worm juice

Discussion in 'Planting, growing, nurturing Plants' started by Peter Warne, Apr 7, 2005.

  1. Peter Warne

    Peter Warne Junior Member

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    I've been having this discussion with my wife, and maybe someone who has experience of using worm juice as a fertiliser could help.

    We've had the worm farm going for a year now, and I've collected at least 60 litres of juice. It sat there unused, until recently, sitting in the undecided category while waiting to have some small seedlings to spray it onto, as per the recommedation I got from the level one PC course I attended. Eventually I started mixing some up and watered the veges with it once a week, but I lost the thread of that when we went away for a holiday and didn't get back to it. Gigi does most of the vege growing, so when I left a drum of it in the vege garden, she started using it, at first in the 1-10 mix, and then simplifying it by pouring it straight onto the ground near the plants, undiluted.

    I have only heard of it being used in a 1 - 10 dilution, 'the consistency of weak tea', someone said.

    Can someone say what the effects of using it straight might be? I'd also like to know if it can be used more widely than on veges, how about on fruit trees, for eg, and if so, how often, and applied how? And, does anyone know what its benefits are compared with, say, liquid seaweed, and other fertilisers like chicken manure?

    Thank you very mulch,

    Peter
     
  2. AmandaM

    AmandaM Junior Member

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    Hi Peter,

    I can't claim to be an expert, but we have had our worm farm since 1996 and have used the juice and casts undiluted on every type of plant without any trouble whatsoever. When we bought it we were told that it was the only kind of liquid fertiliser where there is no danger of over-fertilising or burning the plants.

    Having said that, the reason would be that it has a very low NPKS analysis particularly compared with animal manures, what you feed your worms is also going to affect the nutritional value of their waste products. Worm juice will not replace animal manures as a soil builder, but you certainly can't harm your plants with it. I have noticed that it seems to be a bit photosensitive, so it may be best to use it quickly rather than storing it, unless you do so in dark containers and out of direct sunlight.

    Amanda
     
  3. Peter Warne

    Peter Warne Junior Member

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    Thanks Amanda

    Hi Amanda,
    Thanks for the advice. I was actually getting paranoid - i think my question went the longest on record without getting any reply. Anyway I'll tell Gigi she can go for it with the undiluted worm juice and I'll stop worrying about it. I do store it out of direct sunlight and in sealed containers - but it will be good to clear all the backlog and just use it fresh.

    Thanks again.

    Peter

    PS - Where is Captain's Flat?
     
  4. AmandaM

    AmandaM Junior Member

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    Captain's Flat is 60km SE of Canberra and up about another 400 - 500m. We got enough snow to toboggan on last winter. It is actually on most maps of Australia even though it is tiny, it used to have a very big gold, copper and silver mine from the late 1800s into the 1960s.

    Take care

    Amanda
     

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