The engineers of soil

FERNDALE – A worm bin might be the thing you need for all your kitchen waste.

Earthworms thrive in a mixture of kitchen peelings, garden waste and vermicompost.

Have you ever considered the amount of kitchen and garden waste you dispose of every year?

According to Ken Reid, founder of the Earthworm Interest Group South Africa (Eigsa), an average person will ‘produce’ 250g of kitchen peelings daily. Instead of this waste ending up in a landfill, Reid believes in working with what nature has provided and has grown vegetables with vermicompost, which is made from earthworms since 2004.

“I have always known worms were beneficial. From the age of four, my mother said I could have a patch in the garden and she always told me to look after the earthworms,” Reid added.

Worm bins – plastic bins filled with damp newspaper, kitchen and garden waste and earthworms – produce vermicompost and leachate that is natural food for the soil.

Plants absorb the soil’s nutrients but earthworms, through eating decomposing matter, replace those nutrients through their faeces. Earthworms are also important as they aerate and create drainage systems in the soil.

With an established 80-litre worm bin, Reid said he receives 40kg of vermicompost every month, of which he uses 250ml per square metre. A worm bin normally takes six months to become established.

Reid’s vegetable garden shows how plants can flourish in healthy soil. He commented that since he began to make and use vermicompost, his plants have been healthier and more productive. Last year, alone, his avocado tree produced 300 avocados.

“The future depends on food production. Artificial fertilizers are more destructive by putting chemicals in the ground. The key is to enriching the soil,” Reid explained.

What Reid’s family does not consume of the bountiful produce is then divided among neighbours and sold. Reid hopes there might be a market in the area soon, where he can sell surplus produce.

Details: Earthworm Interest Group South Africa, eigsa@lantic.net.

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