can i plant seeds in 100% worm castings?

yahooman · Apr 7, 2019

just wondering if it can safely be done

aridbud · Apr 7, 2019

It has nitrogen 1-0-0. Planted alone, it's heavy. Better to blend in with soil or use as a tea. Try it. Read others that said just that...dense & heavy.

Chappi · Apr 7, 2019

I heard it depends on the quality of the castings. If shitty quality then probably yes, if you made your own then you will burn them.

Dankwolf · Apr 7, 2019

1 why
2 not likely
??????

herbgreen · Apr 7, 2019

yahooman said:
just wondering if it can safely be done

Thats what happening here but live worm bins........

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?threadid=334985

Lrus007 · Apr 7, 2019

i make my own castings.
for a seed i would say 3/4 castings 1/4 soil
would be ok. i have done it.
Lrus007

popta · Apr 7, 2019

if you want them to be in a pile of mud with no drainage or aeration then yeah nothing stopping you

Jokes aside you want to mix the castings with peat, coco, perlite etc to get the right mix of drainage and water/air retention. The nutrients in castings/fertilizer are the plants vitamins not their home. (they're not even their food, that's light). You don't want to live in a pool of vitamins right? They need a proper place to live much more than they need castings.

Sunshineinabag · Apr 7, 2019

Google germination mix.........

yahooman · Apr 7, 2019

thats why i started this thread...thanks fellas!ill go3 parts wc,3 parts,promix or coco and 3 parts perlite

gladysvjubb · Apr 7, 2019

I have been using Pro-Mix for years. Love it.

MJPassion · Apr 7, 2019

YES you can!

Worm casting retain a lot of water so it's best to thin them down with something so as to avoid drowning the plants.

Lester Beans · Apr 7, 2019

Sure. Seeds tend to germinate very well in good quality castings. High quality castings are pretty fluffy. You definitely have to water carefully as to not oversaturate. I wouldn't try this is a solo cup, I use seed starting flats. Week after sprout transplant into potting mix.

Good way to get old seeds to pop. Although if you have fresh seeds just plant in potting mix.

aridbud · Apr 7, 2019

Chappi said:
I heard it depends on the quality of the castings. If shitty quality then probably yes, if you made your own then you will burn them.

Burning plants, no, but dense and roots need room to breathe. As said, it can be done, but more useful blended in.
Do an experiment with castings only and let us know!

aridbud · Apr 7, 2019

MJPassion said:
YES you can!

Worm casting retain a lot of water so it's best to thin them down with something so as to avoid drowning the plants.

Due to density.

As Lester said, good way to germinate seeds. Most say mix or use as tea (we do that), but a few out there say it's fine....let us know.

Been using 1/4 castings to other soil amendments for organic.

dank.frank · Apr 7, 2019

My personal cloning medium which makes roughly 1.5 cu ft:

5 gal peat
2.75 gal coir
.75 gal EWC
.75 gal composted cow manure
.5 gal chunky perlite
.5 gal vermiculite

Cloning Amendment Recipe:

1c alfalfa meal
1c crab meal
1c kelp meal
2/3c pH mineral mix
1/4c DE/Calcium Bentonite
2 tbsp Bio-Vam
2 TBSP Bio-Ag Endo Vam
2 tbsp BTi granules

*pH mineral mix - 2/3c dolomite, 1/3c gypsum, 1/3c aragonite, 1/2c azomite

I use this mix for seeds and clones, actually. I let this sit and compost for a couple weeks, until the smells have settled and it takes on a more natural black earth smell. Works like a charm.

dank.Frank

yahooman · Apr 7, 2019

i think i added a tad too much perlite to the mix....and i used all the soil and didnt want to over do the ewc so i put an inch layer of perlite in the bottom of my tray and put 2 cups of water in it and put the seedling mini pots on top so they will not dry out too easy

Cvh · Apr 7, 2019

I made a similar thread a while back about growing in pure (vermi)compost.
Maybe you can find some info also in that thread.
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=359129

And here is another thread I started about (Free) Alternatives to perlite for soil aeration.
Lots of good tips in this thread.
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=359129

I'm currently now growing in raised beddings outdoor some chilipeppers in pure homemade compost. All good so far. No compactation, aeration or drainage issues.
But my homemade compost has some fluff, sticks,...etc in it which was left over from the composting proces. I didn't sifted it because I wanted it to stay in to give better structure to the 'soil'. It looks just like dark regular soil, has good aeration/drainage and gives also stability. I'm happy with it so far.

yahooman · Apr 7, 2019

i have a compost bin,i only put food waste in it,but i put through a food processor with a bit of water before i add to my bin....cuts the decomp time in more than half

RenaissanceBrah · Jan 4, 2021

Lester Beans said:
Sure. Seeds tend to germinate very well in good quality castings. High quality castings are pretty fluffy. You definitely have to water carefully as to not oversaturate. I wouldn't try this is a solo cup, I use seed starting flats. Week after sprout transplant into potting mix.

Good way to get old seeds to pop. Although if you have fresh seeds just plant in potting mix.

For sprouting seeds in a worm bin, should we just throw them on top and close the lid? (Mine is in the garage, in the dark most of the time).

Or bury them 1cm below the surface or so?

(Experimenting with sprouting 3 seeds... the last one I marked, but the first two I buried 1cm deep, and upon realizing my mistake and trying to find them again, I couldn't... *facepalm*
hopefully they sprout and I can find them them.)

can i plant seeds in 100% worm castings?

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