Act: Inspiration

Worms at Work

October 11, 2017

Harnessing the Awesome Power of Worms with Vermiculture and Vermicomposting

Increasingly, we want to know where our food comes from, who grows it and how it is grown, and interest in permaculture, backyard composting, and gardening in general, is growing. So how does the budding gardener ensure that the soil is healthy and nutrient-rich enough to support growing some great food? One answer — worms! Vermiculture is the healthiest and most cost-effective way to ensure that your soil receives the nourishment that it needs. A simple vermicompost bin can produce completely natural, nutrient-rich fertilizer that can be used to boost soil health and, in turn, increase crop yield.

In true Crystal Stevens’ fashion, Worms at Work is a practical, easy-to-implement guide to fertilizing and enriching your garden naturally. It discusses the vital role worms play in boosting soil health, and the reasons why every gardener should use vermicompost in order to decrease reliance on toxic synthetic fertilizers. Covering simple designs for building your own vermicompost bin, whether for a small backyard garden or for a larger farm or homestead, to the care and feeding of worms and how to use worm castings in the garden, Worms at Work will help you put YOUR worms to work to grow happy, healthy plants in happy, healthy soil.

This book is part of the Urban Homesteader Hacks Series. You can subscribe to the series here to receive sneak peeks, book excerpts and special offers.

Crystal Stevens

Crystal Stevens and her husband, Eric, have been managing La Vista CSA Farm for the past 6 years. As they operate on a shoestring budget, this forces them to find creative, cost-effective methods to improve soil fertility and plant health in order to boost crop yields. Upon their arrival at La Vista, they built vermicompost bins and added a mail-order bag of 250 worms which have multiplied by the hundreds of thousands since then. They have been teaching Vermiculture 101 workshops for several years, and have both completed the Missouri Master Naturalist and Missouri Master Gardener programs. Crystal is a blogger for Mother Earth News and contributes regularly to The Healthy Planet, Grit Magazine and Permaculture Magazine. She also hosts dozen of workshops on resilient living and teaches a summer gardening camp for kids.

Tags: building resilient food systems, gardening, soil health

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