Adding nutrients to your soil is a great way to get your garden thriving.
Most people immediately think of fertilizers when looking to jumpstart their garden, it is the most common means, readily available, and also doesn’t take up time and space like composting does.
Fertlizers will give a rapid route for adding nutrients to your plants, however, will leave the soil chemically dependent. Vermicompost offers and benefits animals or living micro-organisms in the ground, degrading organic matter and being digestible to provide basic nutritional sanction to your plants.
You can continue reading on to learn the critical differences between vermicompost and fertilizer and so you can decide what is best for you.
What is Vermicompost?
Vermicompost is a mineral fertilizer that has a key distinction as most fertilizers contain chemicals to improve crop yield, while not improving the overall plant health.
Mainly, vermicompost is a natural fertilizer that is comprised of micro-organisms and attracts earthworms, promoting soil and plant health long-term over standard fertilizers.
Here are some of the benefits to using vermicompost instead of chemical fertilizers.
Organic
Adding chemicals to your soil can lead to a situation where your soil begins to rely on those chemicals for its nutrients.
By contrast, adding organic materials to your soil not only is more beneficial to the health of both your soil and your plants, but they are also more safe for other organisms including humans and pets who may live in or visit your garden.
More Nutrition
Chemical fertilizers only add nutrients temporarily to the soil, while vermicompost adds new nutrients and is much more sustaining or long lasting.
It adds organic material into the soil, but more importantly, it attracts earthworms, who will then take over and begin to break down organic materials and make the nutrients from these organic materials more easy for the plants roots to use as a food source.
Healthier Plants
Fertilizers do not enhance a plant’s health, they merely provide a temporary boost to yield.
Long-term fertilizer use will deplete the soil once ammonia and salts build up and plants suffer increased exposure to disease.
Vermicompost, on the other hand, enhances plant health that allow plants to survive better, with less need for pesticides.
Better Growth
Vermicomposting has hormones that support enhanced plant growth.
These hormones help the seeds germinate, allow for more vigorous growth, and ramp up crop yield.
Terrific News: the enhanced plant growth is due to the actions of the vermicompost down at the roots of the plants helping their growth and health, as well as the health of the plants overall.
Improved Water Retention
As vermicompost attracts earthworms into your garden, you will benefit not only from the earthworms improving your soil’s water retention and drainage.
The tunnels that the earthworms can make in the soil help drain excess water, which helps prevent root rot.
Additionally, the vermicompost itself can hold up to nine times its weight in water, so your soil should take a bit longer to dry up.
Affordable
Vermicomposting is indeed the cheapest choice compared to fertilizers because of its lasting effect on the health of your soil.
Chemicals fertilizers create an ongoing dependence on the chemicals provided by fertilizers, and vermicompost will heal your soil:
- You won’t need to purchase as much vermicompost, or as frequently, as you would fertilizer!
- Fertilizer can have a quick boost, but it will rapidly flush away in the rain, or simply because there are more nutrients than your plants can utilize.
- Vermicompost will consistently release nutrition into your soil more slowly and it won’t flush away in rain. It also provides nutrients to soil and plants in a way that fits the plants’ natural growth cycle.
Which Is Better for Plants Compost or Vermicompost?
You may be curious if vermicompost is simply another word for compost, or whether one is better than the other.
While vermicompost contains compost, it also has other organic materials that promote healthier plant growth including nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus.
While naming your compost will save money and offer some benefits, there is still no guarantee it will add any nutrients to your soil that the garden needs or is able to use.
It is still a great way of making your soil healthier.
What are the Disadvantages of Vermicomposting?
Knowing some of the many advantages of vermicomposting, let’s go over some reasons why it may not be right for you, or negatives you should be aware of once you start using vermicomposting.
Time Consuming
In contrast to the dried-up, commercial chemical fertilizers that give you an almost instant dose of “green”, certified organic intake fertilizers, like vermicompost, can take up to six months to start showing you any results as you await to earthworms come and break down and turn your organic material into happy, healthy substance for plants.
Modified: Alternatively, even traditional compost will provide a faster result, with results attainable in about three months!
Odour
Vermicompost, which is essentially compost that lures worms, is great for your garden, but it can easily become smelly if you aren’t cautious.
Lack of airflow in your soil or overfeeding the worms can change the natural earthy smell into an undesirable odor.
Maintenance
Much of the vermicomposting process is about maintaining the wellbeing of the worms.
Because you can’t overdo it when it comes to feeding the worms, it will be important to continually add in small feeds and watch their health so you maximize the benefits of vermicompost.
Moisture is also an important aspect of vermicompost, to be sure the place the worms live is not too dry or wet.
Pest Problems
Though your plants will become more resistant to disease and pests as they become more healthy, there will be a lag time before vermicompost benefits your plants, and they have no extra protection in the meantime.
Also, vermicomposting bins can attract other bugs and pests (such as flies and centipedes) that may negatively affect your garden.
Lack of Control
You cannot determine where your worms congregate and how much impact that will create in your garden.
You may apply vermicompost on certain areas of your garden but have no assurance the glmopathic effects won’t travel into areas you didn’t apply vermicompost.
Not necessarily a bad thing, but it does allow for the potential of your worms to wander off elsewhere, outside of your garden.
Which Brand for Vermicompost Is Best?
Trustbasket Organic Vermicompost is the best brand of vermicompost.
Trustbasket attracts deep-burrowing earthworms, which are already in the soil, adds enzymes like phosphate and cellulase, and increases the aeration of the soil.
However, it is more expensive and will cost you over $100 for 5kg of vermicompost
There are cheaper options like Gaia Green and Gro4, which are closer to $30 for 5kg, but you will have to have your expectations lowered significantly.
However, while it might be more expensive to get higher performance vermicompost, it could be cheaper if you are getting better results and less product.
Final Thoughts
Even though vermicomposting is a kind of fertilizer, the majority of traditional fertilizers use chemical fertilizers such as ammonium bicarbonate which will spike the growth of your plants, but ultimately will provide more than your plants can handle.
Therefore, one of the issues you’ll run into is that most will wash away in the rain.
Vermicomposting provides far more nutrients because it is directly targeted at the roots and your plants can utilize the nutrients slowly over time.
Additionally, it’s organic-based nutrients, meaning you will have plants and soils that will benefit both your plants and the environment and doesn’t negatively affect living things, including pets or other animals around your garden.