ABSTRACT
Before the publication of Darwin’s (1881) seminal work on earthworms, these organisms were generally regarded as garden pests, or at best given very little consideration in nature. However, some gardeners knew better and used the activities of earthworms to assist their needs. For instance, in the preparation of leaf mulch for potting plants by the natural rotting of fallen leaves, some gardeners found that certain litter-dwelling earthworm species had a positive role in soil, and their activities were duly encouraged. This type of knowledge of organic breakdown activities remained almost something of a well-kept secret until a drive in the 1980s to utilize and indeed harness the activities of earthworms to assist in the break down and
CONTENTS
I Introduction .................................................................................................. 423 II Current Vermiculture Activities in the United Kingdom ............................. 425 III Vermicomposting Operations in the United Kingdom ................................. 428
A Case Study 1: Orm Professional Products, Wales ................................. 428 1 Vermiprocessing .............................................................................. 429 2 Earthworms and Knowledge for Sale .............................................. 430 3 Vermi T ............................................................................................ 430
B Case Study 2: BEEcycle, Lancaster ....................................................... 431 IV Current U.K. Vermiculture Research ........................................................... 432 V Future Developments in Vermicomposting in the United Kingdom ............ 433 References .............................................................................................................. 434
reduction of organic waste materials into vermicomposts and potentially to produce feed protein (see Chapter 20).
