Worm Poop

16 years ago

has anyone tried the new Terracycle liquified worm poop as a fertilizer.

I don't have access to affordable grains, (no soybean meal or cotton seed meal) can get CGM but it was like over $20 a bag.

So anyone tried this stuff and does anyone think it is worth while? I can do my whole yard for a little over $30. but will it feed the microbes?

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Comments (5)

rutgers1
16 years ago
I tried it this summer. I am not sure of the results, though, as I was experimenting with a few different organic things. It won't harm your lawn.

From what I understand after having spoken to some people about it, the product is a bit questionable because...
1) The most valuable part of real worm poop is the microbes. Unfortunately, those microbes have a really short shelf life...meaning that they won't be alive when you get around to spraying it.
2) The worm poop itself is not the nitrogen source. Something is added to it. As far as I can remember, Terracycle doesn't tell you what that is.

I would be interested to see what others think.

$20 is a good price for CGM...depending on the size of the bag. Where do you live? I bet we can help you locate cheap grains by you. Have you looked into Scotts Organic Lawn Food?
rosesr4me
16 years ago
Try starting a worm bin. Check out the vermicomposting forum on this website for details in starting an inexpensive one with a rubbermaid tote. It's easy, cheap, and making a tea out of fresh worm poop is a much better alternative than any store product.
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I have had worm bins for several years. Tried the store bought plastic one but they tended to run too wet for my mixtures. I use anything from the kitchen table scraps except meat or dairy products. My bins are made from one 12 foot peice of hardy plank cut into 4 three foot peices to form the perimeter. Piece of 1/2 in cdx ply for the bottom. Ply lid and sometimes use black plastic on top of the pile if it is running too dry. I get coffee grounds from Panera Bread and strip old news papers, I keep two of these bins operating. I built a worm separator because found it too tedious to separate by hand. Google "DIY worm separator" for a number of different plans. Mine is built from one 5 gal plastic bucket and a piece of 1/4 in hardware cloth. I use the "poop" when transplanting and to make a tea.
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Do you mean tea made from castings or leachate from the bin? When I think of tea I think of the former, the latter being something I don't usually see. It would help, some. Really, you should be mixing castings in with your seed starting mix. The tea, used in "sterile" media, will help but I doubt it will best miracle grow in that area, though I have not tried it. My reasoning is that I see the teas and whatsuch to all be part of a larger, general concept of soil health and since you are working with what I suspect is a peat / perlite mix, you are just talking about adding one piece of the recipe. That said, it will be better than not using it so go ahead and have at it. It does have a good balance of minerals. No harm in burning with a worm tea, you can sprout seed in straight castings and they thrive. Here is a link that might be useful: www.gardeninginconverse.com
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kmnhiramga
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for the follow ups.
I'm still wondering, do you think the worm poop (terracycle) helps the soil, or only feeds the plant just as chemical fertilizers do?

I live in the Atlanta area, and the only feed store I could find with CGM is in Atlanta and I thought the price was high compared to what others on the forum were paying. I have about 10,000 square feet of lawn and trees and shrubs.
maplerbirch
16 years ago
My understanding of poo is the different stages of the recycling process. "Nutrient Cycling", might be the correct term. Horses only have one stomach and much of its dung still has distinguishable fibers of plant material.
Lots of microbrial activity is still needed, before it is feeding plants.

In cows it is broken down further than horses, and may even have 'plant food' ready to go somewhere in the mix. But still lots of digestion to go.

The progression continues downward to worms. It seems that they (and the microbes in their gut) can digest the OM to the point of being just about ready for a root to start chowing down. I believe many roots can follow a worm trail - feeding all the way.
But I could be wrong. It is hard to get beyond the 'sales pitch' on some things.

So what does this mean for spraying on top of the soil or even mixing in? I don't know. Perhaps it functions as a humate and there should certainly be some nutrient value to it.

Worms definately help the soil , in comparison to chemical salts which typically are hostile to microbes and OM. IMHO
decklap
16 years ago
The biology in a product like Terracycle is a question. Real activated compost tea cannot be bottled because it needs oxygen to stay aerobic (obviously ) but if it goes anaerobic bad things start to happen so that isn't compatible with cross country distribution.

What can be bottled is compost tea extract which removes the microbes and
lets them go into dormancy. They are then packaged with some sort of organic soup depending on the product which purport to feed the microbes
after application and reawakening. If you don't feel like brewing your own tea is an option then these kinds of products can have some value but do your research about what kind of biological life they claim to contain. If they don't tell you specifically then assume its not too good. If you can properly brew your own tea, and it aint hard, then that will ALWAYS be superior but that doesn't mean these products are worthless.

There is a company called ICT Organics which is producing an extract thats getting a lot of attention. Their product probably isn't scaled for your average homeowner but their website will give you a good sense of what a good product looks like.