Vermicompost, defined
The words that come up when you buy, use or import vermicompost, in plain language.
Bedding
Bedding is the material that earthworms live in while they work, such as shredded paper, coir or dry leaves. It holds moisture, lets air through and gives the worms somewhere to burrow.
C:N ratio
The C:N ratio is the amount of carbon compared with the amount of nitrogen in organic matter. It falls as waste is broken down, so a lower ratio in finished compost shows that the material has stabilised and will not rob the soil of nitrogen.
Cocopeat
Cocopeat, also called coir, is the fine fibrous material from coconut husks. It is mixed into potting mixes to make them lighter and to help them hold water.
Cocoon
A cocoon is the small, lemon-shaped capsule in which an earthworm lays its eggs. Cocoons are harmless in a bag of vermicompost and hatch into new worms if they reach moist soil.
Compost
Compost is organic matter that microbes have broken down, usually with heat, into a dark, crumbly material that feeds soil. Unlike vermicompost, ordinary compost is not made with earthworms.
Curing
Curing is a resting period after harvest, before sieving and packing, in which vermicompost settles and finishes stabilising. Well-cured vermicompost is evenly moist, dark and free of any sour smell.
Earthworm
An earthworm is a segmented soil-living worm that eats organic matter and soil and leaves castings behind. Different species live at different depths, and only a few thrive in the crowded, food-rich conditions of a worm bed.
Eisenia fetida (red wiggler)
Eisenia fetida, the red wiggler, is the earthworm species most used for vermicomposting. It lives near the surface, feeds on decaying organic waste and manure, and tolerates the crowding of a worm bed, which most soil worms do not.
Electrical conductivity (EC)
Electrical conductivity measures how many dissolved salts a soil, compost or potting mix contains. A high reading can harm seedlings, so growers check it before using a material in nursery mixes.
Farmyard manure (FYM)
Farmyard manure is the decomposed mixture of cattle dung, urine, bedding and farm waste that Indian farmers have long applied to fields. Vermicompost starts from the same kind of dung but passes it through earthworms, which makes it finer and more uniform.
Fertiliser (Control) Order (FCO)
The Fertiliser (Control) Order, 1985 is the Government of India order that sets quality standards and selling rules for fertilisers, including organic ones such as vermicompost when they are sold in packs for use in farming.
Full container load (FCL)
A full container load is a shipment that fills a whole shipping container, normally 20 ft or 40 ft, for one buyer. It is the usual way to import vermicompost in large volumes.
HS code
An HS code, from the Harmonized System, is the number that customs authorities use worldwide to classify a product for duties and import rules. An importer confirms the code for their country with a customs broker before ordering.
Humus
Humus is the dark, stable part of soil organic matter that remains once most decomposition is finished. It binds soil into crumbs, holds water and nutrients, and is a large part of what makes soil fertile.
Leaching
Leaching is the washing of dissolved nutrients down below the reach of plant roots by rain or irrigation. Soil rich in organic matter holds nutrients better and leaches less.
Mulch
Mulch is a layer of material spread on the soil surface to keep moisture in, hold weeds back and protect the soil from heat and heavy rain. Straw, dry leaves and coir are common mulches.
NPK
NPK stands for nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K), the three main nutrients plants take up in large amounts. Fertiliser labels list them as percentages, with phosphorus given as P2O5 and potassium as K2O in India.
Organic carbon
Organic carbon is the carbon held in organic matter, and it is the usual measure of how much organic material a soil or a compost contains. Standards for vermicompost set a minimum for it.
pH
pH is the scale from 0 to 14 that shows how acidic or alkaline something is, with 7 neutral. Most vegetables and garden plants grow best in soil that is slightly acidic to neutral.
Phytosanitary certificate
A phytosanitary certificate is the official document, issued by the plant protection authority of the exporting country, that states a consignment has been inspected and meets the importing country's plant-health rules.
Potting mix
A potting mix is the growing medium used in containers. A common homemade mix combines garden soil or potting soil with cocopeat for lightness and vermicompost for food and microbes.
Quotation
A quotation is a price offer prepared for one specific order. At The Composta every sale is quoted: you send the packs you want and your delivery details, and the reply states the price with delivery included as a fixed amount.
Sieving
Sieving is passing finished vermicompost through a screen to remove coarse pieces, so that what is packed is fine, even and easy to mix or spread.
Soil structure
Soil structure is the way soil particles clump into crumbs with gaps between them. Good structure lets air, water and roots move through the soil, and organic matter such as vermicompost helps build it.
Top dressing
Top dressing is spreading a feed, such as a handful of vermicompost, on the surface around a plant instead of digging it in. It is watered in and works down into the soil over time.
Vermicompost
Vermicompost is a soil food made by earthworms. They eat organic waste such as cow dung and plant residue, and the dark, crumbly castings they leave behind feed plants and improve soil.
Vermicast (worm castings)
Vermicast, or worm castings, is what earthworms excrete after digesting organic matter. It is the main part of vermicompost and the reason vermicompost is finer and more uniform than ordinary compost.
Vermiwash
Vermiwash is the liquid that drains through a worm bed or is rinsed from worm castings, sometimes sprayed on leaves. The evidence for its benefits is thinner than for vermicompost itself, and The Composta does not sell it.
Water-holding capacity
Water-holding capacity is how much water a soil keeps available to plants after the excess has drained. Organic matter raises it, which is why soil with vermicompost stays moist longer between waterings.
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