Using Worm Castings with a Potted Fig Tree

Discussion in 'Planting, growing, nurturing Plants' started by russell_c_cook, Jun 30, 2015.

  1. russell_c_cook

    russell_c_cook Junior Member

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    Hi everyone,

    I recently bought a brown turkey fig tree and potted it in a 50L capacity pot.

    I bought a bag of the cheapest potting mix with no added fertilizer as I plan to use the products of my worm farm to provide nutrition.

    My idea is to put a circa 1cm layer of worm castings on top of the potting mix, with the idea that it will slowly release it's nutrients into the pot. Then, cover this with some leaves as a locally sourced mulch.

    I also plan to feed it with a diluted solution of what I flush from the worm farm weekly.

    My worm farm is just worms, newspaper, a handful of soil, a handful of potting mix and my kitchen scraps. The castings look dark and rich and the farm smells kinda like a rainforest floor.


    Any ideas would be great :)
     
  2. S.O.P

    S.O.P Moderator

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    Container gardening is difficult so I wish you the best.

    A couple of thoughts:

    Keep in mind that you will need to repot at some point as the potting mix will rot down into a sludge after a few years. This results in root death, usually at the bottom of the pot.

    Cheap potting mix is often cheap because the pH will be off by an order of magnitude. Check your pH and be prepared to balance it. Check it regularly.

    Good potting mix sometimes comes with some coir in it as it adds some structure and rewetting abilities. You perhaps could have modified your potting mix before potting with extra ingredients for a more balanced mix.

    Don't let your pot dry out as I can't imagine a 50L will be easy to rewet thoroughly in case it goes hydrophobic.

    Manure will add further nutrients so add some sparingly. Seaweed to be included. Sulfate of Potash at flowering/fruiting. Sometimes if I want my manure to be "cooled", I add compost and manure to castings in its own container and allow the worms to process the manure for a short period. The worms aren't harmed by adding chicken manure (one of the "hottest" manures) direct to the castings that I've ever seen (I wouldn't add a heap of manure to the farm, just in case).


    Google potting mix recipes, or organic recipes, and try and assemble some of the ingredients in the future. You can use the cheap potting mix to bulk out the total mix whilst including the other ingredients.
     
  3. russell_c_cook

    russell_c_cook Junior Member

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    Hi SOP,

    Thanks for reply. I went to Northey Street City Farm nursery today to have a chat, I think I'm gonna buy some of their good quality potting mix and repot the tree.

    I'll confirm again when I get the new potting mix, but I seem to remember that they said occasional worm tea would probably be ok going forward as a feed, as fig trees are not heavy feeders.

    I'll post again once I've taken the next step.
     
  4. S.O.P

    S.O.P Moderator

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    I'm friends with a guy that used to run 2 nurseries. He has now retired and continues to run the one from home. He buys in 5 cubic metres of potting mix in a custom recipe from Basset Barks. I buy bags of mix off him, add some ingredients here. I tested the pH 2 days ago for you and it was 6.5 mixed up and that includes a handful of dolomite lime.

    Worm castings are great but I couldn't imagine they would be fully balanced. Seaweed and Sulfate of Potash (and Potash will be added so sparingly and only at certain times) will round it out. Compost teas could be good too.
     
  5. russell_c_cook

    russell_c_cook Junior Member

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    Cheers SOP, I think they sell potash and seaweed fertilizer at the nursery, I'll pick some of that up too.

    I'll also start looking into how to make my own potting mix for next time. Thanks for the helpful advice :)
     
  6. Bryant RedHawk

    Bryant RedHawk Junior Member

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    Be sure to repot at least once every year after the fig gets going well. You don't want it to get root bound at all. Figs spread lots of roots very quickly and can become so root bound in two years that they don't set fruit. Figs also benefit from trace minerals, makes the figs taste better and helps the tree fend off diseases and pest insects. Other than that, SOP has covered the rest.
     
  7. S.O.P

    S.O.P Moderator

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    Bryant is right with the repotting and I didn't want to mention the ideal situation as it can turn people off container gardening. A year is awesome, 2 years ok, and then it slides down from there.

    Gentle root pruning (and some species like ornamental Ficus can survive drastic cutting) can allow you to keep the same size pot each time.
     
  8. russell_c_cook

    russell_c_cook Junior Member

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    Cheers for the replies.

    Also, I'm gonna put some netting around the top of the container to put the bush turkeys off!
     

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