Earthwormponics

Earthwormponics also referred to as vermiponics or wormponics is similar to aquaponics with much less attention being needed to control water temperature and certain levels required to help fish to survive.

Using red wigglers or European nightcrawlers there is a vast temperature range and low maintenance due to the worm castings produced within the system which are loaded with readily available plant nutrients as well as pH neutral.

The main issue was to get the protein levels up within the system without souring the recycling water. To accomplish this after trial and error, we came up with the perfect mix containing shredded rabbit manure which is dried out so as to reduce the nitrogen levels while still maintaining protein levels as well as a few other ingredients to increase mineral counts and added boost for protein.

One other issue was the lack of iron in the system which was resolved in the latter months by using  one tablespoon per week of organic liquid kelp (seaweed) in the Earthwormponics 500 setup. This dramatically increased plant growth as well as the number of tomatoes being produced.

The earthwormponics setup we have created is a continuous drip system which is run by a single  aquarium air pump, mixing the water with air 24 hours per day, hence producing a constant worm tea for the plants to survive in.

I also found the worms were getting into the water and drip system, hence clogging it up. I rectified this by creating a liner which fits inside the planting basket. This issue was resolved

The first image is with the system well underway with a tomato plant, romaine lettuce and a bell pepper.

As you can see as of today, the system is doing very well just two weeks later.

I have this one sitting outside and thus far the water temperature is now running at 71 degrees Fahrenheit even though the past week we have been in the mid to upper nineties with lows around seventy degrees. The water temperature remains low apparently due to the constant drip over the rocks as well as when the plants begin producing vegetables, they use more water, hence about every day or so I add a bit to keep the water level up. There is a line on the overflow tube attached to the side of the five gallon bucket to mark where the level should be.

As you can see from the image below the plants are doing well with the exception of the Romaine lettuce reaching for the sun. I went to try and dig it out, however as soon as I removed a few rocks I found the entire bucket is consumed with root growth. After I took this photo I cut the lettuce down and have been removing some of the lower growth on the tomato plant to allow enough sunlight for the pepper plant.

I also grew some lettuce inside just using a fluorescent light over the top. Instead of taking 60-65 days it literally took half the time… right at 30 days!

I took the time to snap some pictures of a ripe tomato on the plant and cut open as I ate the others already with more still growing. The tomato plant is now over 6 feet tall and growing!

As time progressed the peppers and tomatoes were numerous with the tomato plant growing to just over 11 1/2 feet tall. I ended up placing “L” brackets along the fascia board of the building along with some additional support via bamboo poles. The picture below illustrates some of this as I took it before our first freeze, hence picking the rest of the tomatoes to allow to ripen inside.

I then proceeded to take the system apart and as the following pictures illustrate, the massive root growth. The first picture illustrates the roots dangling, however the bottom of the root ball actually sat in the bottom water reservoir mixed with a constant brewing worm tea.

The next picture illustrates the mass of roots throughout the fired rock clay balls used as the only growing medium… no dirt or potting soil was used! If you look real closely you can see a good number of red worms just to the left of the clay balls.

To give a little better idea of the worms growing and reproduction over the summer since we started with just a quarter pound of  all mature, adult size red worms in the beginning of the summer, I took a closeup photo.

To better illustrate the worms were reproducing within the Earthwormponics I took another picture with a small red worm on my finger to give a better perspective of the small worms which were growing, hence proving the reproduction process was occurring.

I have had great success with the Earthwormponics utilizing this technology along with the worms. We ended up harvesting over 60 tomatoes from this single plant this year, one romaine lettuce and over a dozen bell peppers. Not too shabby for a five gallon bucket size planter

I am currently growing lettuce for my rabbits inside using these systems without the need for a grow light. Leafy vegetables such as lettuce only require a fluorescent light overhead to grow!

I have had numerous request for the availability of these units which I am happy to report we now offer. We offer the complete kit below including enough worm food to last 45 to 60 days. This is exclusive unit from organic Worm Farm, the Earthwormponics 500!