Sometimes it pays to take a look at alternative gardening methods of third-world countries. The use of drip irrigation is an example of an idea that wasn't invented here. Countries like India and Cuba can't afford to import expensive petrochemical-based fertilizers. Their solution is to look to worms.
Worms are a very economical way to convert waste into a usable product.
We all know the value of worms in our gardens and most of us are pretty happy to find them when we are digging in our beds. Just so you know, there are over 3,000 kinds of worms. For our purposes, though, there are really only two types of interest to us. Conveniently, they have divided their worlds into two environments. Eisenia foetida may be more familiar to you as red worms, red wigglers, manure rooms, fish worms, dung brand- ings or even apple pomice worms.