worm castings

hi
first question, hope someone can help!

i am going to buy some worm castings in the uk, and it says they were fed on"sedge peat" i asked them if there are any traces of peat in the mix they were selling, and they say no it's pure worm castings.
will this be ok as one of my 5?(even though they were fed on peat)
as i don't want to dilute the ratio.

thanks gg

I'll share what I've learned and refer you to an expert, but be assured I am no expert. The worm gut is a powerful place that is known to reduce heavy metals by the time it is returned as worm castings. I cannot imagine sedge peat to be any worse.

Yes castings are wonderful to use as one of your "five". Don't think you need to apply it at a 20% rate since it is potent stuff. Generally 5% is thought to be an excellent rate since more is not better according to research Bentley Christy shares at redwormcomposting.com. Too much can harm plants too.

There are other thoughts on this topic too, anyone else please??

GG worm castings are OK ... in fact brilliant as one of the elements of the compost mixture so long as it is pure castings .

plantoid wrote:GG worm castings are OK ... in fact brilliant as one of the elements of the compost mixture so long as it is pure castings .

ok thanks i just thought peat in one end - peat out the other end,
in a roundabout sort of way.

also i was thinking of gathering up some sheep manure from the farm,
will this be ok to mix straight into my mels mix, or is it too "hot"
if it's too hot does anyone think it would work as a tea.
if i put some in a hessian sack and hang it in a barrel of water.
and would i have to dilute it?
gg

Fresh sheep droppings neat unweathered .... values reduce with weathering and lots of rain .

Nitrogen 0.8 % Phosphate 0.35 K = Potash 0.7 %
rabbit muck can be put in neat , the values for it are approx values are :- NPK 2.4 % , 0.5 % and 0.05 % respectively .
I'd be happy to risk it with this knowledge under my belt .


When you make your liquid manure add a couple of kgs of sugar syrup ( 1 kg to 1 litre of boiling water stir till dissolved) to the barrel . This will help feed the yeasts and bacteria as well don't cover the barrel with a solid lid it needs air for the aerobic action to take place , use a net curtain to keep the mozzies out etc. . Drain off a bucket of the soup when it turns a greenish colour , add a clean one of water and stir things up by lifiing and lowering the sack a couple or three times to get new juices out the sack into into the barrel .

When the sack has rotted away drain off everything use what you can and start a new barrel again .

Dad used our chicken muck /pig muck liquid feed mixture similar to the feeding regime at the same stages and rates as on a Tomorite liquid tomato feed bottle

When applying the liquid feet only feed the ground around the plants . You don't really want it on any salad stuff greenery or radishes etc that will only be washed and eaten raw rather than cooked to being sterile due to risk of ecoli infections from the liquid feed

thanks plantoid

so rabbit is stronger than sheep in 2 of the 3(npk) - i can use both in my sfg beds neat then!

i will be growing plenty of lettuce, so can the liquid manure be used around the base of the plant, as long as it doesn't touch the leaves?
or should i only use it on veg i will be boiling, such as carrot, beet cabbage etc. what about onion, which i eat raw?
hmm never thought of these things!

chicken muck /pig muck liquid feed i presume is stronger than sheep/rabbit so maybe a ratio of 5-1 would be ok?
i guess i will only learn this by trial and error

cheers gg

It is recommended to use varied sources other than 5 manures. According to Mel only 1 source or 20% should be made up of manure. The rest should come from other sources for example, leaves, yard waste, grass, straw, hay, kitchen waste, worm castings, etc. I would add that if you do this it'll provide a rich medium of both good bacteria and good kinds of fungi. Ultimately it'll create various macro and micro nutrients for the plants.

llama momma wrote:It is recommended to use varied sources other than 5 manures. According to Mel only 1 source or 20% should be made up of manure. The rest should come from other sources for example, leaves, yard waste, grass, straw, hay, kitchen waste, worm castings, etc. I would add that if you do this it'll provide a rich medium of both good bacteria and good kinds of fungi. Ultimately it'll create various macro and micro nutrients for the plants.

hi
sorry i meant diluting liquid feed 5-1 (5 parts water)

gg