Worm Castings last how long.....???

[Volker]

I grow in soil, and add worms (1 earthworm/dew worm + 3 red wigglers/trout worms per gallon) to my soil. It works wonders.

I also keep a worm bucket in the kitchen (it doesn't stink) (usually). Sort of like a mulch pile in a bucket. I flood this once a week to get 2L or so of strong worm tea. The rest of the week, I simply collect the drippings (usually between 20mL - 100mL) and mix it with my watering water.

To make a worm bucket, you'll need the same requirements as for a plant: dirt & drainage. I recommend a 5 gal bucket (with lid!) with drainage holes. Put 2" - 4" of dirt in it. Add worms. Add garbage. Water till it starts coming out. Tumble once a day. Flood once a week. And that's all!

I started with a dozen earthword & 2 dozen red wigglers, don't know how many are in there now. Then I simply threw in some garbage. All my vegetable garbage goes in there: executed male cannabis plants, potato peels, tea bags, coffee grounds, onion skins... ANYTHING vegetable. No meats or processed foods. Well, bugs when I clean the light fixtures.

When I flood it, I set the bucket inside another bucket, and simply pour in 2L of water at full force. No wimpy sprinkle, just whoosh. Then I pull the worm bucket out of the other bucket. Just like bubble bags for hash, but with worms. The catch bucket is full of brown liquid which the plants find so yummy! Be sure to check pH if acidic fruits are thrown in!

[Organic Rasta]

Here's some more info I've found on the topic......

The nitrogen and such can take about 60 days to be fully released when the castings are in a soil mix.

I haven't heard anything about release rates for other mediums/conveyance methods but I have read that teas should be left to steep for 24 hours before application. The reason for that may be that worms coat their castings in polysaccharides and since those long chain carbohydrates are not soluable in water, they won't allow a great tea to be made right away.

A polysaccharide bond can be broken down by amylase<<<and there is a lot of that in urine. Urine also has a lot of nitrogen...

or you can just wait a while

Besides nitrogen, castings contain lots of other nutes. and they have growth hormones and vitamins. and they also act as good biocides against diseases and nematodes

There are some differences when it comes to exactly what nutes can be found in worm manure, just like there is for other manures. It can depend on the species of the worm and on what the worm ate.

here are some samples:

species of earthworm - Eisenia foetida
pH 7.40
Organic Carbon (%) 27.43
Total nitrogen (%) 0.60
Total phosphate (%) 1.34
Total potassium (%) 0.40
C: N ratio 45.70

species of earthworm - Perionyx excavatus
pH 7.00
Organic Carbon (%) 30.31
Total nitrogen (%) 0.66
Total phosphate (%) 1.93
Total potassium (%) 0.42
C: N ratio 45.90

red worm castings produced from dairy manure; there are some multiple results and these are from separate tests of the same farmyard
pH 6.3
EC (mmho/cm) 5.92
C:N ratio 14:1
Moisture 67%
Total N (TKN) 2.92% 3.21%
C: N ratio 45.70 45.90
Nitrate N (ppm) 630 420
Ammonium N (ppm) <37 35
Organic carbon (%) 40.2 49
Total P (%) 1.1 1.1
P2O5 (%) 0.187
Total K (%) 1.5
K2O (%) 0.434
Calcium (%) 3.1
Magnesium (%) 0.7
Sodium (%) 0.3
Iron (%) 0.3
Manganese (ppm) 295
Copper (ppm) 123
Zinc (ppm) 357
Boron (ppm) 75FYM

non-specified kind of worm
Nutrient - Percentage
Nitrogen 2
Phosphorus 1.2
Potassium 1
Sulphur 0.4
Calcium 1.5
Magnesium 0.4
Iron 0.7

[rockcopper]

Good Plan Volker. What you have there is leachate, which is good...but....add a 1/4 cup unsulfered mollasses and airate with an aquaium pump and stone for 24 to 48 hours...This will explode the microbes ....now you have tea...make it as you need it cause it dont keep too good....plants will thank you.

[rockcopper]

Man my spelling sucks....but you get the idea...I raise my own worms for the castings...very easy and fun especially for young kids. Make your own super soil..let the worms compost your kelp meal too.

[zigzach]

This is kind of off topic, but noticed on your posting Rasta that you claim perlite to be one of your organic soil ammendments, for the record perlite is not OMRI certified, and therefore is technically not considered "organic".

[JackdaWack]

This is kind of off topic, but noticed on your posting Rasta that you claim perlite to be one of your organic soil ammendments, for the record perlite is not OMRI certified, and therefore is technically not considered "organic".

Oh man REALLY!! might want to think that one through.

[the image reaper]

hope this simplifies it ... Perlite is made from volcanic glass, obsidian, specifically ... NOT organic ... organic means it was a living organism ... Perlite is a mineral ... :smokin:

[ryguy241]

im confused, so you're saying if you grow your plants in soil with minerals your not considering it be organic?

[the image reaper]

im confused, so you're saying if you grow your plants in soil with minerals your not considering it be organic?

not me, I didn't say that, at all :wtf: ... I said 'Perlite' is an inorganic material ... trust me, your plant won't know the difference :smokin:

[ryguy241]

Well, does anyone at what point something is termed organic?? For instance, worm castings and humus are organic material... theres organic fertilizers and organic pesticides and like you stated theres organic special potting blends...
And i beleive vermaculite is made from type of clay found in arid reagons. I guess my point is, organic substances also contain some of the same elements/nutrients that a minerals soil would.... so what is the difference between an all organic blend to a non-organic one, other then being composed of animal and plant residues. From what i am told, a perfect soil is 25% air 25% water space, 5-10 % organic matter, and 40-45% mineral.