Price:	6000.00
Inc VAT:	7050.00
Min Qty:	1
Unit Qty:	Each
VAT:	17.50%
Add: to

ORM Worm Digester

Largest handles up to 125kgs of waste/day. (Larger units available to order).

Primarily used for the digestion of food and green waste products which when shredded are loaded though the doors. The unit is then self-contained.

No odours, no mess and little noise, very easy to manage.

Digesters either made with cut off system for the use of wormcast on site, or skip based units which are taken away to be emptied.
How it works...
* Vermicomposting uses particular species of earthworms to process organic wastes into material possessing excellent chemical, physical and biological characteristics for improving plant growth and health.
* During the vermicomposting process, organic matter is fully oxidised and stabilised and the nutrients are converted into readily plant available forms.
* Vermicomposts have a fine structure, high moisture-holding capacity, greatly increased microbial activity and contain growth regulators produced by micro organisms and the interaction with humic substances.

The story behind it all..

Until recently scientific documentation of the responses of plants to the application of Wormcast ~ Pro to soil or container media has been poor, even though anecdotal evidence has been abundant.

Over the past five years the soil ecology laboratory at the Ohio State University has developed a comprehensive research program in vermicomposting. They have found consistently the addition of relatively small amounts of Vermi castings to standard horticultural container mixes, and even commercially prepared premium quality container media has resulted in dramatic improvements to plant growth.

A consistent and interesting trend for trials with plants grown in container media is for the best responses to occur when Vermi castings constitute only 1% - 20% of the volume of the mix and with increasing proportions of castings not always improving plant growth as well (6). Pasture grass trials have shown the same effects with as little as 20 - 40 grams of Wormcast ~ Pro per square metre making significant improvements to grass growth.

The low % of castings required for a dramatic response indicate that the dramatic responses are more than simply a function of supplying plant nutrients and that other related growth stimulants are involved. It has now been found that Wormcast ~ Pro increases microbial populations, and adds biologically active metabolites such as plant growth regulators (auxins, cytokinnins and gibberellins).

The addition of Wormcast ~ Pro has consistently improved seed germination, enhanced seedling growth and development and increased plant productivity much more than would be possible from the mere conversion of mineral nutrients into more plant available forms.

Wormcast ~ Pro has also been shown to reduce the incidence of plant diseases. Research indicates that microbial activity and the make up of the microbial communities existing in Wormcast ~ Pro play an important role in plant growth responses. The reason appears to be that different microbes act on different substances from simple sugars to complex substances. If any are missing it will inhibit growth. The diversity of microbes in Wormcast ~ Pro allows all substrates to be broken down.

The role of earthworm derived humic acids has also received much attention recently. Humic acids are produced by the breakdown of organic matter by micro organisms. They are generally negatively charged so attract positive ions, such as calcium. Humic substances promote the conversion of a number of elements into forms available to plants, of particular importance is phosphate. Phosphate reacts with other minerals in the soil, (particularly iron and aluminium) and becomes locked or unavailable to plants. Humic acids help substitute iron and aluminium with other elements e.g calcium, making phosphate available to plant roots.

Wormcast ~ Pro is humus rich. The break down of organic material by earthworms accelerates the humification of organic matter. The humic and fulvic acids produced in this process have been proven to stimulate plant growth beyond that produced by solely the mineral nutrient found in Wormcast ~ Pro. Humic acids are large complex molecules. Partial oxidation of humic acids allow bonding sites for plant nutrients including calcium and magnesium and other humic like materials produced in the faeces of earthworms which exhibit auxin, gibberellin and cytokinin like activities.

Studies of the positive effects of these humic substances on plant growth when full requirements for mineral nutrition are met resulted consistently in positive effects on growth independent of nutrition. Humic acids have been reported to enhance mineral uptake by plants by increasing the permeability of the cell membranes of root cells (8). Wormcast ~ Pro humic acids appear to have greater effects upon the root growth of the plants than on the above ground parts of the plant. Stimulation of root growth, increased proliferation of root hairs, and enhancement of root initiation by humic acids has been reported commonly by several other researchers.

References
(1) Edwards & Burrows, 1988
(2) Atiyeh, R., Arancon, N., Edwards, C., Metzger, J., 2001
(3) Subler, S., Edwards,C., 1998
(4) Atiyeh, R., Edwards, C., Subler, S., Metzger, J., 2000
(5) Foster, 1999
(6) Atiyeh et al. 1999, 2002a,b
(7) Tomati, Galli and Doube, 1997
(8) Atiyeh, R., Lee, S., Edwards, C., Arancon, N., Metzger, J.. 2002