Boulder Vermicomposting

Worms in aquaculture aka vermiponics

Via Bentley at redwormcomposting.com, I discovered vermiponics.  Basically, vermiponics is similar to aquaponics, but instead of using fish as the animal portion of that system, you use some kind of composting worm.  Here’s an introductory article talking about Bentley’s experiments.

This kind of integrated system fascinates me (which is why I drew up a chicken chart for redworms), so I went looking for other information.  Someone has registered vermiponics.com, but there’s not a lot of information on that website.  (His thesis, “Ecologically Engineered Primary Production in Central Queensland, Australia – Integrated Fish and Crayfish Culture, Constructed Wetlands, Floral Hydroponics, and Industrial Wastewater”, does look very interesting, as PhD theses go.)

Someone named Phill from Australia has posted some diagrams of vermiponics systems, on his blog and in a powerpoint presentation (starting on page 18).  He’s also posted a video about it.

There also appears to be some discussion about vermiponics in at least one of the Aquaponics forums: here’s a thread about redworms for solids removal and a general vermiponics thread.

I haven’t had time or space or weather to experiment with this type of system.  Do you have any experience?  Success stories or failure stories?

Add comment March 12th, 2010

Vermicomposting on the History Channel

Via the_worm_bin, this video examines a large scale verimcomposting operation:

7 million worms, accelerating the composting proces form 6-9 months to 40 days.

Add comment April 16th, 2009

Worm Tower Video

Youtube is fantastic; what a great way to share knowledge across the world. Here’s a video that explains how to build a worm tower in your yard:

Basically, the idea is to provide a safe place for worms to eat food scraps, while at the same time letting the worms move around your garden. When the worms move, they will distribute castings and aerate the soil Even red wrigglers and other epigeic species will move earth around to some extent.

I think this is a fantastic idea. It fits with the permaculture idea of using biosystems to minimize work. It enriches soil. If you make more than one worm tower, it creates redundant sources of worms. Depending on climate, it may make worm keeping outside a possibility.

However, there are some downsides as well. The PVC pipes recommended in the video are made of fossil fuels. Any substitute that will be durable probably has a high embedded energy. Depending on location and your type of worm, you may be introducing an exotic species. And obviously, a worm tower is not useful in an apartment or on a balcony.

With all that said, I’m grateful to the person who put the video on YouTube for introducing me to a new idea in such a pleasant manner.

Add comment December 11th, 2008

Worm Charming Video

If you don’t want to buy worms from a worm keeper, you can feel free to try to charm worms from the ground! Here’s a video of an annual worm charming contest in Britain.

It was held May 4, 2008, in Blackawton, Devon, so mark your calenders for 2009.

Add comment September 15th, 2008