How vermicompost strengthens and protects your plants

Worm compost is a bit like the magic potion for the Gauls in Asterix and Obelix - at least according to some scientific evidence. Studies show that worm compost increases yields, serves as biological plant protection and prevents plant diseases. This article is about how worm compost can have this great effect, what is important and how you can obtain high-quality worm humus.

Worm compost is the product of compost worms (Eisenia foetida). They digest organic waste together with microorganisms and then excrete the finished worm compost. This and the liquid extract from it, also known as "worm tea", have optimal fertilizer and plant protection properties.

Strictly speaking, worm compost is not compost at all. It does not go through a thermophilic phase (= the temperature of the compost is above 60° C for several days), which is created by the rotting of the waste.

In order to protect consumers, Austrian law stipulates that compost may only be referred to as such if it has passed through a thermophilic phase. To take this into account, we subsequently call worm compost worm humus - but we mean the same thing.

If you take a closer look at the properties of worm humus and those of conventional compost, you will find some important differences:

• The total nutrient content of worm humus is higher.
• The nutrient availability of worm humus is better (= there are not only more nutrients, they can also be better absorbed by plants)^.1
• Worm humus contains more and a greater variety of microorganisms than conventional compost.

However, not all worm humus is the same. It can vary greatly in quality depending on the type of waste the worms have been fed. Worms are better at processing plant waste and less good at processing animal waste^.2 Three properties of the waste to be processed play an important role in ensuring that the worms ultimately produce high-quality worm compost:

• physical composition (moisture, organic vs. non-organic content, density...)
• Chemical properties (acidity)
• Biological quality criteria (no pathogens in the waste)

With these physical differences, it is no wonder that differences in effect can also be observed:

There is evidence that tomato plants fertilized with worm humus produce higher yields than tomato plants fertilized with conventional fertilizer. There is also a clear trend in favor of worm humus for strawberries and other fruits and vegetables.³

In these experiments, it was also observed that worm humus not only increased the yield, but also reduced the risk of diseases^.4 In a trial on tomatoes, peppers and cabbage, the number of aphids (Myzus persicae), mealybugs (Pseudococcus spp.) and cabbage white butterflies (Pieris brassicae) decreased significantly with the use of worm humus.

The exact effect is not yet known. However, there are assumptions - here is the most plausible explanation for us at the moment:

Through the work of the worms, the worm humus is enriched with microorganisms and this with an incredibly high diversity.

These microorganisms play an important role in supplying plants with all the nutrients they need. Plants and microorganisms communicate with each other and enter into a contract: Microorganisms help the plants to get all the nutrients they need, which the plant would struggle to do without their help. In return, the plant supplies the microorganisms with sugar.

At the end of the day, both are happy. Plants are more than sufficiently supplied to grow and thrive and the microorganisms have enough sugar.

As already mentioned at the beginning, worm humus is characterized by a wealth of microorganisms. Lots of microorganisms means more opportunities for plants to get the nutrients they need to grow in a productive and healthy way.

The quality of the worm humus therefore depends, among other things, on the microorganisms it contains. The more time has passed since the worms processed the waste into worm humus, the fewer microorganisms are in the worm humus. So if you want to bring a really high diversity of microorganisms into your vegetable patch, it makes sense to produce worm humus yourself in order to supply it fresh.

How do you get fresh worm humus that protects your plants and increases their yield?

You make it yourself! 🙂 It doesn't matter whether you have a garden or an apartment without a garden: Worm composting is also possible indoors with the help of a worm bin.

You can build a worm box yourself - there are numerous articles on this on the Internet or you can order a DIY kit for a worm box from us online. Then you can also build the worm box yourself, but you don't need to spend time gathering and processing the materials. We also supply our know-how in the form of instructions where everything is described in detail. Our worm box is also available as a stylish stool with a seat cushion - so you save space in your kitchen and can make yourself comfortable on the worm box while the worms work for you.

If the idea of keeping worms in your home seems too strange or outlandish to you, you also have the option of buying a worm garbage can that can be placed outside or in the front building. This complements the waste paper and residual waste garbage can and quickly produces high-quality worm humus that can be easily harvested.

If you create worm humus, you can harvest the worm humus after just a few months and feed it to your plants. Worms eat half their body weight in organic waste every day! Although 80% of the volume of organic waste disappears, there will still be enough worm humus left for your plants.

Doesn't it stink, is the box escape-proof and can I really produce worm humus indoors?

Yes, it works - we have written a detailed article on how it works and possible difficulties here. Challenges can occur, but this is usually only the case if the worms are not handled optimally.

Interested in worm composting?

Get in touch with us at wurmkiste.at or comment on this article. We will be happy to answer your questions 🙂