I continually stress the importance of spending the time to set up your worms in proper bedding.  If the bedding is set up correctly, raising worms is easy.  If not, it’s a never ending challenge.  Michael sent some interesting questions that offered me the opportunity to remind everyone about making a proper worm bedding…..

 Good evening. Hope you are having a good week.

I have a few questions and I hope you don’t mind.

1. Does it matter, when adding bedding, if some of the newspaper strips are stuck together? After I squeeze out the water from the soaked papers they get stuck together and it is hard to separate them. Do you have any tips for preparing the bedding?

2. When the bedding is turning into a lot of worm casting will the castings loose their potency whenever I mist them down?

Thanks for your time. Have a good night.
Michael 

Hi Michael, 

On the first question…regarding fluffing your newspaper.  The better you fluff the bedding, the better your worms will do.  It takes work…sometimes a good 30 minutes to make a great bedding.  Not much way to shortcut it.  If you don’t separate the “Stuck” papers well, you will create an anaerobic, (stinky) environment.  The good thing is, you only have to fluff the bedding every few months(when you put in new bedding). 

The castings will not lose their potency when misting.  In fact, just the opposite.  You are making the bedding condusive to the worms, so they are going to continue to process the bedding.  Even though it looks like all the food is gone, the worms are usually continuing to eat the stuff.

Have fun!

There are two words in Vermiculture that you will hear used interchangeably: Castings and Vermicompost.

Let’s discuss the similarities, differences, and issues with the verbiage.

Castings: Quite simply…Worm Poop! Basically, it is the end result(Pardon the pun), of all material that has been processed through the worms gut, and out it’s anus. Herein lies the problem. Pure castings are rare.. In fact, I can honestly say I don’t believe I have ever seen 100% castings. In order to make castings “Pure”, you basically have to leave the worms in their excrement to the point that all available food and bedding has been processed. Once this happens, worms die. Since less than 100% pure castings (Depending on the bedding used) will work wonderfully in your garden, there is no reason to sacrifice your worms. Close is good enough.

There are no current standards for worm castings. I’ve seen products called “Castings”, that ranged from very well processed material, to what looked like peat moss…that may or may not have been touched by a worm. These lack of standards are a problem in the worm industry, and another reason to buy your castings from a pro. Otherwise, you may get a product that can actually harm your plants.

How so? Products like manure tend to be extremely high in nitrogen and high in salts. Worms do a great job processing both, but…if a good portion of the manure has not actually been through the worms digestive system, you’ve essentially just added straight manure to your soil. For some plants, this would not be a huge problem. For others, especially tender starts, you’ve just created a disaster. This is one reason why I prefer to grow worms in a neutral bedding such as paper or cardboard. If any unprocessed remnants remain, you’ve done no harm to any plants

Vermicompost: The end result of all material that has been processed through the worms gut, and out it’s anus, PLUS any uncomposted worm bedding material.

Just as you buy a steak with a little marbling, and still consider it “Steak”, you usually buy Castings with a little uncomposted worm bedding mixed in. And just as you do not want a ton of fat on your steak, you do not want a ton of unprocessed bedding mixed in your castings.

What % purity should you be looking for? I’m going to take an educated, but unscientific stab at this. If your castings are around 95% pure, your grower has done a pretty good job of letting the worms do theirs!

In keeping with the story of what worm castings can do for you, I wanted to introduce my friend John. John is 94 years YOUNG, but acts like he is 49! I first met John when he called me wanting to order a batch of worms. You see, John has been gardening for many, many, many, many, years…and he knows the value of compost and castings. I thought it was cool that a 94 year young man wants to play with worms, so I took a trip to Johns house.

I now consider John and his wife of 70 years, Mary, friends of mine. I just wanted to take pictures of Johns yard, but John is so proud of his garden (Rightfully so!), that I had to fight him off. Every time I turned around, John wanted to give me produce from his garden. What a great couple! Here are some Pics of John, Mary, and their HEALTHY garden

I almost forgot. At 94 Years Young, John just learned how to surf the net! Pretty Cool huh!

When I grow a plant, I GROW a plant!

Check this out. I planted a zuccini seed a few weeks ago. Look at it go! At this rate, I will need a larger yard before long. YEP…Castings again!

If you have never heard of Goji, this is a plant worth checking out. Research shows this berry producing plant to provide berries (similar tasting to cranberries) containing the most antioxidants of ANY fruit! With Goji berries selling for $30 per pound….that is cool.

But…I digress. The point of my story was that the first picture shows this plant about 6 weeks ago. The second picture..today.

HOW?

CASTINGS!

LIKE MAGIC ON YOUR PLANTS!

I’m definitely not a gardener per se, but now that I have found the secret to growing huge, healthy plants, I definitely have an edge over 90%(total guess) of the world that has probably never even HEARD of worm castings.

Rich in nutrients and trace elements, Castings are an ideal plant food. In soil, Castings hold water and release nutrients beneficial to plants. Castings also contain plant growth hormones that provide an energy “Boost” to your plants. If that weren’t enough, they also Increase plant germination, growth, and suppression of plant diseases. Sounds too good to be true…doesn’t it?