How to use Vermicompost fertilizer farming and its benefits Vermicompost fertilizer farming
If you own a lot of food or livestock, consider creating vermicompost or vermicompost fertilizer. This practice of farming is rooted in traditional organic farming, and is essentially what it sounds like — you convert food waste into fertilizer. This includes many things, from composting chicken manure into fertilizer to cultivating alfalfa sprouts in containers of vermicompost.
Although these practices involve conventional farming techniques (including cultivating organic crops, managing animals, and processing the fertilizer) and can yield some substantial yields, it is important to note that there are a few major differences from normal organic farming practices that reduce the effectiveness of the process.
Problems arise when the nutrients in organic fertilizer are lacking or are inadequate to meet the needs of the plants. To address this problem, organic farmers generally rely on other strategies, including fertilizing with more organic fertilizers.
One advantage to feeding plants with vermicompost is that these plants take much less time to recover from stress (baking in the sun, or exposed to cold or drought) than conventional crops. According to Larry Tarpy, co-founder of the vermicompost company EcoVenture Solutions, conventional varieties can take up to six months to recover when kept in the cold.
This suggests that organic farming may require more patience for farmers to gain a satisfactory yield, but vermicompost farming may provide other benefits that make it appealing to growers. For example, vermicomposting could help reduce a farming problem known as soil salinity. According to Tarpy, organic farmers do not seem to be affected by soil salinity as much as their conventional counterparts. But, if soil salinity is a big problem in your area, vermicompost may be able to help you solve it.
Benefits for the environment use of Vermicompost fertilizer farming.
Although vermicompost fertilizer farming may not be as effective as conventional farming methods, its benefits may outweigh those problems, especially when coupled with conservation agriculture practices. This may help alleviate concerns about the negative effects of conventional farming practices on the environment.
You may be curious as to what the benefits of organic farming are. Organic farming practices reduce the use of pesticides and fertilizers, improve soil health, use more resources for producing food, create better environments for animals, protect the environment, and create fewer greenhouse gases.
Organic farming practices may also decrease the use of fossil fuels for farming. According to the EPA, the EPA does not consider organic farming or conventional farming practices as significantly different than fossil fuels when evaluating their greenhouse gas emissions. If these practices create more greenhouse gases than the fossil fuels they are used to produce, then it is unlikely that they will be removed from the emission column of greenhouse gas inventory.
This suggests that if you are worried about the negative environmental impacts of certain practices, vermicompost or compost fertilizer farming could be another effective option for reducing these impacts. If you are thinking about this option, consider speaking with farmers that already engage in this practice to learn more about what kinds of practices work for them, and to discuss potential plans for keeping certain practices.
Do you have any tips or strategies for producing more healthy, environmentally friendly vegetables?