Monday, March 2, 2009

I LOVE Worm Poop!

Worm poop. Yeah, you know that stuff that goes in one end of an earthworm and then out the other? If you take issue with "worm poop" you could call it "worm castings". Worm castings are high in nitrogen and in a form that is readily taken up by plants so they make a great fertilizer. I read online that you could also use "worm leachate" for fertilizer (or what I call worm poop sludge). It is that liquid that drips out the bottom of your worm bin. Admittedly, it doesn't smell at all but it looks like crap! So I tried it and well, the results are obvious. All of the plants are the same age. I treated the ones on the left side of the pic with leachate a couple weeks ago and the ones on the right only this weekend. If your plants looked anything like this, I bet you'd love worm poop too!

These marigolds were grown from seeds from my wonderful friend Kate Rietz.

* Note that this worm bin leachate can actually be harmful to your plants if it has material that is still decomposing, which produces alcohols that are toxic to plants. You take your chances tho'. You can guarantee your results by making your own "worm tea" by putting mature worm castings in cheesecloth and soaking the ball in water that is aerated with an air pump and air stone for awhile.

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