How long do worm castings last

Earthworm castings suit all indoor and outdoor gardens. Earthworm castings provide substances that directly influence healthy plant growth. Research conducted over several years at The Ohio State University Soil Ecology Laboratory found that worm castings enhanced seed germination, plant growth, flowers and fruit production.

Castings also curbed certain plant diseases, including root and crown rots and wilt disease, and inhibited some insect pests, including mites, aphids and mealy bugs. In , researchers at Cornell University Department of Plant Pathology and Plant Microbe Biology demonstrated that worm castings suppressed damping-off disease in seedlings.

In addition, castings naturally degraded the protective covering of some insect pests, regulated plant nutrient release and stimulated the nutrient cycle from soil to plants. Using earthworm castings is as simple as using traditional garden compost. Compost piles benefit from castings, too. Water extracts the goodness from castings to create a nutritious and microorganism-rich solution known as casting tea. In , the U. We have listed below some of the most known common uses of worm casting :.

When you mix worm castings with your seed starter it provides the nutrients for new seedlings that boost growth. The new soil mix will hold moisture around the young seedlings providing added protection. You can choose to either dig deeper or sprinkle this natural fertilizer around your plant. This would greatly prevent pests from bringing trouble to your plants. Now for indoor plants, you can use tablespoons, depending on size. Adding worm castings is the finest choice as it would greatly help bring back the previous health of your soil.

Worm castings prevent soil from drying out as it makes your soil more absorbent, consistently making moisture available to your plants. This tea can be diluted with water and you can use it as an alternative for watering your plants. Just steep some worm castings in water like you would when making your own tea to drink.

To wrap this up, worm casting truly is one of the most amazing products of nature. It has very easy procedures that produce excellent results. Though there are a few drawbacks when it comes to worm casting, there are more than enough benefits to balance it out.

With that, we hope you had a finer understanding regarding worm casting through this article, enough to help you start your next gardening project.

You can use worm casting on the top of your soil every month and all through the growing season. Reapplying worm casting monthly to your topsoil will keep your plants looking healthy and exceptional. Still, too much cold or heat will also damage the bacteria. But might it ever be too late? Can a bucket of dirt even go bad? Well, there are two ways to look at it. If you most value the aerobic bacteria and their potential, then yes, they can die and become useless.

If they die, anaerobic bacteria will take over and make a smelly situation out of your compost. However, if you take into account that even stinky compost is super full of vitamins and minerals, you can see how it too can be good — in the right places.

NOTE Reserve your very best quality worm compost for amending the soil of vegetable gardens only. When watering, keep edible fruits and foliage clean using only fresh water rather than any tea preparation.

Here we are, well into a brand new year! At the Squirm Firm, we resolve to continue with our month to month discovery and sharing of how raising compost worms impacts our world and this little corner of the earth we stand on. For those of you just joining the party, sign up here to be among the first to see each new issue we email. I have an outdoor compost bin also. When I harvest my worm castings I put into my outside bin and mix in. Thoughts and comments welcome. Have heaps of black magic soil piling up!!

I heard that if worm compost is left it will dry to the consistency of concrete. I have my worm trays in the garage and when I needed to harvest compost and save it for a while I put it into a plastic bin with wet newspaper on top of it and sprayed with water each day to keep it viable. I was able to use it after that. I also have a small bin in the garage with a bag of planting soil that each week I add coffee grinds and ground eggshells and use that when planting in the Spring as well.

Maybe worm compost would dry like concrete if it started out as thick soupy mud, but if it starts out loose and aerated- it dries that way too. How should I use worm castings? There a many ways to use worm castings, including as an all-natural plant food and compost fortifier. Check out our post on how to use worm castings. What is the best way to store excess worm castings? Keeping them out of UV light e. We recommend storage at a temperature in the degrees Fahrenheit range to help prolong the shelf life of your worm castings.

Are worm castings toxic to dogs, cats and other household pets? In fact, hermit crabs eat worm castings and are fed to them as a treat. We sell our worm castings, African nightcrawlers and worm cocoons exclusively through our online store or directly at our Worm Farm, which is located here: A Tia Juana Street Colorado Springs, CO