17/02/2020
VERMI-CULTURE
The secret to organic farming is vermi-composting. Combine it with garbage management, it can do a whole world of good in urban centers, especially slum areas. This practice can transform dark, dreary and depressing inner-cities into clean, grean, and sweet smelling dwelling. The poor do not have to live in stinky, smelly, sickening situation. They can have dignity and live healthy. What they cannot eat or use, they can sell and save for the rainy days or send their kids to school. It's not the end, but a start to fighting poverty and breaking the cycle of dependency.
I will try to explain in detail how this can be done:
1. Garbage Management. Where there is human, there is garbage. Where there is garbage, there is food for the worms. First separate biodegradable and non-biodegradable. The NB can be reused, repurposed, recycled, and redeemed. Some can be used as containers or sold. The biodegradables are valuable food for the worms. They can be composted first. So that they will not be invaded by flies or scavenged by dogs or cats, BD can be buried or covered with several inches of saw dusts.
2. Composting. The composting process is easy with worms. Saw dust has been our best tool to keep flies and smell out. With the right thickness of the saw dust, the worms can work under undisturbed. Choose rotting saw dust as they serve as food for the worms as well. Its good to mix the compost with different varieties for the worms to have balanced diet. Goat manure and rotting leaves are great food. For some reason, newspaper layered has been brought up even by fish bait growers. Top layer should be old cloth to keep the moisture and surface damp.
3. Worm farming. The pictures in this post tell a lot about different methods of culturing worms. Different strokes for different folks. A lot has to do with available resources. Nothing fancy or high tech. Just make sure the worms are happy. If they are happy, trust me, you will be happy too.
4. Gardening. The cast are great source of organic fertilizer and best for container or hanging gardens. Known in some circles as "black gold", they cost 50 pesos per kilo in Cebu, more in other places like Manila and Baguio. The casts are also used as insect repellant mix.
5. Feeds. Worms are 50% protein or more. Few can match its protein content by the pound or kilo. Great feed for any livestock. Mix it with any homegrown feed mix, the protein content will spike up. To think that it is almost free, just labor, this is a gift from heaven.
6. Back to recycling. This system produce plants, and what part of plants that cannot be eaten or sold is turned to compost again. Animals give manure, manure then becomes feed to worms. I like the cycle of Aquaponics because it creates multiple layers of recycling that comes back to its original source: Fish eat worms, worms eat composts. Composts came from plants. Plants were nourished by water from the fish pond. Water from the fish pond also nourish the duckweed. The duckweeds are eaten by the fish. Fish intestines are great fertilizers or mixed with 50% molasses the become fertilizer concoction ( Fish Animo Acid).
By Sal Cariaga of PHILIPPINE ORGANIC FARMS FB Group.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.1039917332710270&type=1
https://youtu.be/4fXMZc7onaY
The Green Project with Sal Cariaga Season 1 Episode 1: Urban Gardening Learn how to make use of your plastic containers and try container gardening or better...
