Worm Tea Anyone?

So in the previous post, I did mention our intention of making a vermicompost plot at our site. Now, I'm gonna try my very best to explain what a vermicompost is and what are our plans.

Our main consultant for the vermicompost site is Dr. Hasnah, our beloved lecturer from the School of Biological Sciences. Termed "The Worm Lady" ( I don't know how many ladies out there wanna be called a worm), she has years of experience in managing and culturing of worm as part of her research.

So we approached Dr. Hasnah and her suggestions for us is:

1. Dig a plot for the worms to feed.

2. Cover the plot with dried leaves

3. Make sure the leaves are moist all the time

So what are the point of doing all those? Well for starters, it's to attract the worms to our plot by providing them with adequate food. Secondly, the point of getting a plot done is to ease us in obtaining the soil that contains the feces in case the worm does reside in out plot.

The question is: Why don't we use the cultured worms at the plot?

According to Dr. Hasnah, introducing a new type of worm to a plot would not be a smart move due to invasive reason and also sometimes, it is hard to a new species of worm to live with native species.

Another question: What are the outcomes of having a vermicompost plot?

Well as we said, we are expecting worms to do the composting for us, which of course will result in the prodcution of feces. The feces obtained will be used as fertilizer for our plants, which is said to be good comparatively to chemical fertilizer. On a second note, we are aiming to obtain WORM TEA, which is the urine of the worm. It is not scientifically proven yet, but worm tea are said to be able to control some pest which of course, is TRY-WORTHY at our farm.

So below are some pictures that might help in explaining.

The worms that we found looks well nourished. Good sign definitely.

Our plot for Vermicompost. Notice that we leave the dried leaves as a food source for the worms.

Teamwork, that's what it's all about getting things done. :)

In the next post, I will update you guys on more of our progress. Till then, good bye!!

P/s: If there are any suggestion, do leave it at the comment and suggestion box.

Just Don't Make It Look Ugly

      

"Just don't make it look ugly".

That was the last warning advice that Dr.Lee Lik Meng gave to the member of BioSoc before the work on our very first Organic Farm started.

A brief introduction on our farm. Our planting site is a 20m X 25m X 28m X 25m plot, which will be fenced out by a 'live fence'. Live fence is the brainchild concept by the members of Biosociety. In an effort to promote more green, we are fencing our area not with bamboo trunks, then we will connect the bamboo using thin wire and on the wire will be our creeping Passion Fruit plant.Once it's done, it will look like a wall of green, SO WAIT FOR IT. Our plot is located beside Tasik Aman, so of course we have a lot to worry, but we'll leave that for a later time.

First things first, we had to mark out our area according to our plan sketching,

 We decided to use rafia string for starters, but it'll be off soon once the bamboo is up.

Marking out our space: One of the most important part of our early planning

We met our first BLOCKADE when we discovered  a type of really invasive grass, Rusiga (common name) all over the place. This grass has a sort of triangle trunk symmetry and is really hardy (grows easily but are hard to be removed) , not to mention that it breeds really fast after a rainy day.

Removing the grass and throwing it aside would only worsen the condition, mainly because that is how we help them to pollinate. Our best and only choice now is to remove it and keep it at a distance away from our farm in bulk, which will be used later for vermicompost.

Speaking of vermicompost, YES, we decided to do some vermicompost on our farm! You'll not believe how big the worms is here, making our choice to start a vermicompost plot that much more wise.

We found a lot of worms during our digging, and this one is considered the averagely sized ones.

 For those who aren't sure what vermicompost is, a general description would be: Raring of worms so they can help in composing materials such as leaves and grass, producing  a type of natural fertilizer that we believe is a mixture of soil and also worm deposits.

 Digging for our vermiculture plot.

Well, general description at least. We decided that we would DIG into the knowledge of vermiculture ourselves and of course, post it up HERE so that we ALL can share the knowledge together. So our first day proceeded, and I guess I will let the pictures do the talking.

 A lot of digging is involved, and trust me, its hard work. I might put up a post just on DIGGING itself.

Top: Yes, you've guessed it right, that PILE there is the Rusiga that I mentioned earlier.
Bottom:Something to start off with, gloves, seeds and of course, the wire for our living fence

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