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Why
Earthworms?
Earthworms improve
your soil texture, enriching it with nutrients and
microbes that are beneficial for your plants growth.
The earthworms create vermi-compost by depositing casts
on top of the soil or in their burrows by eating through
organic matter which has started to break down.
These castings are rich in nutrients such as nitrogen,
sulphur, potash, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium.
Earthworms and
Global Warming
Earthworms prevent
methane from being released into the atmosphere.
They also lock carbon into the soil, and by creating a
beneficial micro-organism rich soil, they help plants to
grow, further locking carbon in the soil, and the growth
of plants helps with creating a richer bio-mass :
more plants, more shade, more oxygen, greater trapping
of carbon dioxide, better utilisation of the water
cycle, etc.
We should all be
recycling at source this will assist in the reduction of
waste sent to the Municipal landfill sites. This
will also reduce the emissions that these sites exude.
Looking after
your earthworms:
In the beginning
your worms will need to settle down. With
the new food and bedding they need to wait a while,
until the microbial populations slowly build up.
Therefore feed rather lightly for the first few weeks.
Just bear in mind that they slow down over the cooler
months.
What to feed:
Vegetables, fruit,
eggshells (crushed), egg boxes, shredded newspapers,
loose tea, tea bags, coffee grinds, cereal and oatmeal
(no milk). Plate scrapings (no fatty gravies, meat
or bones). Small amounts of manure. Just
make sure that the manure does not have any vermicides
in it. This could be detrimental to your worms.
Allow the manure to stand for at least a month before
introducing your worms to the manure.
Remember the smaller
the pieces the quicker your worms will work through the
food.
What not to
feed:
Meat, bones, cheese,
butter, salad dressing, citrus peels, glossy paper,
onion and greasy food.
Keep your worms happy by making sure
they have the following :
-
food and moisture
-
darkness
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