The organoponico has 6 brick containers (2m wide, 15m long and 60cm deep) dedicated to transforming oxen, goat and rabit poo (plus kitchen scraps) in 2-3 months into high quality compost ready for applying to the soil or selling that would otherwise take years; all with the help of the humble earthworm.
The circle of life is quite simple: plants take energy from the sun and nutrients from the soil to form a biomass which can then be eaten by animals. In order for this cycle to continue, organic residues have to return to the soil in their simple forms – nitrogen, carbon, phosphorous – so that the plants can absorb them. Whilst this is simple enough (again you’ll have to forgive me for going back to basics), the process of decomposition is not so easy. Of course, you can bypass this process by applying chemical fertilisers to the soil, but that’s not an option here.
Decomposition can be achieved either physically or biologically. To achieve the latter you need life; millions and millions of microorganisms all taking on a different job. Of all of these microorganisms, worms are the most prolific, making up about 70% of the invertebrate biomass in the soil, and in this case the most important because what they excrete is a special compost full of microorganisms which help plants to grow strong and tall.
Worms, unsurprisingly, come in all shapes and sizes and dedicate themselves to different jobs in different parts of the soil as well as different types of soil. I can’t/won’t go into these differences now but we happen to be working with the Californian Red variety – the best suited to this soil and location.
Why use worms above a standard composting system?
They decompose organic matter using a very simple process (which also destroys dangerous residues) to produce humus with a higher proportion of macrobiotic organisms than normal compost which in turn improves the composition and structure of the soil.
Meanwhile they can reproduce and multiply within the soil, and if you have too many you can sell them on either to work as above or as a protein source.
Above all they’re happy to hang out in s**t all day without complaining one bit.
The worm life cycle (in brief/as I understand it)…
…starts with a capsule, which can hold between 2 and 9 eggs. They hatch after 14-21 days of incubation in the compost and within 45-90 days they pass through youth into adulthood and full sexual maturity. Curiously they’re incomplete hermaphrodites. This basically means they have both sexual organs but do still need two to tango. So, when worms want to reproduce, one lines up with the other (the lighter coloured ring close to their noses has to be touching), and produce sperm to help form the capsule in each worm. When that is released, the cycle starts again. Amazingly, adult worms can live up to a quarter of a century, working 24 hours a day 365 days a week.
More often than not worms are hardy and get on with the job. They live in an area set up permanently for their work; somewhere without any water contamination, with good drainage and easy access. The containers are also now fitted with roofs to maintain shade and temperature, and keep hungry birds from picking. Nonetheless, since the temperature, humidity, pH, light, air and food has to be maintained carefully each day to make a business out of them, you do need someone in the know, and some hard workers to make up for the lack of mechanisation. The organoponico has one expert and 3 labourers who work in this area to:
- apply new compost (i.e. food) daily to the containers,
- water containers to maintain the necessary 80% humidity,
- conduct tests to check the pH - put 50 worms in a box with new manure, wait one day, if there are less than 49 the next day, it’s not ready yet to go into the containers & other worms
- extract the worms once the process is complete – to achieve this you need to apply a line of nets along the container, which has onto of that a new layer of food. Removing the worms means the vermicompost is now ready and the worms are hungry for something new, so they make their way to the top to start on the new layer. Leave the nets on for 2 days or so and when you come to lift them off, millions of worms will have made their way up through the nets and into the manure. Simple but very effective.
- then extract the vermicompost – hand of course.
Producing compost like this is arguably the most important part of the work at the organopónico. Without high quality humus, the soil quality would be abysmal and they wouldn’t be able to grow even half the quantity of fruits and vegetables. Jodi Scheckter, founder of Laverstoke Park Farm, has a/the motto:
Healthy soil = healthy plants = healthy animals = healthy people.
(I hope that’s right – I can’t check the bloomin’ internet!)
And that formula lies at the heart of our very existence.
But in addition to the huge ecological benefits of working with worms lies the exciting business case that Salcines is keen to exploit. 1m2 of worms produces 1 tonne of compost per year (the Organoponico produces over 300 tonnes) from natural waste. Compare this to the 250 tonnes of chemicals that are needed to produce 80 tonnes of artificial fertiliser, and it sounds like you’re onto a good thing. In time the plan is to double the area dedicated to producing vermicompost and start selling it a bit more seriously. Given that vermiculture is likely to be the fastest and most efficient means of recuperating soils in the future, hopefully they can’t go far wrong.
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