Vermiculture

Worms are a key part of most good local food systems. Their main purpose is to convert food waste into compost, which is excellent fertilizer for plants. Vermiculture is the practice of intensively farming worms; these worms then can be scattered around the garden, where they will improve the soil structure and nutrient profile, or they can be fed to small livestock

Uses

 * Aerating soil
 * Making compost and compost tea for fertilizing gardens
 * IFWMS: Chicken feed; Fish feed in aquaponics

DIY wormeries

 * Multi-layer vermiculture bin
 * 5 dollar, 1/2 hour Worm Composting Bin(s)
 * It's a Vermiculture World
 * The Worm-A-Rater
 * Worm bin bag for indoor vermicomposting and easy separation of worms from compost
 * Worm Cafe - Compost with earthworms right in your garden

Links

 * Wikipedia on Vermicomposting
 * cityfarmer.org page on worm composting
 * NC University-Directory of Vermiculture Resources
 * Australia's New South Wales Goverment: "Best Practice Guideline to Managing On-site Vermiculture Technologies"
 * Manual of on-farm vermicomposting and vermiculture