Worm castings

NorthernHize · Jan 19, 2015

Just wanted some input on buying mixes or straight worm castings for my own amendments. The reason I'm asking is that I hear a lot of controversy about most worm castings being worthless due to most of the worms being fed mostly cardboard, dead tree bark and other non organic junk, thus creating worthless castings anybody ever hear of this?

hyroot · Jan 19, 2015

most store bought castings have very little nutrient value. Maybe a little n if that. Best store bought is agrowynn castings. Has higher nutrient value than all others.

best option is to get a worm bin going. Make your own.

Smidge34 · Jan 19, 2015

I second Hyroot, start your own if at all possible. The local fella who sold me my wigglers, bless his heart, is a national distributor of worm castings and he told me to bed mine in a 70/30 mix of peat/cardboard, with the occasional scoop of grain based "worm chow" that he just so happened to retail too, lol, and I'd be harvesting castings every 90 days. I bought his worms, but I feed a balanced diet of ground/chopped veggies, coffee grounds and lots of powdered egg shells.

NorthernHize · Jan 20, 2015

My own worm bin it is!

harris hawk · Jan 20, 2015

Worm castings just help retain water in your soil mixture, -thats'. all

NorthernHize · Jan 20, 2015

harris hawk said:
Worm castings just help retain water in your soil mixture, -thats'. all

Interesting, so they impart no sort of beneficial nutrients to the soil?

harris hawk · Jan 20, 2015

NorthernHize said:
Interesting, so they impart no sort of beneficial nutrients to the soil?

NO real nutrient value at all - sorry

NorthernHize · Jan 20, 2015

harris hawk said:
NO real nutrient value at all - sorry

No shit, I was lied to. This is why I don't listen to everything I hear.

hyroot · Jan 20, 2015

harris hawk said:
Worm castings just help retain water in your soil mixture, -thats'. all

lmao

worm castings provide beneficial bacteria, fungi, nematodes, chitin plus nutes depending on what the worms have been fed.

I feed my worms veggie scraps, kelp meal, rock dust, oyster shell flour, eggshells, crab meal, neem meal, oats, amd the bedding is made of peatmoss, coco, dandelions, nettle. comfrey., and dried canna leaves, aloe leaves, lavender, peppermint leaves, chocolate mint leaves, and left overs from seed sprout teas, and other plant material.

My own castings have a full spectrum of everything

NorthernHize said:
No shit, I was lied to. This is why I don't listen to everything I hear.

that guy is either the wrong kind of special or messing with you

harris hawk · Jan 20, 2015

not messing with - I was told that just used for water retention, air-a-son - meant not harm - learn something new everyday - Thanks!!! PEACE

dannyboy602 · Jan 20, 2015

hyroot said:
lmao

worm castings provide beneficial bacteria, fungi, nematodes, chitin plus nutes depending on what the worms have been fed.

I feed my worms veggie scraps, kelp meal, rock dust, oyster shell flour, eggshells, crab meal, neem meal, oats, amd the bedding is made of peatmoss, coco, dandelions, nettle. comfrey., and dried canna leaves, aloe leaves, lavender, peppermint leaves, chocolate mint leaves, and left overs from seed sprout teas, and other plant material.

My own castings have a full spectrum of everything
that guy is either the wrong kind of special or messing with you

Makes sense. Good info.

Smidge34 · Jan 20, 2015

Oh man and here all this time I was under the impression that compost was a good source of natural, organically supplied N, P and K, as well as other trace minerals, lol.

The organic benefit of worm castings is hard to put an exact number on (N, P and K values), because of variables such as what the worms are fed and are composting, but make no mistake, there are nutritional elements in castings.

st0wandgrow · Jan 20, 2015

NorthernHize said:
No shit, I was lied to. This is why I don't listen to everything I hear.

You weren't lied to. Hyroot is right. Worm castings are the single most important thing you could add to your soil. Without castings it would be like trying to drive a car without an engine in it.

NorthernHize · Jan 20, 2015

Well I thank everybody for their input write or wrong, because we all learned something today. Hyroot I I will try to throw as much of those ingredients as I can find into my worm bin doubt I will succeed though. A few questions though, is there a particular type worm that works the best and how often do you or can you collect the castings. And what the hell does a casting look like? Lol

st0wandgrow · Jan 20, 2015

NorthernHize said:
Well I thank everybody for their input write or wrong, because we all learned something today. Hyroot I I will try to throw as much of those ingredients as I can find into my worm bin doubt I will succeed though. A few questions though, is there a particular type worm that works the best and how often do you or can you collect the castings. And what the hell does a casting look like? Lol

Red wigglers are the best composting worm

http://unclejimswormfarm.com/

Castings just look like really dark soil. Almost like wet coffee grounds. I harvest my bins every 4 months. I have 3 of them in rotation, so about every 6 weeks I have fresh castings.

droopy107 · Jan 20, 2015

hyroot said:
lmao

worm castings provide beneficial bacteria, fungi, nematodes, chitin plus nutes depending on what the worms have been fed.

I feed my worms veggie scraps, kelp meal, rock dust, oyster shell flour, eggshells, crab meal, neem meal, oats, amd the bedding is made of peatmoss, coco, dandelions, nettle. comfrey., and dried canna leaves, aloe leaves, lavender, peppermint leaves, chocolate mint leaves, and left overs from seed sprout teas, and other plant material.

My own castings have a full spectrum of everything

Man, them's some well cared for worms you got there.

When I was a kid we always had a pile of decomposing leaves we kept around to catch worms in. One of my chores was to take food waste out and put them in the worm pile. That pile was absolutely stacked with worms of all kind. Long story short, that pile was so fertile. Every summer volunteer tomatoes and watermelon would take off and just crank out great produce. I realize that there is more going on biologically in the pile than the dried castings, but I'm hear to say the worm castings were the engine that drove the process. It was impressive.

harris hawk · Jan 21, 2015

Agree with "NorthernHize" learned a lot of new stuff - thanks everybody for their input -- Casting a Must !!!!!!

st0wandgrow said:
Red wigglers are the best composting worm

http://unclejimswormfarm.com/

Castings just look like really dark soil. Almost like wet coffee grounds. I harvest my bins every 4 months. I have 3 of them in rotation, so about every 6 weeks I have fresh castings.

Thanks! joined the site "unclejimswormfarm"

greasemonkeymann · Jan 21, 2015

harris hawk said:
not messing with - I was told that just used for water retention, air-a-son - meant not harm - learn something new everyday - Thanks!!! PEACE

harris hawk said:
NO real nutrient value at all - sorry

Good that, that was cleared up, a homemade vermicompost is nearly as important as the nutrients you choose. maybe more so.
I'd say a quality compost/EWC is more important than almost anything.
for organics obviously

NorthernHize · Jan 21, 2015

Ordered up 4,000 worms might be overkill but they are on special. I have my herb garden as well as my other herb garden, so I will be composting a lot. And won't go to waste.

NorthernHize · Jan 21, 2015

Thanks everybody!

Worm castings

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