An Update On My Home Vermicomposting Project: Raising Earthworms as Pets to Help Mother Earth

I started raising African Nightcrawler (ANC) earthworms February of this year. The worms I bought then weighed one kilo that were placed in two [half-full] sacks of pre-composted kitchen and garden waste.

It took me about three months to get the hang of it. I had to deal with worms escaping from their bins, scorching heat due to el nino, and worm food recipe.

Having started with two sacks of substrate, I now have 15 sacks of substrate. Each sack contains at least one-half kilo of African Nightcrawlers(ANC).

Starting couple of months ago, I have been collecting banana peels from the nearest public market because our kitchen and garden wastes are not enough to feed the worms.

I don't shred the banana peels anymore since I don't have a shredding machine. Manual shredding just takes too much time and effort.

I fill up each sack with banana peels weighing about 30 kilos and wait for two weeks before introducing one-fourth kilo of worms. I sort the vermicomposted substrate after sixty (60) days.

I have estimated my worm inventory at ten (10) kilos at the least. This includes escapees that meander in the garden. I use composted materials as mulch to feed escapee worms. Worm traps are set around the garden whenever there's a new sack.

I have been selling excess worms since July. I fully recovered the Php1,000.00 initial cost of worms in that month alone. Not bad.

More importantly, almost 100% of our biodegradable household solid waste is vermicomposted. Apart from kitchen and garden wastes, paper waste is also added to the sacks.

Vermicomposting allows me to do my part in saving Mother Earth.