Worm castings

A very stable organic fertilizer, rich in humified organic matter and microbial life, that improves soil structure, water-holding capacity and nutrient availability for plants.

Application

Application description: To the soil: worked into the furrow or planting hole, spread around plants, or mixed into seedling and pot substrate. As it is fully decomposed, you can sow or transplant the same day. The leachate collected from the beds (liquid humus) is used diluted in irrigation water.

Dose: Indicative: fruiting vegetables 60–100 g per plant (tomato, pepper, aubergine, cucumber); lettuce about 360 g/m² and spinach about 450 g/m²; fruit trees 1–2 kg per tree every 3 months; grapevine 1.5 kg per vine; flowers and houseplants about 200 g; wheat 1 t/ha and maize 2 t/ha in the furrow; up to 20 % of seedling substrate.

Tips

Use unchlorinated water. Do not use manure from recently dewormed animals, nor from dogs or cats. Keep the bed between 16 and 22 °C, sheltered from sun, wind and rain. Plant residues take 30–60 days to become ready feed, manures 15–30 days. Buy worms from a reliable breeder and check that they are Eisenia fetida. Store the castings in sacks, in a cool, dark, closed place, below 30 % moisture, labelled with the date.

Preparation process

Pre-composting: 1) Build a pile by alternating layers of straw or stubble (5–10 cm), manure (5–20 cm) and vegetable kitchen scraps, watering each manure layer, up to 80–120 cm high. 2) The pile heats up within 2 or 3 days (40–50 °C or more): turn and water it each time it goes above 35–40 °C. 3) The feed is ready when it stays at ambient temperature, with a pH of 6–8 and 70–80 % moisture. 50-worm test: put 50 adult worms in a 30 × 30 × 15 cm box with 8–10 cm of moist feed; if they are all alive after 24 hours, the feed is suitable. Bed: 4) Build beds 1 m wide, 20–40 cm high and as long as needed, with a 2–5 % slope to collect the leachate, in the shade, roofed and protected from wind and animals. 5) Spread 10–15 cm of feed and place the worms in small heaps across the bed, covered with a little material. 6) Water to keep 80 % moisture (squeeze test: only about three drops should fall). 7) After one month, add a 5–8 cm layer of feed every two weeks, for 4 to 12 months. Harvest: 8) Stop feeding for a week, then lay a net or burlap sack with fresh feed on the bed: within 5 to 7 days the worms move up into it and can be moved to another bed. 9) Stop watering, loosen the castings, sieve them and store them at 30 % moisture.

Preparation time

4 to 12 months, plus 1 to 2 months of pre-composting.

Product obtained

Dark, crumbly, spongy material, pleasant to the touch, that does not stain and smells of wet forest soil.

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