Vermicompost is an effective organic fertilizer for increasing soil fertility.

In gardening stores, you can quite often find a fertilizer called "Vermicompost". Outwardly, it looks like well-structured garden soil, but it costs a bit more. This fertilizer is obtained as a result of organic materials (manure, grass, foliage, sawdust, food waste, husks, etc.) being processed by earthworms. It is absolutely harmless and safe and can be applied to any soil without quantity restrictions.

The technology for producing vermicompost originated in the USA. The first farms for the artificial breeding of worms were established at the end of 1940. Technologists engaged in breeding worms for the purpose of obtaining fishing bait noticed that adding their metabolic waste to the soil provides a significant increase in crop yield. After multiple experiments on crossbreeding different populations of earthworms, it was possible to obtain worms with improved characteristics in terms of fertility and voracity (they were given the name "red Californian worm"). Later, many farms switched to the commercial breeding of worms and the production of vermicompost.

The name "Vermicompost" consists of two parts: "vermi" and "compost". "Humus" is a complex of organic compounds that is a component of the soil and determines its soil fertility. That is, the more humus in the soil, the higher its soil fertility, and the more nutrients necessary for plant nutrition are present. "Bio" is an abbreviation of the term "biological," indicating that the fertilizer is obtained in artificial conditions through biological means, or, as is customary to say now, using biotechnology.

In natural conditions, living organisms inhabiting the soil participate in the process of humus formation. The role of earthworms in this process is especially significant, and there is a large number of their varieties. Of these, three types are of interest to gardeners.

The earthworm is an earthworm that lives in the surface layer in fields, on tilled land, and on garden plots. It has a whitish-bluish color and reaches 13–15 cm in length and 0.6 cm in diameter.

The leaf worm is an earthworm that lives in the topsoil layer under the fallen leaves of trees and shrubs in orchards and forests, where the soil has high (80%) humidity. It has a dark cherry-colored back and a pinkish-gray abdomen. It can reach 6–8 cm in length and 0.2–0.3 cm in diameter.

The red manure worm is an earthworm that, at high humidity, lives in manure and compost piles, as well as in piles of soil with plant residues cleared from greenhouses. It is red, reaches 8 cm in length, and 0.2–0.4 cm in diameter.

All three of these worm species feed (depending on their habitat) on rotted plant root and stem residues, leaves, decomposed, semi-decayed manure, or plant residues.

Burrowing in the soil or in decomposed manure and compost, worms swallow clumps containing plant residues partially processed by microorganisms. In the intestines of worms, as the soil passes through them, humic and fulvic acids are released, which, entering the soil with the worm's excrement, form long-lasting humic substances that act as biologically active growth stimulants for plant development.

Benefits of vermicompost for greenhouse crops

The application of vermicompost revitalizes the soil and improves its biological characteristics. It concentrates a multitude of beneficial components:

• macro- and micronutrients directly assimilated by plants;
• vitamins;
• antibiotics;
• 18 amino acids;
• beneficial microflora.

A large quantity of biologically active substances (auxins, heteroauxins, etc.) is formed in vermicompost, which provide the following effects:

Conducted studies have shown the high effectiveness of vermicompost in increasing harvest and obtaining environmentally friendly produce.