Know Your Worm-Based Products
Introduction
The worm has a pretty straightforward yet highly underrated role on this planet: digesting decomposing organic matter into layers of earth or humus. How your worm-based products are prodcued is key to unlocking the potential benefits for your production system.
Aristotle labelled the earthworm as the “intestines of the soil”, while Cleopatra declared them sacred and Charles Darwin spent the last 39 years of his life studying them, stating that they were more important to the economy than the cow.
As modern agriculture faces increasing challenges, more farmers and gardeners are embracing the power of the humble worm, which have been cultivating and enriching our soils for over 200 million years.
Farming practices have changed greatly over the last 200 years. Generally, our soils are
- depleted of organic matter
- have poor structure and low fertility
- low in earthworm population
The application of worm-based products is an effective way to provide plants with essential nutrients and other compounds (particularly amino acids) needed for healthy growth while at the same time promoting environmental conditions critical to encouraging organic matter and earthworm populations.
Recently, worm-based products have exploded on the market; understanding how each product is made and how it fits into your production system is critical to unlocking their full potential.
A vermiwash most effective worm-based product for broadacre ag
Vermiwash is a brown coloured, odourless, liquid fertiliser, which is collected after passes via a column of worm culture.
A vermiwash contains mucus excreted from worms, a variety of macro- and micronutrients, beneficial microorganisms, growth hormones, vitamins, enzymes, and amino acids and is therefore, a good source of plant nutrition in sustainable agriculture.
Used as a foliar spray and inoculant for crops, it’s ability to be applied directly to leaf or seed makes it the most efficient worm product used in agriculture.
Vermicompost / vermicasts are rich in essential nutrients
Vermicompost is rich in essential nutrients for the plant and soil. It is also a habitat of many plant enzymes, plant growth hormones, vitamins and beneficial microorganisms.
While compost formation relies on microorganisms, time and heat to decompose organic matter, vermicompost is a cool composting that combines the forces of microorganisms and worms, significantly reducing composting time and human error.
Vermicompost is much higher in plant-available nutrients than compost as a product. It can be used as a soil amendment to improve soil structure and water-holding capacity while providing a habitable environment for beneficial microbes, plant growth hormones and enzymes.
Compost extracts compliment worm-based products
A compost extract is a liquid fertiliser produced by submerging compost or vermicasts in water and allowing the nutrients to bubble, blow off or spin out of the compost and disperse into the water. They make a nutrient and microbial rich water source for your foliar applications.
Benefits of Worm-Based (Vermiculture) Products
- Disease and Pest control
- Improved soil aeration and water-holding capacity
- Increased nutrient uptake and plant growth
- Improved soil health and fertility
- Resilience to abiotic and biotic stress factors
NutriSoil Vermiculture Products
The NutriSoil journey began on the Maddock family farm in 1990. Five years later, NutriSoil Biological Solution was being distributed directly to farmers. Developed by Graham Maddock, NutriSoil uses a unique vermiculture recycling system to produce a concentrated vermiwash, and now its vermi castings are available to the public.
The team at NutriSoil understands that diet and environmental conditions are essential to ensuring ideal worm health and a consistent product packed with the benefits secreted from worms. A recent study conducted by AgriFutures highlights the importance of diet on worm health and the composition of their end product, in this case, vermicastings.
NutriSoil products contain live microorganisms. Great care is taken to ensure the product is fresh before it is packaged and delivered to customers. While in most cases, other worm liquids only pass through the worm culture once, NutriSoil Biological Solution is recycled numerous times, ensuring a highly concentrated liquid. The resulting liquid contains non-nutrient growth promotants, amino acids, antibodies, hormones and plant-available nutrients, along with a diversity of microorganisms.
Products
NutriSoil Biological Solution
- High in microbial diversity
- Higher nutrient content than castings
- Fast acting and easy to apply to the seed and leaf
- Many non-microbial benefits, eg amino acids, auto inducers
- Foliar application and seed inoculation to stimulate photosynthesis and root growth
NutriSoil Worm Castings
- Available in 3mm, 5mm and 10mm screen sizes
- Lower baterical diversity, higher fungal diversity
- Excellent for use as a soil amendment for its overall microbial diversity and biomass
- Spread directly to soil using a belt spreader, incorporated during sowing
- Excellent for Tow and Fert and for extracts
- Improves soil structure and water-holding capacity.
NutriSoil Worm Castings used in Compost Extract (3mm)
- Lower microbial biomass and diversity compared to NutriSoil Biological Solution and Castings.
- Microbial diversity different to other NutriSoil products due to aerated extraction method
- Use in Tow and Fert or as a water source
New discoveries continuously highlight the beneficial role microbes and their compounds play in soil and plant health. From disease and pest control to drought and frost resilience, the mighty worm has a pivotal role in the future of agriculture, but then again, this has been well-known for over two millennia.
Understanding how worm-based products are produced is critical when deciding where to purchase them. This will be key to improving soil health and providing additional benefits to your farm and/or garden’s soil health and long-term sustainability.
