Vermi-Compost at And-Hof

Vermi-Compost is the end-product of the breakdown of organic matter by Earthworms in a controlled environment. When vermi-compost is added to soil, it boosts the nutrients available to plants and enhances soil structure and drainage. The Sanctuary is in the early stages of developing a Vermi-Compost Farm that will up-cycle materials generated by the Sanctuary’s daily operations (manure, expired produce, and cardboard) to produce rich, healthy soil to be sold throughout the community and used on-site as a teaching tool. Our Vermi-Compost Farm is intended to create self-sustaining income for the Sanctuary and educate the public on composting.

The way small-scale worm farms work is by layering cardboard in a plastic tub, adding worms and food scraps, and allowing the worms to eat through the food waste to later defecate and generate high quality compost. Eventually, the process of feeding the worms comes to an end and the rich soil created by natures decomposers is screened to break up clumps. Later, the worms are transferred to a new container to repeat the process.

And-Hof’s Vermi-Compost Farm’s long-term goal is to revitalize the Sanctuary’s “Christmas field” named after pigs that were rescued the day before Christmas. And-Hof’s plan is to relocate the pigs into the woods (better for them) and utilize the worm compost to improve the Christmas field’s degraded soil to allow for large-scale planting of vegetables, medicinal herbs, and saffron to sell within the community.