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Vermont Vermiculture
Feed a Worm...Starve a Landfill™
Feed a Worm...Starve a Landfill™
Research
Vermicomposting, or composting with worms, has many advantages over the traditional hot pile (thermophylic)
method. One advantage, especially in Vermont, is that composting with worms can be done indoors year-round
with very little effort. There are no recipes to follow, no piles to turn, and no rodents digging through your piles and
making a mess on your lawn.
The biggest advantage of vermicomposting, however, is the end product. The droppings, or castings, that
worms produce as they digest organic matter is far superior to regular compost in many ways. It promotes plant
growth and germination, suppresses disease and pests, and contains millions of beneficial microorganisms.
By composting with worms you can reduce your garbage disposal costs, improve the fertility of your soil, and
you'll never have to buy compost again. Our red worms can eat half their weight in garbage every day, turning your
kitchen scraps and other organic matter into nutrient-rich compost for your yard and garden. Diverting organic
wastes from the landfill helps the environment by reducing methane gases and adding carbon back to your soils.
The articles below describe in more detail the benefits of vermicomposting and the contributions of earthworms
to the fertility of our soil and the health of our planet.
Earthworms Castings as Plant Growth Media, by Dr. Rhonda Sherman, Extension Solid Waste Specialist, North
Carolina State University.
Vermicompost in Hawaii: Its Production and Use (Flash version), by Dr. Theodore Radovich, Sustainable and
Organic Farming Systems Laboratory, University of Hawaii.
Can Earthworms Harm the Planet? by Dr. Clive A. Edwards, Department of Entomology, The Ohio State
University. From BioCycle December 2008, Vol. 49, No. 12, p. 53 (used with permission).
Notes on Compost Teas published by National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service.
method. One advantage, especially in Vermont, is that composting with worms can be done indoors year-round
with very little effort. There are no recipes to follow, no piles to turn, and no rodents digging through your piles and
making a mess on your lawn.
The biggest advantage of vermicomposting, however, is the end product. The droppings, or castings, that
worms produce as they digest organic matter is far superior to regular compost in many ways. It promotes plant
growth and germination, suppresses disease and pests, and contains millions of beneficial microorganisms.
By composting with worms you can reduce your garbage disposal costs, improve the fertility of your soil, and
you'll never have to buy compost again. Our red worms can eat half their weight in garbage every day, turning your
kitchen scraps and other organic matter into nutrient-rich compost for your yard and garden. Diverting organic
wastes from the landfill helps the environment by reducing methane gases and adding carbon back to your soils.
The articles below describe in more detail the benefits of vermicomposting and the contributions of earthworms
to the fertility of our soil and the health of our planet.
Earthworms Castings as Plant Growth Media, by Dr. Rhonda Sherman, Extension Solid Waste Specialist, North
Carolina State University.
Vermicompost in Hawaii: Its Production and Use (Flash version), by Dr. Theodore Radovich, Sustainable and
Organic Farming Systems Laboratory, University of Hawaii.
Can Earthworms Harm the Planet? by Dr. Clive A. Edwards, Department of Entomology, The Ohio State
University. From BioCycle December 2008, Vol. 49, No. 12, p. 53 (used with permission).
Notes on Compost Teas published by National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service.
Vermont Vermiculture, LLC
211 Edson Hill Road
Stowe, VT 05672
ph: (802) 595-9681
kurt "at" greenmountainsoil.com
211 Edson Hill Road
Stowe, VT 05672
ph: (802) 595-9681
kurt "at" greenmountainsoil.com
Copyright Vermont Vermiculture, LLC. All rights reserved.