing, cause of accumulation of CO_², a  greenhouse gas, in the atmosphere.

The amounts of carbon involved are not trivial: Every 1 percent increase of carbon sequestered in a garden’s soil is estimated to be equivalent to the weight of all the carbon in the atmosphere above that garden, right out to the vacuum of space. By reducing tillage while adding all the organic matter we can, we reverse CO_² emission: Carbon is bound up in soil in the form of humus. The solution to climate change begins in your back yard.