Would You Love Plants if They Were a Worm? The Potential of Vermicompost

By: Yesnia Solis

Figure 1. Hands showing soil with worms in it, possibly vermicompost. 

Forest Gardens. Vermicompost. Salt Spring: Salt Spring Soil. [accessed 2024 Sep 19]. https://www.saltspringsoil.ca/products/vermicompost

Excessive agricultural practices have depleted the soil of nutrients in lots of land and caused soil degradation. As a way to solve this problem, which would cause massive food insecurity if not solved, humans have been using inorganic fertilizers to replenish nutrients in the soil or simply to make plants grow quicker and stronger. However, using these fertilizers has done more damage than good, causing soil erosion, deteriorating the soil structure, and disrupting the plant's natural processes by interfering with nitrogen fixation and leaching. That is why a proposed solution to replenish the soil and sustain the food demand is vermicompost. Vermicompost could be used as an organic fertilizer as it is manure rich in nutrients and humic substances that enhance chemical reactions and microbial activity, which is beneficial to the plant. The best part of vermicompost is that you don’t need a ton of chemicals and synthetic processes to make it; you just need worms and some microbes. These small organisms decompose organic waste and release nutrients via natural processes such as bio-oxidation, making it a sustainable and eco-friendly solution. If we were to use vermicompost more than inorganic fertilizers, not only would we be replenishing nutrients without damaging the ecosystem, but also bio-recycle organic waste and recover natural processes.

Original Article: 

Manzoor A, Muhammad SN, Rana MAA, Muhammad AN, Maqsood UH, Muhammad S, Sadam H, Muhammad F. 2024. Vermicompost: A potential organic fertilizer for sustainable vegetable cultivation. Scientia Horticulturae. 336 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2024.113443