Farmyard Manure vs. Vermicompost: Which is Best for Your Next Landscape Project?

Gardeners are slowly making their way towards smart solutions when it comes to using inputs in landscaping. The after-effects of chemical fertilizers and soil degradation are no longer a secret. While there are many options for organic fertilizers, farmyard manure (FYM) and vermicompost are both efficient.

Whether you are a professional grower, a backyard gardener, or a nursery owner wondering which organic fertilizer to opt for, here is the article for you:-

What is Farmyard Manure?

FYM is obtained by decomposing dead plants and wastes like faeces, urine, and dung, with or without accompanying litter such as straw, hay, and bedding. It’s one of the simplest forms of manure and is rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. FYM is rich in organic matter, or humus.

What is Vermicompost?

Conversely, vermicomposting converts organic matter into dark soil that smells and feels like earth. It is produced with the help of worms and is a kind of super compost made from worm castings

Earthworms process and digest the waste, then excrete the vermicompost. The entire process is odourless and gives out an end product that is fully decomposed, making it weed-free, with an amazing texture like tea leaves, disinfected, detoxified, and highly nutritious.

Major Differences

People have different opinions about using farmyard manure versus vermicompost for a healthier garden or farm. Let’s compare and contrast these two to highlight their benefits and drawbacks.

• Nutrition: Vermicompost contains a concentrated range of essential micronutrients required for healthy plant growth. Vermicompost is the next level of FYM, and it can be considered the fruitful evolution of Farmyard Manure.
• Higher Levels of Beneficial Micro-organisms: During conventional composting, many beneficial microbes and nutrients are lost. Whereas vermicompost may be 1000 times more microbially active than conventional compost.
• Contaminations: Farmyard manure may contain contaminants, such as weeds and pathogens, if not fully decomposed.
• Time: FYM needs to be decomposed for 2-3 years to get the quality of vermicompost, while you can prepare vermicompost within a few months
• Cost: Vermicompost is definitely more expensive than FYM
• Vermicompost is lighter in weight as compared to FYM and has a higher nutrient density at the same time.
• Worm casts in Vermicompost have a higher concentration of soil enzymes, organic matter, and soil microorganisms, which creates beneficial microclimatic conditions in soils for rapid mineralisation and transformation of plant nutrients.
• FYM is cheaper but now outdated. Due to no standardisation, it has many issues, it isn’t fully developed, and is not used by professionals.

Learn How to Use Vermicompost From Khadnath has been committed to working with a mission to “save soil” for the past two decades. We offer safe, eco-friendly products with great value for money—perfect for any agricultural application. We have an in-house soil test lab for our customers, and we wish to help you get the best soil year after year.

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