Small Scale Vermicomposting

In this video Rhonda Sherman explains everything you need to know if you want to start with vermicomposting: the art of processing your food- and gardenwaste to valuable, healthy wormcompost. Rhonda has over 30 years of experience in vermiculture resarch and consulting. She has published several books and she also organizes the Annual Vermiculture Conference, which has drawn participants from around the globe.

Content video:
00:03    Rhonda Sherman Vermicomposting Specialist
00:42    Earthworms in general
00:50    Three different groups of earthworms
01:02    Anecic earthworms
01:29    Endogeic earthworms
01:51    Epigeic earthworms
03:02    Eisenia fetida
03:21    Red wiggler, tiger worm, brandling worm or red worm
04:12    Eisenia fetida is ideal earthworm for vermicomposting
04:37    Eisenia fetida adapts well to different conditions
05:06    Eisenia fetida is less temperamental
05:34    Eisenia fetida has a better temperament
06:33    Eisenia fetida follow the wetness
07:07    Eisenia fetida has to be moist to breathe
07:12    Starting out with a small wormbin
07:36    Vermicomposting needs to be a shallow process
07:50    Materials can heat up and the worms can die
07:57    Vermicomposting is cold and shallow composting
08:36    The worms have to live in some type of bedding
09:24    Bedding of shredded paper
09:49    Moisten the shredded paper
10:20    Well finished compost as a bedding
10:28    Aged horse manure
10:35    Coconut coir
10:53    Peat
11:31    Start with a 1000 earthworms or ‘Red wigglers’
11:49    Buy your earthworms from a wormgrower
11:54    1000 earthworms is roughly a pound
12:00    1 pound is roughly 0,45 kilogram
12:12    People always tend to overfeed
13:07    Foodwaste in wormbin attracts flying insects
13:29    Cover the foodwaste in the wormbin
14:12    Harvesting the vermicompost
14:26    Light separation method
16:32    Horizontal harvesting
16:57    Visually divide the wormbin in half
18:13    Vertical harvesting
19:40     Leachate versus vermicompost tea  
20:52    Pathogens in the wormbin
21:49    Stinky mystery liquid
22:35    You should not have excess liquid from wormbin
22:45    Prevent overfeeding the worms
22:52    The worms are more laidback eaters
22:59    Taking a chance with leachate
23:09    Vermicompost tea
23:30    Aerated and non-aerated
24:38    Soil drench:  just pour it on the soil or spray it on plants
25:14    Use the vermicompost tea within 4 hours after brewing
25:40    Vermicomposting Specialist at NC State University

presentation: Rhonda Sherman
video production: Styn Swinkels
music: bensound.com

Rhonda Sherman is the director of the Compost Learning Lab at North Carolina State University and is a leading expert on vermicomposting. She has published extensively about composting and vermicomposting. Rhonda travels frequently to present workshops and to consult with farmers, businesses, and institutions on the development and management of vermicomposting systems. This interview was recorded in Amsterdam, the Netherland in summer 2022.
© 2022 DDC Abcoude, the Netherlands

Nederlandstalige online cursus ‘Compostwormen en wormencompost’
https://permades.maatos.nl/cursus/compostwormen-en-wormencompost/
Deze uitgebreide cursus vertelt je alles wat je moet weten om met de wormen je gft-afval succesvol en probleemloos om te zetten in hele goede wormencompost. Leer alles over de compostwormen, wat ze eten en hoe je ze verzorgt, over de verschillende soorten wormenbakken, de mogelijke problemen die je kunt tegenkomen en oplossingen hiervoor.
Wat is wormencompost, waarom is het zo goed voor de tuin, hoe pas je het toe en hoe maak je ‘actief beluchte wormencompost thee’. 
Ook toegelicht wordt het grootschalige kweken van wormen en produceren van wormencompost, toepassingen in de landbouw en bij afvalverwerking en andere mogelijkheden met compostwormen. 
De cursus bestaat uit 33 videolessen met in totaal bijna 3,5 uur aan video. Na aanschaf van de cursus is deze gedurende twee jaar online toegankelijk. Bekijk de video: https://youtu.be/330myMKbLXo