Earthworm Castings - A few questions

[GrnMtnGrwr]

I know the NPK profile is dependent on what the worms got to eat, but does anyone know a ballpark idea? Maybe of some common brands?

I'm mainly wondering if and how long a plant could grow in a medium with a third EWC, a third coco, and a third perlite. Yield is not the goal here. Stupidly simple organic growing is.

Maybe a cutting thrown into this and flowered immediately, given nothing besides molasses...

 

[Frozenguy]

I know the NPK profile is dependent on what the worms got to eat, but does anyone know a ballpark idea? Maybe of some common brands?

I'm mainly wondering if and how long a plant could grow in a medium with a third EWC, a third coco, and a third perlite. Yield is not the goal here. Stupidly simple organic growing is.

Maybe a cutting thrown into this and flowered immediately, given nothing besides molasses...

Who says it can?

These weeds can survive with very little.
The less nutes you use, the less light you have to use. If you try to use too much light, it will eat the nutes right out of the soil. Less light requires less nutes.

And yes, longer the veg, more nutes the plant will need.

Why have perlite with coco btw? I have never used perlite with coco.Isn't that the whole point of coco is its great aeration properties?

 

[GrnMtnGrwr]

Who says it can?

These weeds can survive with very little.
The less nutes you use, the less light you have to use. If you try to use too much light, it will eat the nutes right out of the soil. Less light requires less nutes.

And yes, longer the veg, more nutes the plant will need.

Why have perlite with coco btw? I have never used perlite with coco.Isn't that the whole point of coco is its great aeration properties?

The only side by side tests I've seen with coco and perlite have indicated having additional perlite improves yield. I plan to do a test of my own in the next few grows, but right now it's an informed decision. (Link in sig)

 

[generalgrievous]

imo.... perlite belongs in everything in containers.... i don't use it in the ground outdoors.......

your 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 blend is what i started with as my base mix for my 'hot soil' i just threw together day before yesterday for 2 outdoor girls this season......they'll get water only unless they run out of food, in which case they'll get some organic tea feedings....

it's outside 'cooking' in the snow damn it...... i also have 3' tall fava bean stalks in beer cups waiting as well.... they look pretty cool.

 

[GrnMtnGrwr]

imo.... perlite belongs in everything in containers.... i don't use it in the ground outdoors.......

your 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 blend is what i started with as my base mix for my 'hot soil' i just threw together day before yesterday for 2 outdoor girls this season......they'll get water only unless they run out of food, in which case they'll get some organic tea feedings....

it's outside 'cooking' in the snow damn it...... i also have 3' tall fava bean stalks in beer cups waiting as well.... they look pretty cool.

Awesome, thanks for weighing in generalgrievous!

That's definitely some encouraging info.

 

[DocLeaf]

33% EWC in a mix may make the medium too heavy and cold. We mixed coco and worm cast last season and found that root growth was hampered by too much EWC.

EWC make trace nutrients like calcium available to the plants and in general keep the coco medium condition healthy,, but the plants still need a NPK feed to support growth and flowering.

Hope this helps

 

[GrnMtnGrwr]

33% EWC in a mix may make the medium too heavy and cold. We mixed coco and worm cast last season and found that root growth was hampered by too much EWC.

Thanks DocLeaf, definitely helpful!

What ratio did you mix coco and EWC, and what size containers did you use the mix in? What were the temperatures?

Thanks again!

 

[DocLeaf]

Thanks DocLeaf, definitely helpful!

What ratio did you mix coco and EWC, and what size containers did you use the mix in? What were the temperatures?

Thanks again!

- 80% Coco / 20% EWC
- all sizes ranging from 1nch cell trays to 25 liter planters.
- the mix took longer to warm into spring and cooled quicker into autumn than soil subtrates.

In future ,, this season,, we only plan on using 5-10% EWC max!

Hope this helps

 

[GrnMtnGrwr]

Cool, thanks for the info.

 

[IamAdirtyGirl]

Good 411 - going to start my worms soon!

 

[DocLeaf]

We see it like this as a medium...

EWC is great stuff full on minerals from worm slime which contains calcium helps keep plants fit and in a healthy condition

EWC is heavy cold on roots dependent on what the worms ate / supplier fed them

Indoors/glasshouse ,, when combined or mixed with bulk mediums in smaller quantities EWC work better,, (in cooler climates),, but we'd image that EWC would work wonders on inert or low nutrient soil sites outdoors in hot places in bulk

we use EWC casts in tea also to add trace minerals,, plus it adds colour.. hehe

The dirtygirl above has it in the bag,,, by making your own worm-cast ,,, yo can select what the worms eat, when, and perhaps free-up the final media so that it is less dense in texture... (aka advanced vermes-scattery..lol) This is something we are looking into this season,, making our own worm cast full respect

 

[DocLeaf]

More info:

More info:

I know the NPK profile is dependent on what the worms got to eat, but does anyone know a ballpark idea?

EWC cast has very little N,, some traces of P and K,, mainly secondary or trace elements which the worm didnt digest .


More info.

Vermicompost has been shown to be richer in many nutrients than compost produced by other composting methods. It also has outperformed a commercial plant medium with nutrients added, but needed adjustment for magnesium and pH.
However, other studies have shown that the effects of home made, backyard, vermicompost compared to municipal compost were lower in terms of soil microbial biomass, soil microbial activity, and yields of a species of ryegrass.
Further, one study concluded that the differences between methods of composting were in large part due to the feedstock, and therefore no generalizations can be made between composts made from varying materials.
It is rich in microbial life which converts nutrients already present in the soil into plant-available forms.
Unlike other compost, worm castings also contain worm mucus which helps prevent nutirents from washing away with the first watering and holds moisture better than plain soil

(basic) source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermicompost#Properties

 

[xmobotx]

my worms are in aged horse manure - the bin is a bathtub

there's a little coffee grounds (prob about 1/7) and occasionally kitchen scraps (prob about 1/20) - but, of course mostly horse manure

i wonder how i might estimate the NPK of the castings i harvest from the tub? does anyone know of a resource?

 

[GrnMtnGrwr]

NPK Nutrient values for some common worm foods

High N:
Blood Meal (NPK 13-1-0)
Coffee grounds (NPK 1,99-0,36-0,67)
Felt (NPK 14-0-0)
Hair (NPK 14-0-0)
Tea grounds (NPK 4,15-0,62-0,4)
Worm Meal (dried & ground worms) NPK 10-1-1
Greens, leaves & meals, alfalfa, stinging nettle

High P:
Bone Meal generic NPK 4-21-0,2
* steamed NPK 13-15-13
* burned NPK 0-34,7-0
Shrimp Waste NPK 2,87-9,95-0
Tea Leaves ash NPK 0-1,66-0,4
Wheat bran NPK 2,65-2,9-1,6
Oats, Chicken Manure

High K:
Banana skin NPK 0-3,08-11,74
Molasses NPK 0,7-0-5,32
Potato skin NPK 0-5,15-27,5
Wood Ash NPK 0-0,15-7,0
Wood ash (broadleaf) K 10%
Wood ash (coniferous) K 6%
Alfalfa, ashes, potato wastes, peel & skin (-ashes, too)

High Calcium:
Poultry manure (0,5-0,7% dry), dolomite lime, egg shells, bone meal
Note that its usually thought that worm castings is high in calcium (perhaps with the presumption that lime or eggshells are added during the process).

High Iron:
Stinging nettle (Also high N)

High Magnesium:
Dolomite lime, poultry manure, epsom salts

Taken from Worming 101

 

[Clackamas Coot]

Taken from Worming 101

GrnMtnGrwr

I have 4 worm bins and I use the castings in my potting soil mixes.

I've tried for several years to find anything resembling science about a 'link' between the foods that we feed our worms and how that plays out in the actual castings, i.e. N-P-K for lack of a better starting point.

I've not been successful other than finding that many of the commercial worm castings found at nurseries are more often than not are castings from operations composting paper and wood products (like Canada). Worm castings that you grow at your home will always be better because of the diversity of food items you would probably be feeding them.

But does it translate that if I feed my worms kelp meal (for example) that I'll end up with castings with a high-profile in micro-nutrients or potassium? The answer to that question hasn't been answered to my satisfaction.

I'm certainly willing to look at any science to back that theory up however, i.e. my mind isn't closed to the possibility.

HTH

CC

 

[DocLeaf]

As we uderstand it the worms feed on N, P, K, and Mg... since wormcast often has a low count in these available nutrients.

By analogy,, what the worm does not digest is the goodness left behind.

Also worm slime contains bacteria which deposit calcium onto the EWC particles as they wriggle through them... this slime also helps with water retention and the added bacteria aid soil conditioning overal.

 

[supermanlives]

i miss my wormbins. i used to dry banana skins and pulverise and turn some to ashes. best wormcastings ever. just setup an new bin. i like to add small amounts of everything organic. oat meal.bone blood kelp ect. gonna try a grow with just adding bannas to the mix.

 

[LunaShadow]

Here's some NPK values of stuff commonly fed to worms

 

[xmobotx]

i guess w/o testing it would be pretty erroneous then to assume your wormcastings do represent the NPK of the feed stocks?

maybe in testing we'd find NPK ranging in tenths of percents such as not typically reported w/ gardening ammendments?

EWC=EWC w/ little variance based on feedstock IOW

 

[GrnMtnGrwr]

i guess w/o testing it would be pretty erroneous then to assume your wormcastings do represent the NPK of the feed stocks?

maybe in testing we'd find NPK ranging in tenths of percents such as not typically reported w/ gardening ammendments?

EWC=EWC w/ little variance based on feedstock IOW

How would making this kind of statement be any less erroneous?