| | | | | | | | It is definitely the most amazing procedure to give your garden,potting
soil,or germination mixes the increased push for better growth.
Castings are completely organic. Worm castings have no odor and are non-toxic to boot! The
other interesting point is earthworm castings will never burn even your
most senstive plants.
What are earthworm castings? It results in a fertilizer that
comes directly from the earthworm. The earthworm digests the soil and
passes it through its body and returns it to the soil as a beneficial
altered nutrient called earthworm castings.
The earthworm castings contain such rich water-soluble
nutrients. Castings will enable plants to rapidly and without
difficulty absorb these essential nutrients. The end result is the
plant needs only a minimal effort to obtain all this great nutrients in
the right proportions. You will not find this to be the case with most
chemical fertilizers. Indeed these fertilizers have many many
nutrients,but the plant is limited in the breakdown of these
fertilizers to the extent in which an earthworm is able to provide.
Earthworms themselves assist in the improvement of the soil
letting the soil drain better by the worm tunneling activity and in
turn improves the aeration,porosity and the deep saturation of the
soil. The earthworm also improves soil fertility by releasing minerals
that are deep in the subsurface and can often be in very short supply
on your surface soil. This is such a valuable ingredient in your garden
and with a large population they will even keep the weed growth under
control. The tunneling of the earthworm does suppress many of the
requirements necessary for weed development. An earthworm will
frequently digest weed seeds which either destroys them or renders them
useless in germination.
How could it actually be better than
compost? The earthworm has the ability to transform regular compost
with additional beneficial organisms into a completely odorless form
ready for immediate use by your plants. In nature animal waste and
decaying plant material are worm food not plant food.
In
planting my annuals or perennials I put a small handful of castings
into each hole . Your garden application should be made once a year at
20 pounds per 1000 square feet. In your potted plants mix your potted
plants mix a small amount of worm castings into your potting soil. Keep
in mind that castings are very very potent so don't become over zealous
in your application it should be no more than one-fifth of the
ingredients.
Don't forget about worm tea! Many farmers have used it over
the centuries and can be mixed at home. However it is time consuming
and requires the correct recipe but it is available in the commercial
world. There is evidence that worm tea will cure tomato blight and leaf
curl. Worm tea is an excellent 100% natural,non-toxic alternative.
There are many places on the internet that you can purchase both worm
castings and worm tea. Hey worms are good for more than fishing! |