worm castings....as a soil addition..

15 years ago

I have found out that there is a huge worm farm in the town where DS 1 has the restaurant. One of the persons that grows vegs for the restaurant buys the castings for his garden. He said they are in bags and that a cubic yard is $90. What do you all know of this? How would I use them and when and how much. Is that a good price ? What should I look for as to quality ?

The 2 loads of soil I bought last year that was supposed to be compost with chicken manure was not any good at all. I was very disappointed in the quality and the resulting poor growth. So I really want to amend the soil correctly this time. Any help will be really appreciated. c

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Comments (9)

lorna-organic
15 years ago
Worm castings are pricey. They are the best soil additive, except for the liquid which comes from worm bins. I would suggest that you purchase worms, and put them in your garden, Caroline. That is what I did when I first moved to NM. It was late fall, so I kept the worm bin in the house until spring. By then I had had a chance to add soil amendments so the worms would have something to eat. Worms cannot thrive in poor soil. My worms have multiplied and spread themselves. During winter they burrow deep into the earth, about eighteen inches.
Lorna
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15 years ago
I was looking up info and it seems that they prevent a lot of diseases in plants and are a perfect slow release fertilizer. I have worms in my soil as when I plant I see them. So I guess it is somewhat better than I thought. I did see that this is a very good price. I like it better as a top dressing than buying Yellow Cow manure, So I guess I will get some and see what happens. I will also ask if he sells the worms too. He has a lot of low barn like structures for them to live in. Sounds like a huge operation. Thanks for the info, Lorna
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My story: I had an area behind our fenceline that was covered with kudzu (you southern's know what a nightmare that is) I was determined to get rid of it so I could use that area for a garden etc. I had it plowed up 3 times *hired a guy with a cat tractor* and he dug down as deep as he could to break up the kudzu's roots, It lay untouched (covered with knee high weeds) for about 2 years, Every time the vine would pop up, I'd pull or dig it out..Fially it was gone...so I then proceeded to pull weeds and get a spot ready. Shovel meet clay, shovel was denied, you literally could not penetrate the ground with the shovel unless it was completely soaked and then like others have pointed out, it was a muddy bog, that then dried up and was like concrete again and there was no way I could plant into it. I then researched GW for ideas and heard of lasagne gardening...and figured what do I have to lose...gathered up about a dozen CRV loads of cardboard from the dollar store etc. also newspaper, neighbors grass clippings,pine needles, leaves whenever I could get them and 3 truck loads of moldy hay bales and I started putting it on, since I didnt have all those ingredients all at the same time every time, I did sections a little at a time and then kept adding and expanding it. took a few months..then I left it all winter. When spring came (this was 2 years ago now) I went out to plant my maters and all but an inch or two of the hay was left (it was probably about a foot tall all piled up). Shovel meet ground....AH, it was like buttah. have not tilled this area since. Weed control is newspapers covered with free compost/mulch from the fairgrounds and I throw in any other composted material I can get. It is very easy to tell where the OM has been added and where it has not. You can dig down probably a foot where it was added and about 4 inches elsewhere before you reach clay.
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we got one of those electric leaf shredders from a yard sale one time (sears- the kind that sits on top of a garbage can). it was essentially a big funnel with a weedwhacker inside. we used it lightly for a few yrs, then used it a lot last yr and blew the motor. it worked well til it pooped out- the leaves were nicely shredded, but it was a very dusty affair. we also had a leaf vac/blower, and after we blew the shredder, we blew the vac doing the same thing just a day or 2 later. we'd found it was easier to blow/rake stuff into a big pile & then run it through the shredder or suck it up, and i think we were trying to put too much through at once and/or running them for too long. i don't think either is made for heavy work, or a lot of it. the bag would get so heavy on the vac that it was hard for me to navigate. and it wasn't even that big & filled fast, so it was a pain, literally. i got that i'd take the bag off and just let the shreds shoot out the backside, especially in the woods. gravel and rocks are really hard on the mechanisms, though, and since i have paths with gravel, it's hard to avoid. they only suck well if the leaves are fairly dry. i would think the weedwhacker in the can would work but would make such a racket the police would show up. i think you'd blow the weedwhacker if you were trying to do too much to quickly, like we did. plus those vibrations are killer! so, basically, i think we're coming to the conclusion that ais has- that either you buy a big time chipper shredder or you mow over the leaves. which can be rough on the mower if there's gumballs, cones, sticks & rocks (from the driveway). maybe someday we'll do the chipper shredder thang. pete suggested i put it on my christmas list- stinker! tam
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aftermidnight Zone7b B.C. Canada
15 years ago
Caroline, think of worm castings as black gold :o). Scroll down to the bottom of this link to see all the benefits they will add to your soil.

Annette

Here is a link that might be useful: Vermiculture
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lorna-organic
15 years ago
I would dig the castings in, Caroline. At that price, you want to get the absolute best use out of them! And, you don't want a stiff wind to blow away your top dressing, or heavy rains to run it off!!

Lorna
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seamommy
15 years ago
And you should check out the vermicomposting forum on the GW. Lots of us make our own black gold, keep a little herd of red wigglers, feed them kitchen scraps and reap the benefits. If I had to buy worm castings I wouldn't have them very often, but since I have my own castings makers I have them all the time. Cheryl
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Original Author
15 years ago
Cheryl. thanks for the tip. Can I just stack bricks in a box shape on the ground and put them in it ? I had seen somewhere that bricks would work as a "home " to them.

Lorna I sure don't want them to wash away. I also read that spraying on the leaves is very good so I am going to try that too. c
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bloominganne
15 years ago
Your posting sent me searching for information on worms and I think I'm going to try to raise some for my garden. I even learned that the Chinese are giving them to kids to take home as pets. If I start naming mine, I hope someone just shoots me :-)
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lorna-organic
15 years ago
Laughing heartily here, Anne! Caroline, if there isn't a bottom to the worms' home, they'll dig out so to speak. They'll burrow below the frost line when cold weather begins. Since you already have some worms, your soil is probably good enough to sustain them. If the soil is good enough, you don't have to give them a house. They like dried crushed egg shell, if you want to give them treats! I use a mortar and pestle to grind the egg shell up into fine bits.

Lorna
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Original Author
15 years ago
I wondered if they would venture forth. So I will make it so NICE they will stay. Thank you...I understand they LOVE coffee grounds and I have lots of those. I hope to be able to show vast improvements .c
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worm castings....as a soil addition..

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worm castings....as a soil addition..

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