How exactly do you figure seaweed or fish emulsion isn't organic? ;) And no, I wouldn't cut up your old sushi seaweed sheets (really biting my tongue on that one because it's seriously cracking me up, I find it pretty adorable). Whether or not your seedlings need more fertilizer than provided by the worm castings is really a pretty complex question, depending on what else is in the soil, what type of plants they are, how old they are, and how fast you want them to grow before you can plant out in your zone. Myself, I don't bother too much with extra ferts unless I need to stimulate growth or the plant is a heavy feeding variety, but when I do, I use a very diluted fish emulsion and only on mature seedlings (several sets of true leaves). It sounds to me like you've got the seedlings in some type of soil, ie not sterile seed starting mix that has no nutrients at all, so they're probably fine as is unless you have a reason to think they need more ferts.

Shireen, I've never had to store vermicompost for long periods of time, but here's what I have in my notes just in case I ever did: http://www.wormswrangler.com/articles/how_to_store_worm_castings.html Unless it is nearly pure castings, I don't think you want it to dry out completely. My personal preference is to harvest vermicompost that contains 40-50% castings. That can be stored in a well ventilated bin for a couple of months without getting moldy...but that's in a mild climate. Maybe others can comment what's best for more extreme climates. Here is a link that might be useful: How to store worm castings.

"EF's can live in up to 90% moisture (that's pretty darned wet)." I've recently been reading and watching plenty of information that clearly shows EF worms living in gravel that is flooded with water most of the time. I'm pretty sure the general guidelines that are often repeated as hard boundaries were intended for small, non-breathable bins that don't readily support air exchange and have poor drainage. Also, a wet bin can build up various odors that are not associated with bad conditions in my bin (lots of healthy worms low in the bin), but are unwanted inside the home. (I've found that water that has had ashes soaking in it, or dolomite lime powder, will improve conditions in bins that have odor down below) When you put water in a bin it takes up air spaces... When it drains from the bin, it pulls air into the mix. By that understanding, the more you flood and drain the mix, the better! I have already started putting more fine grain wood chips in with the mixture to keep the overall mix from smashing completely down. The worms seem to be responding to this very well. I got the idea from reading long ago that worms are attracted to a wood substance called lignin and produce a hormone that causes trees to produce more of it (makes trees put on wood more quickly). I've also recently read lots of claims that mixing wood chips into the soil is a good thing. So I figured, what the heck? I regularly flush the bin with water so that I can use the runoff for fertilizing while I wait for the worms to finish turning everything into dirt, but doing this can cause a lot of settling. I suspect this pushes out air pockets since there's practically nothing in the bin that will remain solid like actual soil has. Wood chips from the young, weedy trees that continuously spring up in my previously unkempt back woods are in demand by my fruit trees, and now worm bin. If any of them are too big to fit though a screen at harvest time, they will get a bonus pass as the perfect bedding base layer/starter.

Red lava rock, or red-lava-sand, is a great source of iron and potassium. pH of red-lava-rock is 8.2. Red-lava rock is OK like 3 or 4 pieces, too much will UP the soil pH, plus prevent water from soaking through. I went to my neighbor when it was above 90 F one summer. She mulched her roses with THICK layer of black lava rock. I touched them, and they are the same temp. as our rock-hard-clay. She overkilled on the lava-rock: too much potassium drove down nitrogen, so her roses didn't have much leaves, lots of blooms. I would use no more than 3 pieces per rose .. too much and one gets iron-burnt (brown-spot). http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/1539970/lava-rock-as-mulch ocdgardener(8) From what I understand about Lava Rocks is: Lava rock breaks down into Lava Sand. From all the sand in the bags I know it happens! Lava Sand is recommended as a soil amendment to HOLD MOISTURE. Now, the only thing I'm not sure about is temperature. I did notice though oddly enough last night when I got home from work the plants in the same bed mulched with cedar were wilting, the plants surrounded by lava were not. Here's the positives I've found thus far. On a slope where my bed is, compost, and every thing else added at the base of the plants washes down to the bottom and is replaced with bare soil. I have to add mulch over and over because it all slides away. The Lava Rocks are not only holding the compost in place but are keeping me from having bare soil. I know it does because we had a heavy rain this morning and I looked and everything was in place! --Not the usual bare soil I see after a rain! I think I should explain how I'm using the rock. I'm taking one rock at a time and pressing it into the soil. When you think of lava rocks as a mulch I think most people tend to imagine it piled up. ocdgardener(8) oh and btw you can't really see that much of the rock anyway - because the plants cover them. Example: This is what the yard looks like in the spring. ocdgardener(8) Update on the lava rock! I bought a soil thermoter and tested the temps. Although not lower, the temps were pretty close to the same by a degree. Also, I have calendulas blooming in the bed in the HEAT of summer. I've never had that before! mrwsm_yahoo_com Lava Rock has low thermal mass. It does not retain heat. Lava Rock keeps the soil soft like mulch, so if there is a weed, no problem, it pulls really easy. I prefer red lava rock, although I have both. Never put plastic underneath it! It keeps most weeds out as is. rickjones I don't know what happened to my original post, but here is a short repeat. LAVA ROCKS ARE WONDERFUL PLANTERS, ESPECIALLY IN THE EXTREME HEAT OF THE MOHAVE DESERT. Yup. I build and use cedar planters and window boxes all over my home, they are great, but do not compare with the flowers grown in the lava rocks that I hollow out and plant a variety of species in. Plants in these rocks see temps to 120 degress in our summers and do just fine! They retain moisture, cool with the air temps, and fertilize plants naturally. I don't use lava rock for bedding, I can see the problems with that. But as a planter? The best planter I have ever had. AND, no maintenance, and years of use looking great. jocoreed_yahoo_com Anyone who questions the ability of lava rock as a growing medium needs to come visit our islands out here in the Pacific. Our Hawaiian islands are completely volcanic is soil and sediment, covered in pure lava rock, and we have the most beautiful plants, trees, produce, and the like. Lava rock and volcanic soil is some of the most nutrient friendly planting medium on earth and is porous enough that it allows for good oxygenation and water flow. Come visit our islands and then come back and post how it's horrible to grow anything in volcanic rock or lava sand. Just my two cents : ) Aloooooha! http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/1539970/lava-rock-as-mulch