By Sr. M. Guadalupe Bautista RGS
(Good Shepherd Convent -Baguio City)
Baguio City used to be "clean and green". Not anymore because of population pressure, cutting down of pine trees (latest SM controversy), traffic jams, air pollution and uncollected garbage.
Vermi composting is our little contribution to the waste management of Baguio and to return to mother earth what she gives us. Earthworms are called "angels of the earth".
We started in 2009 with several kilos of african night crawlers called Eudrilus euginiae or Eugene. Today, we are producing 60 sacks of organic compost monthly from vermi casts. We use the organic fertilizer for the flower and vegetable garden and the blueberry farm in Atok.
Besides the vermi fertilizer we were taught by two experts from the University of Hawaii how to brew vermi casts as liquid fertrilizer and insecticide. See the photo of the home made brewer - one big pail and two small pails. It takes 8 to 10 hours to brew the vermi tea using a small aquarium electric motor.
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We sent the vermi compost for analysis at Ateneo's Philippine Institute for Pure and Applied Chemistry or PIPAC. The analysis is needed to find out the nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus content of the vermi fertilizer.
Last April 21, 2012 the day before Earthday the book "Stories of Eugene the Earthworm" was launched at St. Scholastica Convent. The book contains the stories of the Baguio Vermi Growers.
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