The Magoon Wormery at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience (CTAHR) was crawling with activity in December as more than 100 volunteers gathered for a fun and educational “harvest party.”
Now in its fourth year, the party attracted families, long-time worm bin tenders, and worm-curious newcomers to CTAHR’s Magoon Research Facility in Mānoa Valley. Most attendees brought their own active worm bins to weigh their worms and harvest vermicast, a nutrient-rich soil amendment created by composting worms.
A group learning experience
Some people started their first-ever worm bin. Others separated their worms from the finished compost to see how much their worm populations had expanded and if the worms transformed pounds of food waste over the months into vermicast.
“There were lots of things to do, and everybody learned something,” said organizer Mindy Jaffe of the Worm Ohana.
The benefits of the practice extend beyond waste reduction. According to Jaffe, vermicast is the best nutrient-rich organic fertilizer on the planet. “No matter what (people are) growing, it’s going to grow better,” she said, listing poinsettias, roses and carrots as just a few beneficiaries of the natural fertilizer.
Jaffe and her team plan to hold the harvest party twice a year to accommodate the growing interest. In addition, vermicast workshops are held every second Saturday at CTAHR’s Urban Garden Center in Pearl City and every fourth Saturday at the Magoon Wormery in Mānoa Valley.
Visit the Worm Ohana website for more information.
