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Worm castings question

PepperWhisperer said:
That price is stupid cheap! I can't find castings in my area for less than $1/lb. At the bulk price they offer I would be building my beds up with pure castings. $100/yd isn't much more than I pay for quality bulk compost.

Buy it!
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I have heard/read all the helpful comments! I will definitely buy it! thanks

Thanks everyone! this is why i love this forum, you guys are very helpful! I will buy 20$ which is going to be 140 pounds of worm castings am planning to feed about 90 pepper plants and 30 other veggies.i think I will need more than 140 lol!
 
peterjack said:
I have heard/read all the helpful comments! I will definitely buy it! thanks

Thanks everyone! this is why i love this forum, you guys are very helpful! I will buy 20$ which is going to be 140 pounds of worm castings am planning to feed about 90 pepper plants and 30 other veggies.i think I will need more than 140 lol!
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I would be willing to go in on this deal with ya lol
 
Noah Yates said:
I would say 1/4 of the soil as worm castings would be fine... 1/4 worm castings-1/4 coco-choir-1/4 perlite-1/4 vermiculite would be a nice soil.
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hmmm ... donno ... thats 3/4 of your soil being "nothing" ... neither coco nor perlite nor vermiculate have any nutrients, they are just innert, occupying space ...(think of it as styrofoam) ;-)

I would try to get some more organics into the mix, like 1/4 compost or so - thats what the plant will be living on

cheers
al
 
Actually, both vermiculite and coco coir are nutritive to the beneficial microorganisms in the soil... also, I am assuming he is talking about a soil mix for a pot... when potting plants it is actually recommended to use more of a "soil-less mix". This precisely means a soil that is for the most part devoid of excessive nutrients, micro-organisms, and clay particulates. The reason you want to use such a "nothing" mix is to allow for more drainage and to give yourself more control over the nutrient content throughout the life-cycle of the plant, as well as to avoid harmful micro-organisms that can be found in "Garden soil" (although garden soils are more nutritious). Honestly.. if you were going to use compost as well as worm castings, then I would go 1/8 worm castings and 1/8 compost in that same mix-- with 1/4 coco, 1/4 verm, and 1/4 perlite.

If you were to use more like 1/4 worm castings, 1/4 compost, 1/8 verm, 1/8 perlite, and 1/4 coco coir.... then your mix may be too "heavy" and the soil will compact with every watering and not dry out... The primary objective in creating a soil for your plants is to have proper aeration and drainage... nutrition is secondary IMO, as you can always feed compost tea and more worm castings later.
 
YESSS!!! friday the 12th I saw a flyer on my door saying there will be a truck full of free compost on our community center parking lot, they will dump at 11:30 am, when I was reading the flyer it is already 11:30. i pick up my flipflops and drove to the area and manage to scramble to the people getting their own compost at freewill! wow it was like an end of the world! everybody is filling their container like crazy! some put their thing directly on their garbage bin! hahaha! and I manage to get at least 300 lbs of compost before the poor thing totally disappear! :dance: :dance: :dance:

8654364138_b6044d0313_z.jpg
 
peterjack said:
YESSS!!! friday the 12th I saw a flyer on my door saying there will be a truck full of free compost on our community center parking lot, they will dump at 11:30 am, when I was reading the flyer it is already 11:30. i pick up my flipflops and drove to the area and manage to scramble to the people getting their own compost at freewill! wow it was like an end of the world! everybody is filling their container like crazy! some put their thing directly on their garbage bin! hahaha! and I manage to get at least 300 lbs of compost before the poor thing totally disappear! :dance: :dance: :dance:

8654364138_b6044d0313_z.jpg
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now that is a score! sweet deal!
 
I use a 1/3 - 1/3 -1/3 mix of worm castings, perilite, and soil (promix).

Its works fantastically and I notice much less deficiencies then when using only 10% castings. However, as mentioned earlier they DEFINATELY increase moisture content so thats why you want to increase your drainage (perilite). If you match your drainage ratio to your castings ratio going 1/3 castings is no problem. 1.5 gallons castings, 1.5 gallons perilite, 1.5 gallons soil to a 5 gallon bucket with 1.5 cups of tomato tone or another granular fertilizer and water heavily with an ACT upon transplant. Presto ... success.

Also, I have several worm bins ... I have found I can process a tray a month by using old horse manure as bedding and feeding simple coffee grounds and "easy" veggie scraps (lettuces,spinach, etc, etc). I often put a bananna peel in whole as the first meal when a new tray is made. Its gone in two weeks.

I used to use cardboard and newspaper/egg cartons for bedding with veggie scraps/apple cores/eggshells and all that jazz and yes... you will be waiting 3 months per tray.
 
OZZZ said:
I use a 1/3 - 1/3 -1/3 mix of worm castings, perilite, and soil (promix).

Its works fantastically and I notice much less deficiencies then when using only 10% castings. However, as mentioned earlier they DEFINATELY increase moisture content so thats why you want to increase your drainage (perilite). If you match your drainage ratio to your castings ratio going 1/3 castings is no problem. 1.5 gallons castings, 1.5 gallons perilite, 1.5 gallons soil to a 5 gallon bucket with 1.5 cups of tomato tone or another granular fertilizer and water heavily with an ACT upon transplant. Presto ... success.

Also, I have several worm bins ... I have found I can process a tray a month by using old horse manure as bedding and feeding simple coffee grounds and "easy" veggie scraps (lettuces,spinach, etc, etc). I often put a bananna peel in whole as the first meal when a new tray is made. Its gone in two weeks.

I used to use cardboard and newspaper/egg cartons for bedding with veggie scraps/apple cores/eggshells and all that jazz and yes... you will be waiting 3 months per tray.
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im planning to put this mix since I scored lots of compost lol, 40% compost,30% peat moss, 20% worm castings, 10% perlite.. perlite is so expensive down here.. what do you think?
 
I think you'll want more drainage/perilite ...minimum 20% with that much compost and castings which are pretty heavy and hold a lot of moisture. JMO

Go 20%compost 20%castings 20%perilite and 20% peat
 
They have a free compost program here as well but I won't take any of it as I don't know how good it is so I make my own. If the city doesn't "cook" it properly if could have some bad bacteria in it.
 
Proud Marine Dad said:
They have a free compost program here as well but I won't take any of it as I don't know how good it is so I make my own. If the city doesn't "cook" it properly if could have some bad bacteria in it.
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I dont know your cities program, but here in San Diego they dont mess around! When I go to the Greenery I always stick my hand in to the pile, and its always HOT inside! They spray some sort of starter enzyme in it and have giant machines that turn the piles once a week.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_rZeRLbOkE
 
Maybe they do that here as well cayennemist, I am not sure. All I know is that our green yard waste bins can have any food scraps in them including meats and fat so I don't trust them. My compost bin is almost full anyhow so I should have all I need. I use my shredder/chipper all through the year for tree trimmings, leafs, etc so I always have some cooking in the compost bin. :)
 
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