Breeding worms - a direct path to increased yields

Even people far from agriculture know about the so-called earthworms in the soil . In fact, there are many species of these creatures in the world, and in some countries breeding worms is a very profitable business.

What is the basis for such a demand for them? Not only amateur fishermen are interested in a lot of their traditional bait in the land, but also gardeners who grow a variety of agricultural and ornamental crops. Even ancient farmers noticed that a large number of such underground inhabitants positively affects plants. The breeding of worms in Ancient Greece and Egypt was based on the opinion of famous scientists of the time. Thus, for example, Aristotle gave them the name "the intestines of the earth."

Already, modern researchers have experimentally ascertained that worms process plant remains and land, which significantly enrich the soil with nutrients. Already at the end of the 50s of the 20th century, in countries with an intensive form of agriculture, farmers started breeding worms specifically for their farms. Then, for the first time, the scientific concept of "vermiculture" appeared, denoting the breeding of these living beings on a large scale. At the same time, a worm, called California, was wrought, thanks to which vermiculture spread throughout the world. This is a new breed that was obtained at the University of California by hybridizing various types of earthworm. An intensely red color distinguishes it from less colored brethren.

Breeding worms allows you to receive large amounts of vermicompost, which is a product of their digestive system. It has a number of useful substances. It contains a huge number of different microorganisms, most of which are nitrogen fixators and actinomycetes, which promote active plant growth. Virtually no pathogenic microorganisms exist in the vermicompost. In this substance the concentration of magnesium and calcium increases in 2, potassium - in 10, phosphorus - in 7 times. Due to the so-called biostimulants in biohumus, it has a strong stimulating effect on the plant and its yield.

The California breed allows the breeding of worms at home and on an industrial scale. The habitat of these creatures is organic substrates (composts, manure, organic garbage and waste). California worms are not bred in the soil. They are real long-livers (live to 16 years), with each individual postponing in one season about 20 cocoons. Their gluttony is extreme. For a day, the worm consumes the substrate 2 times its weight.

They perfectly feel themselves in relatively small wooden boxes, practically not creeping out of them, which makes breeding worms at home a rather simple process. First, you need to stock up deep containers with a solid bottom, on which dry sand is poured. Further in the container put low wooden boxes with small holes. They pour special substrates or a mixture of manure, organic waste and soil. Breeding worms begins with the "settling" of the container. They are laid out on the surface of the moistened substrate, and the container is covered with polyethylene.

After the worms have processed the substrate, 2 boxes are put on 1 box, and then 3. After processing the substrate in 2 box, the worms crawl into 3, and the first two boxes with the biohumus formed are released. Constantly changing the boxes in places, you can get a fairly large amount of quality fertilizer, which is used for the intended purpose. Wet sand from the bottom of the container is changed to dry and used as a useful additive to the soil. In the winter, Californian worms are kept in warm cellars.

The breeding of ordinary earthworms can be done in compost pits, in which organic wastes, grass and leaves are regularly added. The processed biohumus, together with worms, is poured onto the garden in rain weather. Such worms also enrich the soil with oxygen.