Your cart
There are no more items in your cart
Compost worms
All about worms
The countless benefits of worms
Discover this humble little people, a precious ally in saving a decaying world! Earthworms are essential to the survival of man and his environment. They are an indispensable link in the food chain and the guarantors of the fertility of the soil we use to feed ourselves.
Till the soil and make it fertile
Earthworms are essential to the survival of man and his environment. They are an indispensable link in the food chain and the guarantors of the fertility of the soil we use to feed ourselves. Earthworms are burrowing animals. Its activity and ecology make it a major player in soil structuring.
Veritable ploughers of the soil, they are capable of turning over considerable surfaces. For one hectare, an estimated 20 to 30 tonnes pass through their digestive tract.
Through their constant work, earthworms bury the organic elements taken from the surface in the deep layers of the soil, and bring the soil from the deeper layers, ingested along with the organic matter, to the surface. Charles Darwin called them the "first ploughmen". A title richly deserved in view of their work. The presence of earthworms maintains a lumpy soil structure, resulting from the passage of soil through the digestive tract, the addition of various secretions and the action of bacteria and fungi. This structure favors air and water circulation, encourages bacterial life and increases soil fertility. On the other hand, this lumpy structure disappears if earthworms are eliminated (by chemical treatments, frequent ploughing, or if the soil is compacted by the repeated passage of heavy machinery).
Treat wastewater
Compost worms have recently been used in France and Chile to purify wastewater in small, sparsely populated communities. Since 2004, the Combaillaux wastewater treatment plant (near Montpellier) and a small commune in Chile have been testing a new method for purifying wastewater.
The principle is simple :
One of the treatment plant's tanks operates on the classic bacterial bed principle, while the other is a lombrifilter made up of compost worms that recover wastewater, pine bark laid on a bed of wood shavings, and gravel to which specific earthworms (Eisenia andrei) have been added. The worms are intermittently watered with wastewater.
Numbering 25,000 per m², they completely degrade the effluent, consuming it without using large quantities of water, as is the case in conventional plants. There's no sludge at the end of the process, just twisted earth and almost drinkable water. But the worms don't act alone. The kilometers of galleries they dig ensure oxygenation of the bacteria. This combination ensures high purification efficiency, especially for suspended solids and organic matter.
This original form of living wastewater treatment plant is ideal for small communities of around 1,500 inhabitants. It requires very little space, saves 20 to 30% compared with the cost and maintenance of a conventional wastewater treatment plant, consumes very little energy and produces little odour or noise pollution. However, this system, like all biological processes, is sensitive to peaks in wastewater toxicity: worms die if fed water containing mercury, copper or arsenic. They are therefore good indicators of ecotoxicity. The lombrifilter is therefore only suitable for communities with no industry or polluting activity connected to the domestic network.
Nourish and protect plants
Earthworms are the primary soil biomass. Scientists estimate that earthworms produce several hundred tonnes of excrement per hectare, providing a significant proportion of the nutrients (phosphorus, calcium, zinc, magnesium) required for the growth of your plants, flowers, etc., making them more resistant to disease and parasites.
Plants draw their nourishment from the air and soil. Today, we know that for healthy growth, not only are various nutrients and trace elements indispensable for our plants, but so is organic matter, which is only present in humus and is made available to plants by worms and micro-organisms.
Soil doctors: pest control
With a vermicomposter you harvest an average of 10 liters of liquid fertilizer per person per year, or 40 liters for a family of 4. You'll soon see your apartment, balcony and garden transformed into a jungle !
What's more, it's 100% natural and very rich in naturally occurring nutrients: phosphorus, potassium, calcium, sodium, magnesium, iron, zinc, manganese, copper, aluminum... So there's no need to add chemicals that are harmful to soil and plants, a common practice among manufacturers.
Soil decontamination
Phytoremediation of soils: because they ingest considerable quantities of soil and plant debris as food, earthworms concentrate pollution. Near roads, lead concentrations in earthworms have been found to be several dozen times higher than in the soil. The same has been observed for DDT, with the concentration of this pollutant reaching 150 times that observed in the environment. In this way, earthworms play the same role as pollution concentrators in the terrestrial environment as molluscs do in the marine environment. Compost worms, and more specifically the Eisenia andrei species, thus help ecotoxicologists to measure soil pollution levels.
Help plants to drink
Depending on the species, earthworms have different effects on soil structure. They dig galleries of varying depths, accelerating water infiltration into the soil and limiting runoff. They improve aeration and the circulation of liquids and gases, which reach plant roots more easily. The galleries also allow roots to spread more easily, increasing the surface area for food exchange between soil and plants.
Regenerate depleted soils
The usefulness of earthworms in the formation of humus for soil restructuring and the fertilization of poor soils is well established, but has yet to be generalized. In India, a test experiment involving the reintroduction of earthworms doubled tea production in the first year, in a soil depleted by agrochemicals.
Degrades organic matter in agronomic processes
Pig slurry and manure have been successfully treated at the Guernevez experimental station (29) as part of the "Porcherie verte" program, using an innovative and successful natural method: lombrifiltration. The worms are placed on an organic support and watered with a liquid loaded with organic matter (wastewater, slurry or manure from livestock buildings, etc.).
The rapid evacuation of animal excrement by a "flushing" system enables significant improvements to be made to livestock buildings, by limiting odours, ammonia emissions and greenhouse gases. However, to be sustainable, the system must recycle water, be easy for farmers to manage and open up new ways of recovering excreted nutrients. This process enables the production of exportable organic fertilizers, the incorporation of agro-forestry co-products, and a reduction in the need for land-spreading and the ammonia, methane and odour emissions of conventional slurry farming. Earthworms are therefore an excellent bio-indicator of system stability, easy to monitor.
Very useful for fishing
Earthworms and compost worms are also used in the freshwater and saltwater fishing markets. Compost worm farming continued to develop in the USA thanks to Hugh Carter, cousin of the former President of the United States, who began raising compost worms in 1947 in a coffin ! After 25 years of practice and experience in worm farming, Carter was able to supply 15 million worms a year to hunting and fishing stores.
Recycle waste
By putting the worms to work in a vermicomposter, our garbage cans can be reduced by 30 to 40%.
Earthworms recycle organic waste by digesting it. They provide us with the ideal solution to the growing and worrying problem of managing our biowaste, while helping to protect the environment.
A solution to world hunger?
Worms are also used for their high protein content (70%) in animal feed (especially chicken and fish), and scientific studies are underway into their use in human food. Worms could well provide a solution to the crucial problem of hunger worldwide, and particularly in developing countries. Worms: the next source of protein for humans ?
And even wash whiter than white!
Why not take advantage of the enzymes produced by some of the 1,800 species of earthworm, such as Eisenia foetida, which can easily remove blood, wine and soil stains ?
The 3 worm species
A short introduction
Today's earthworms date back to the Mesozoic era, 200 million years ago.
Their ancestors began their journey in the water ! They conquered the earth at the same time as flowering plants, 100 million years ago, to build the modern world together !
Some earthworms in Central and South America can reach 5 meters in length. And the largest worm species are found in Australia (Gippsland worms) and France in the Montpellier region (Lumbricus Terrestris Montpellieris).
They became inhabitants of the earth when the soil was formed through the interaction of vegetation, climate and primitive rocks. The evolution of worms continued with the appearance of plants.
Earthworms belong to numerous species, and in any given environment, there are easily ten different species, all of them hermaphrodites.
There are 3627 species of earthworm and 150 species in France.
Sacred animals in Greece and Egypt, Cleopatra (69-30 B.C. J.C.) even enacted a law forbidding the export of earthworms.
In the 18th century, they were wrongly accused of eating plant roots! But they have no teeth..
Depending on their lifestyle, size, habitat, behavior and food resources, earthworms fall into three main categories : epigeic, anecitic and endogeic.
Surface worms (epigeids)
They act on the surface, feeding directly on organic matter and decomposing plant matter; they include compost worms.
They are small and slender, measuring no more than 5 to 10cm.
They live on the soil surface, in litter and in decomposing organic matter. They are decomposers. They can also be found in the excrement of large herbivores or in damp, decomposing wood.
They are sometimes used industrially to produce vermicompost and to treat household waste (vermicomposting, a term used in Belgium and Canada). Some species are bred for fishing bait.
With little protection, they are subject to heavy predation, which they compensate for with high fertility (42 to 106 cocoons per adult per year). When food is abundant and climatic conditions favorable, they can multiply very rapidly. Their drought-resistant cocoons ensure the survival of the species.
Worms in the soil (endogees)
They dig deep galleries and feed on soil mixed with organic matter, and are medium-sized.
They live permanently in the soil, where they dig shallow, horizontal galleries. They account for 20-50% of the biomass of fertile soils, and are not pigmented. They have an average fecundity of 8 to 27 cocoons per adult per year. In periods of drought, they fall into lethargy (diapause) and can be found rolled up on themselves. Endogean worms have quite different lifestyles. Some are thread-like and settle along roots, while others form pincushions in deep soil layers near drains, filtering water and separating organic particles. Some are also known to predate other earthworms.
Worms that emerge from the earth (aneciques)
They seek their food at the surface of the soil, then distribute it deep down through the vertical galleries they dig.
These are the worms you find when you turn over the soil in your garden. If there are no earthworms in your garden, it's not a good sign..
They live in vertical galleries and "stock up" on the surface of the soil, carefully hanging on by their tails at the entrance to their burrows. Leaves and organic debris they may drag into their galleries are ingested with soil. Excrement is deposited on the surface of the ground in the form of twists, also known as turricules. Of the three groups, they have the lowest fecundity, producing between 3 and 13 cocoons per adult per year. In temperate Europe, anechoic worms account for 80% of the total mass of earthworms. In summer, they become lethargic. The largest anechoic worm in the French fauna is over 1 meter long. It's called Lumbricus Terrestris Montpellieris.
Compost worms
A short introduction
Compost worms belong to the digester or decomposer family. Very voracious, they can eat up to their weight in waste every day ! The main species can be found almost anywhere on the planet. Discover their remarkable characteristics.
What's the difference between a compost worm and an earthworm ?
Among other names, Eisenia foetida (Savigny) is also known as "manure worm", "compost worm", "earthworm", "compost worm", "zebra worm", "red worm" and "Eisenia".
In nature, there are two main types of earthworm : the ploughers (big and fat) like the earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris) and the digesters or decomposers (small and thin) like the compost worm (Eisenia fetida or Eisenia andrei).
However, it's important to distinguish the compost worm from the earthworm. What they have in common, however, is the fertility of their dejecta and the fertilization of organic matter.
The compost worm
Species
Compost worms belong to the epigeid species. Eisenia foetida (or manure worms), Eisenia andreï (or California red worms) or Eisenia hortensis (Dendrobaena veneta) are the most commonly used species. Beware, however, of the Dendrobaena veneta's runaway temperament...
Size
So very thin and very small : 5 to 10cm.
Fertility
Very prolific, they lay several hundred eggs a year, and in the case of compost worms, the eggs contain several young !
Longevity
Because they're so prolific, compost worms don't live as long as earthworms.
Depending on the compost worm species, their lifespan varies from 2 to 5 years.
Function
They live on the soil surface or in well-maintained compost heaps (watered and aerated regularly) and feed on decomposing organic and carbonic matter. They play an active role in the decomposition of organic residues, making important nutrients available to other living soil organisms, such as plants (composting worms), via horizontal galleries.
Their diet
Worms will eat anything organic: fruit and vegetable peelings, raw or cooked leftovers, coffee grounds with filter, tea bags. Worms also eat carbonaceous matter, such as paper and cardboard, eggshells, hair, animal fur and sawdust.
They eat between half and their weight in waste every day. Considering that an average person produces 1 kg of waste every day, and that worms can eat 50% of the contents of the garbage can, 500 g of worms can eat up to 500 g of waste in one day.
The adult Eisenia (aged around 8 weeks) is capable of ingesting its weight in organic matter per day.
How to keep them healthy
Eisenia needs a dark, humid, well-ventilated environment. In other words, it will die if exposed to light, excessive temperature (+35°C) or too low a temperature (-0°C). Between 0°C and 4°C, they go into hibernation and reproduce from 14°C.
A lack of humidity will cause the death of your Eisenias. Noise, vibrations and the like will disturb them.
The golden rule: varied food, paper or cardboard, humidity, moderate temperature, calm and lots of love ! Just like us !
The earthworm
Species
It belongs to the anecic species.
Size
The earthworm can grow up to 1m long, but its average size is 30 cm.
Fertility
The earthworm, which is less fertile, has only a few young per year.
Longevity
The earthworm, less prolific, can live up to 7 years !
Function
Our common earthworm, Lumbricus terrestris, lives deeper in the soil (up to 3 m, depending on the soil), where it digs vertical galleries. Its role is to aerate the soil rather than nourish it, as it rises to the surface to deposit its precious dejecta.
The compost worm species Eisenia andrei, Eisenia foetida or Eisenia hortensis (Dendrobaena veneta) are found almost everywhere on the planet. However, depending on the climate, there are other species that are better adapted ; for example, the tropical Perionyx excavatus (Caribbean, India).
Worm biology
Its special features
He's a hermaphrodite.
It has neither eyes nor teeth. It uses light-sensitive organs to locate itself.
It has 4 hearts and 3 pairs of kidneys !
It breathes through its skin.
It moves thanks to the tiny bristles on each segment of its small body (between 80 and 120).
It doesn't like light.
Its structure
Did you know ? The worm has 4 hearts and 3 pairs of kidneys ! As the earthworm has no eyes, it uses light-sensitive organs to find its way around. Its body is made up of segments.
These are small rings that run the length of the body. These are nothing more than folds of skin.
Each segment is furnished with four pairs of short bristles (or hairs) on the ventral side (temperate worms) or with a row of bristles all around (many tropical species), which help in movement and exploration of the environment.
The first two segments and the last have no bristles, and have a specific role : the tip for the first, the mouth for the second, and the anus for the last.
The first segment is called prostomium, the second peristomium, and the last pygidium.
Its circulatory system
The circulatory system comprises a large contractile dorsal vessel where blood is propelled forward.
Five to seven pairs of lateral hearts take up the blood and send it backwards in a ventral vessel.
Its digestive system
The digestive tract is fairly elaborate, comprising a mouth, a pharynx that can be used as a suction cup to pull food into the galleries, and a grinder to crush it.
The food then passes into the crop, receives calcium carbonate from Morren's glands, passes into the gizzard, which continues the grinding process, and finally reaches the intestine.
This is where the clay-humus complex is produced.
His travels
As earthworms have no eyes, they use light-sensitive organs to find their bearings. Its body is made up of segments and bristles that enable it to move; the head generally indicates its direction of travel.
His breathing
Without lungs, the Eisenia breathes through its skin, which is always moist and viscous, allowing oxygen to pass through. But its body must remain moist for it to breathe !
An earthworm exposed to light and dryness is doomed to death.
Its reproduction
The earthworm is hermaphroditic, meaning it has both male and female organs. However, they cannot reproduce on their own.
Mating takes place between two individuals positioned head to tail, thus juxtaposing their organs. The clitellum slides over the body and collects male and female cells.
At the end of the journey, the envelope closes at the ends to form the cocoon.
They lay several hundred eggs a year, and the eggs contain several young (only in the case of the compost worm).
The earthworm, on the other hand, produces only a few young per year.
The fabulous
fauna of the vermicomposter
A short introduction
In a vermicomposter, the compost worm, far from being alone, is the conductor and chief cook of a fascinating fauna to study ! Collembola, diplura, mites, protozoa, actinomycetes, nematodes and bacteria. Discover them all !
Collembola: outstanding swimmers!
These bizarre critters are already present in the bedding used to raise our compost worms. With their tiny legs and antennae, they're often mistaken for baby worms, except that they're constantly on the move ! Baby worms are translucent, and within a few weeks turn truly red. At this stage, they're barely visible. Collembola love to swim on the surface of the liquid. They pose no danger to your worms, plants or you !
Diploures
From the same family as Collembola, they can be distinguished (if you look very closely) by the sting on the underside of their abdomen, which enables them to jump. Their color is also darker. How do they benefit the vermicomposter ecosystem ? The same as springtails : they are particularly attracted to carbonaceous materials (paper, cardboard and fibers in general), which they pre-digest for the worms. They pose no danger whatsoever to plants, humans or pets, or of course to the worms themselves !
Dust mites: no risk of allergies !
Mites are the most common arachnids found in soil. And they too are always present in the vermicomposter ecosystem. They are essential to the transformation of certain organic materials. There are a multitude of different-colored mites. It's mainly the white mites that are found in our waste. In her book "Worms Eat My Garbage", Mary Appelhof points out that people allergic to dust mites are safe, but should not harvest vermicompost themselves, nor should they maintain the vermicomposter. A simple precautionary principle !
Protozoa
You'll never see them ! You need a microscope... Most of them measure between 0.01 and 0.05 mm... Single-celled organisms, those present in your vermicomposter will never cause you disease (malaria, malaria). They live exclusively in water or moist soil. That's why you'll find them in your vermicomposter. They feed on bacteria. A protozoan can eat 10,000 bacteria a day ! In fact, their presence is essential, as they serve as a meal for the compost worms..
Nematodes
Here too, the microscope is indispensable. Nematodes are roundworms. For the record, there are up to five tons of living organisms in a hectare of (organically cultivated) soil.
Actinomycetes
What a barbaric name for a simple mushroom, don't you think ? Yes, but what workers they are too ! They're the first micro-organisms to work on the materials deposited in your vermicomposter. They usually take the form of a cottony, white mold, and appear more distinctly in the 2 to 3 weeks following installation of your vermicomposter.
Bacteria
Did you know that 10% of our bodies are made up of bacteria, essential to our survival ? They're everywhere, including, of course, in your vermicomposter ! They serve as a meal for protozoa, which in turn serve as a feast for our little invertebrate friends. What an exciting ecosystem a vermicomposter is !