[justalilrowdy]

I'm sold on castings and I am not battling the issues of the past with pests and diseases. Raising your own worms for castings is easy and an excellent way to recycle. This is a great article and confirms my belief in using worm castings and ditching the chemical nutes. Read on..
Research: Worm compost can suppress plant disease!
Organic growers could soon have another weapon in their arsenal, courtesy of the humble worm.
Cornell researchers have found that vermicompost -- the product if composting using various species of worms -- is not only an excellent fertilizer, but could also help prevent a pathogen that has been a scourge to greenhouse growers. By teaming up with a New York composting business, they believe they have found an organic way to raise healthier plants with less environmental impact.
Building on previous research conducted by Professor Eric Nelson's research group in the Department of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology, Ph.D. student Allison Jack has shown that beneficial microbes in vermicompost can colonize a seed's surface and protect it from infection by releasing a substance that interferes with the chemical signaling between the host and the pathogen.
"We know the microbes are actually adding something the zoospores don't like," Jack said. "Now we just have to find out what it is."
Eric Carr, a master's student in Nelson's lab, is focusing on the suppressive qualities of vermicompost on a different stage of the life cycle of Pythium aphanidermatum, a pathogen whose mobile spores infect seedlings, causing them to "damp off," or wither, shortly after germination. The research, he said, helps contribute to opportunities to turn waste products like manure into important disease-suppressive soil amendments.
"At some point in our lives, we're going to have to start using these types of natural resources and use them more efficiently; when that times comes, we'll have a better idea of how it works," Carr said.
Certain composts can suppress diseases, research has shown, but what is still unknown is which of the thousands of undescribed microbes in healthy compost are responsible for suppressing which diseases.
Research: Worm compost can suppress plant disease!
Bacteria from vermicompost extract grows on a petri dish.
Another challenge in identifying suppressors and harnessing them is the variability of different composts.
To overcome this issue, Jack has teamed up with Tom Herlihy, who produces 2.5 million pounds of vermicompost a year through his Avon, N.Y., company, Worm Power. Because his dairy manure feedstock is regular and the process controlled, Herlihy's end product is highly consistent, a quality that's good for growers and for scientists like Jack.
Most seeds are treated in this country with chemicals," Herlihy said. "If we know our vermicompost can suppress Pythium, wouldn't it be nice if we could come up with a vermicompost-based solution, rather than a chemical one?"
There could also be economic benefit if the Environmental Protection Agency, for example, allows Herlihy to market his product as a biopesticide.
A related project at Cornell focuses on vermicompost's organic fertilizing capability. Horticulture assistant professor Neil Mattson was recently awarded a $203,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to study how organic growers can incorporate vermicompost into their potting mixes for better nutrient management. The three-year research project will begin this spring.
"What a lot of these growers tell us is fertility issues are the hardest to solve organically," Mattson said. "This is a community that is doing a lot of great things. We want to make their production systems even more profitable. We want to promote production systems that promote healthy environments."
Provided by Cornell University

[Weird]

welcome home

organics for the win and veri-composting is the foundation

[LittleAmsterdam]

I'm always surprised how STRONG the small creatures are in life.....

[Weird]

if the bacteria and myco that naturally keep the disease in check are in your rhizosphere your plant is safe

this is the "organic" difference, the microbiology in the "living soil" that the plant has evolved a symbiotic relationship with over millions of years

can't see it without a microscope and so many refuse to acknowledge the "unseen"

modern soil science has only scratched the surface no pun intended

well maybe

merry christmas

[justalilrowdy]

I had so much sh*t going on last year with my plants. Fighting it with chemicals and my plants looked like 700 kinds of hell... with in a day or two of applying a healthy dose of worm casting and they were cheering right up. The saying should be "Don't panick.. go organic!" Lmao I can't remember what compelled me to get worms. I just woke up one day and decided to try a worm bin or two. Finding red wigglers was a fairly easy task. I got mine at the Sonoma Worm Farm. I started with 2 lbs. You can also order them online but the weather has to be right to ship them. I don't know how many lbs of worms I have but they are keeping me in all the castings I need. I have 3 small bins going and I am ready to set up another bin. Cheep little critters to keep and they save you a ton in grief and $$. They eat most table scraps and black and white newspaper so they are easy keepers and the benefits are huge!

[xmobotx]

+1

[dank.frank]

Organics all the way...being herald as "the next big thing" in 2012....silly really. But stoked to see people getting a clue once again! Back to natural gardening...let nature handle nature!


dank.Frank

[justalilrowdy]

Yea it is crazy cuz a year ago I was fighting pm and sh*t was flying around the room and crawlers on the floor and I was pouring the high dollar "chemical cures" to my plants out of desperation. They looked like 700 kinds of hell from all those chemicals and the issues persisted. What a waste of money! Within days of starting my organic program with a healthy dose of worm castings the plants started to thrive.. with in days. I never see a crawler or anything flying anymore. The garden never looked so good. Harmony with the soil.
Organic is the only way.

[xmobotx]

Originally Posted by justalilrowdy

Organic is the only way.

nothing more sustainable or valuable; organic agriculture is whats real

[joe fresh]

just thought id mention to watch out how much castings you mix in your soil, ewc hold alot of water and can muddy up real quick... leading to overwatering, which happened tome recently...

imo add ewc-perlite 1-1 or maybe with some sand to help with the poor drainage qualities of ewc