Vermiculture... composting with worms.

The nutritional value of soil is hard to tell just by looking at it. The darker the soils the more probable that more organic matter is there. Did you know that the richest soil around is made up mostly of earthworm castings, which is the earthworms manure? The earthworms waste products add valuable nutrients to any soil. The concentrations of nitrogen, calcium, magnesium, and phosphates are all higher in soil that has earthworms. The movement of the earthworms through the soil loosens it up and makes it valuable to all gardeners and to many others. The enriched soil is naturally processed by the earthworms.

As the earthworm passes through the soil it eats, decomposes, and deposits the castings. The earthworm neutralizes the material by the secretions of calcium carbonate from glands near the earthworm's gizzard. The gizzard breaks the material down to a very fine texture and then it is digested by the earthworm. Continuing on through the earthworm's digestive tract, there are hormones, enzymes etc. that continue to breakdown the material. When it passes out in the form of castings, it is a rich and high quality humus material. These casts are not only high in nutrients but also high in beneficial bacteria for the soil.

If you have a lawn and you use insecticide, you may want to rethink it. Try using a natural form of insect control because the insecticide will make the earthworms burrow very deep into the soil, unable to help your lawn. If you do not use insecticide, the beneficial earthworms will stay toward the top of your lawn where soil aerification is needed. The earthworms consume thatch also.

Most gardeners have a compost pile where they throw all of their vegetable scraps and dried leaves etc. It takes some time for all that to break down into usable organic matter. If you put earthworms in the pile the decomposition will take place much faster. To have plenty of earthworms be sure the pile is moist at all times or the earthworms will die.

All fertile areas of this planet have, at least once, passed through the bodies of earthworms.
- Charles Darwin

Commercial worm farming, technically known as vermiculture, got it's start in the bait industry. In the 1800's fishermen got lazy and entrepreneurial folks realized there was money to be made in selling earthworms to fisherman.

Concurrently, in the twentieth century people began to explore more thoroughly the role of earthworms in soil cultivation, aeration, and plant growth. Although science, through people like Darwin, showed the important role of the earthworm in agriculture, worms for the bait industry took off.

Small Scale Vermicomposting

Small-scale systems may use a wide variety of bins. Often, small-scale composters build their own bins. Companies also sell such bins. Commonly, bins are made of old plastic containers, wood, Styrofoam containers, or metal containers.

Some materials are less desirable than others in bin construction. Styrofoam is believed to release toxins into the earthworms' environment[citation needed]. Metal containers often conduct heat too readily, are prone to rusting, and may release heavy metals into compost.

Bins should have holes in the sides to allow air to flow, and a spout that can be opened or closed or holes in the bottom to drain into a collection tray. Plastic bins require more drainage than wooden ones because they are non-absorbent. The design of a small bin usually depends on where an individual wishes to store the bin and how they wish to feed the worms. Most small bins can be grouped into three categories:

Non-continuous – an undivided container. A layer of bedding materials is placed in the bin, lining the bottom. Worms are added and organic matter for composting is added in a layer above the bedding. Another layer is added on top of the organic matter and the worms will start to compost the organic matter and bedding. This type of bin is often used because it is small and easy to build. But it is relatively difficult to harvest because all the materials and worms must be emptied out when harvesting.
Continuous vertical flow – a series of trays stacked vertically. The bottom-most tray is filled first, in a similar fashion to any other bin, but is not harvested when it is full. Instead, a thick layer of bedding is added on top and the tray above is used for adding organic material. Worms finish composting the materials in the bottom tray and then migrate to the one above. When a sufficient number of worms have migrated, the vermicompost in the bottom tray can be collected and should be relatively free of worms. These bins provide an easier method of harvesting.
Continuous horizontal flow – a series of trays lined horizontally. This method too relies on the earthworms migrating towards a food source in order to ease the process of harvesting. The bin is usually constructed to be similar to a non-continuous bin but longer horizontally. It is divided in half, usually by a large gauge screen of chicken wire. One half is used until it becomes full, then the other half is filled with bedding and organic matter. In time, the worms migrate to the side with the food and the compost can be collected. These bins are larger than a non-continuous system but still small enough to be used indoors, with the added bonus of being easier to harvest.

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“Worms seem to be the great promoters of vegetation, which would proceed but lamely without them, by boring, perforating, and loosening the soil, and rendering it pervious to rains and the fibres of plants, by drawing straws and stalks of leaves and twigs into it, and, most of all, by throwing up such infinite numbers of lumps of earth called worm-casts, which, being their excrement, is a fine manure for grain or grass.
- The Rev. Gilbert White of Selborne, 1777

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