Why to use worm Castings

[kuff23]

thanks 4 the insight j whales

 

[RockyMountainHi]

Has anyone grown a plant using nothing but castings, the reason i ask is i have been doing it a couple months and i noticed that i had no males at all this go i planted 11 bagseed......aside from draniage i think its been a great grow so far.

"bagseed" -- could you be a lil more spefific?

Hermi spawn seed will generally be female and more hermi prone than the plant that made it.

Likely your plants will hermi during flower and you get some seeds.

I'll bet dollars to doughnuts the soil had any impact on the female ratio.


Why is this in the HYDRO forum?

 

[kuff23]

If I were 2 plant this way would i need 2 add any nutes? or can I grow using wormcasts and get the best results

 

[Gods son]

good thread

 

[Organic Rooster]

worm poop is great!

 

[-=KwarE=-]

I bought a worm factory off of ebay and compost all my food in it. It works great and i make a worm tea with the liquid that drains off the "worm factory" i add a couple ounces of mollases, 20ml of age old kelp, 12oz of worm juice, and let it bubble with 8gals of water and some heat for 1-3 days... It is INSANE, the amount of foam i get off the bubbler. The bloom from the beneficial bacteria has never made my roots so healthy.... I use it in my cloner too. Keeps the slime from starting. One of the best secrets in organic farming IMHO.

 

[RockyMountainHi]

I use it in my cloner too. Keeps the slime from starting.

Slime in your cloner? This can't be a good thing,

I get alge start to be visable and it's time for a hot soapy scrub. Usually a couple water changes between scrubbings and ALWAYS remove non succesful cuts when there is no hope left for them. No slime and prolly 85+% of the cuts take root.

Slime and roots are not words I like to see used together - I get flashbacks. lol

 

[-=KwarE=-]

no your missing th point.... slime on the stem before roots form is a sign of anaerobic bacteria, and it will happen to any cloner w/o tea that isnt cleaned regularly... By adding this compost tea, i barely ever have to change the water in my cloner... I just top it up, and scrup out the inline Y filter so the misters keep spraying. The beneficial bacteria from the worm tea, wards off the anaerobic growth before it can start; as well as adding tons of beneficial microbes, protozoa, funghi, and nematodes to the water which only quickens the onset of roots.

Cleaning your resevoir every couple weeks is sort of a solution, but your not killing anaerobic bacteria, its just getting rid of it before it can take over the res.

 

[RockyMountainHi]

I said clean the alge - NOT SLIME.




Most growers I know - don't need any additives to overcome a slime issue in cloners; what ever works for ya, but I won't wait to clean till they slime and therefor don't use additives.

My knowlege and experience of hydro ops is nill - well not nill exactly, but

Do what works for you, but I'll invest some extra time and avoid the slime.

 

[Pguard]

When I first started growing a few years ago and still didn't know much about the bacteria goodness I made an accidental side by side comparison: I ran out of worm castings and had 2 plants with it and 2 plants without. I'm still amazed now of te difference it made, the plants with worm castings grew almost 2 times faster and had an awesome clear lush green compared to the dark matte of the plants without it.

A truly amazing suplement, but it's very important to prepare and keep wet the mixture one week before the plants get there so the bacteria can expand.

 

[abuldur]

I never buy them you can pic them up when you go picking mushrooms.
But never let them dry bacteria will die.

 

[charlesweedmore]

worm Castings is great and i will use them in coco

 

[ItsAllOver]

Thanks for the run through.

 

[s13sr20det]

I also use the worm factory, and LOVE IT!!

 

[Spanishwilly]

I make my own castings and now we have more than we need. There's a great design on "instructables" for a cloth worm farm. Anyway. They're great.

 

[pepelepew098]

first time i grew with castings, i was blown away....i experimented with 50% castings 50% perlite, and i've never seen plants grow so fast and so healthy...as soon as the seeds sprouted i put them in the mix and a week later they were 1ft tall...fastest i've ever seen a plant grow....good thread

 

[Castelvetro]

really doubt this bullshit, i tried half perlite n half castings, water logged shite, however i took my plant out and put it in pure coco, that made it grow a ft in one week though.

 

[grapeman]

Worm castings contain many beneficial bacteria. These bacteria are responsible for turning ammonium in soil into nitrates. Nitrates are the most easily used form of nitrogen for the plants. As well as containing these beneficial bacteria, they also contain amino acids which help in the growth and development of your plants. For hydroponics, worm castings are available in liquid form to cover all stages of plant development or additives to give your plants an added boost. Worm castings are a cost efficient way of supplying the needed nutrients to the plants and in most places are readily available

Nitrates are the only form of N that a plant can use. N breaks down in this order.... Urea > Ammonia > Nitrites > Nitrates, if memory serves. The faster it gets to Nitrates, the faster the plant can use it.. EWC helps break it down, as do other complex procedures in the soil.

 

[Admiral Canna]

All hail the Wiggle Worm!!!!!

I throw 2 large handfuls of Wiggle in a 5 gallon bucket and fill it up with my well water.

Let it sit outside for 2-3 days in the sun and I stir it a few times a day. Then I strain it and bottle it.

Plants love it no matter how you use it! Mix it in, top dress em, make a tea.....its the shit!!!!

 

[moogles]

Capt. Cheeze or any other PNW local
I am looking for wiggle worms to purchase in the Seattle area

Any help is greatly appreciated!