Online Reporter
Andrew Mangwarara
VERMICULTURE is the practice of keeping worms to improve soil fertility.
Red soil worms are commonly used to produce high-quality compost.
Vermicompost is a nutrient-rich fertiliser that benefits most garden plants.
Produced by red worms, vermicompost offers many advantages to gardeners.
It is organic, requires no additives and its nutrients are easily absorbed by plants.
Thanks to the mucus secreted by the worms, the compost resists runoff, ensuring plants remain healthier.
This medium supports plenty of beneficial microorganisms, increasing soil activity.
Plant growth improves because vermicompost contains natural hormones that enrich the soil. It also enhances the soil’s water-holding capacity. Nutrients are released slowly, reducing leaching.
Worms can be fed with food scraps, tea bags, citrus and other suitable organic matter.
Ultimately, these small creatures play a big role in soil fertility and should be encouraged in every garden.
To keep them alive, gardeners must add plenty of organic matter and avoid inorganic fertilisers, which can kill them.
Earthworms are especially important.
Their castings (waste) contain five times more nitrogen, seven times more phosphorus and a thousand times more bacteria than the original soil.
They improve soil structure by creating a crumbly texture and breaking up hard, impermeable layers that block water infiltration.
Earthworms also help repair damaged soils by restoring nutrients and removing toxins.
In addition, they are vital to the food chain, providing nourishment for small animals such as hedgehogs, birds and frogs.
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