Teacher Notes for Activity 2 Vermicomposting

Expected Answers

Conclusions

  1. Are the worms aggregating in any one area of the bin or around any one particular type of waste? Describe.
    Answers will vary, but students should notice that worms have preferred foods. For example, citrus might be avoided because of its acidity, or banana peels because they are so fibrous, while worms seem to “flock” to melons and cantelope.
  2. Are the worms alive and seemingly healthy? What are your criteria for determining this?
    Student answers will vary. Accept any reasonable observations.
  3. Are the worms reproducing? Look for cocoons and juvenile worms.
    Answers may vary, but if the worm bins are properly maintained, and the worms are mature, students should see cocoons and juvenile worms after the first couple of weeks.
  4. How well are the worms breaking down the waste material? Explain.
    Answers will vary based on student observations.

Challenges

  1. Calculate the quantity of worms you would need in a worm bed to dispose of the kitchen wastes that are produced each week in your home. How much landfill space could be saved in a year if you composted all of your kitchen wastes?
    You may want to point out to students that they will need to quantify the amount of waste their family generates in a week so they can collect the data needed.
  2. Use a soil test kit to analyze the nutrient value of the vermicompost. How do the nutrient values of vermicompost compare with those of normal soil from a garden in your area?
    You will need to provide a soil test kit for students to answer this question. Compost is not “high” in NPK, but rather provide it in a form that is readily available to plants and in a slow release form.
  3. Design a field trial to determine if vermicompost promotes plant growth and, if so, recommend how it should be used with plants.
    Students designs will vary, but should include growing plants in various mixtures of soil and vermicompost to determine the optimum mixture. Students should use controls, 100% soil and 100% vermicompost as well and should plant several plants in each mix.
  4. Design an experiment to determine what percentage of the worm cocoons are viable. Viable cocoons have at least one worm that has hatched from eggs.
    Student experiments should involve separating cocoons into a smaller container where they can be observed over time and newly hatched worms easily seen. In Worms Eat Our Garbage, Mary Appelhof suggests using jar lids with moistened paper towel disks below and above the cocoons and leaving a couple of flakes of oatmeal in the center to serve as food for newly hatched worms. She uses a slightly larger lid as a cover to keep the “hatchery” dark. Students could also use petri dishes or other small containers.

Teacher Notes for Activity 2 Vermicomposting
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