Worm Poo!! OK ....worm castings.
One of the main reasons people compost with worms is to harvest and use the nutrient rich castings. Compost worm castings are 5 times richer in Nitrogen, 7 times richer in Phosphates and 11 times richer in Potassium than the average soil. When your worms have converted most of the bedding into castings it is time to harvest their castings and start a new bin. Remember to save a couple of handfuls of castings to help jump start your new bin by introducing beneficial microbes.
How you harvest your worm casting depends on the type of bin you have a box system or a flow through system.
Flow through systems
Flow through systems work on the principal that compost worms are surface and shallow dwellers.
Flow through systems will not work with other types of earthworms, because other earthworm make deep burrows and will stay deep in the castings, unlike compost red worms who keep to the top feeding area. Flow through systems can be constructed from layered plastic bins with mesh bottoms, wooden bins with open wire bottoms, or cone cloth shaped bins. These systems, like all worm bins can be made or purchased
Flow through systems will not work with other types of earthworms, because other earthworm make deep burrows and will stay deep in the castings, unlike compost red worms who keep to the top feeding area. Flow through systems can be constructed from layered plastic bins with mesh bottoms, wooden bins with open wire bottoms, or cone cloth shaped bins. These systems, like all worm bins can be made or purchased
With flow through systems you start with bedding and then add food and continue to feed by placing the food scraps on top then covering with a layer of bedding, instead of burying the food scraps. As the worms digest the food scraps they move upwards to the fresh food source, leaving the layers of castings below. With the bin flow through system you remove the last bin or tray. The bottom bins contain only finished castings and no worms or cocoons. No need to seperate your castings and worms.
With the open wire bottom system you can rake or scrape the finished casting layer, removing a few inches at a time.
Worm Factory 360
The Worm Factory 360 is an example of a flow through bin.
Worm bags and cloth cone flow through systems
With the cone system you open the draw string in the bottom and release the finished castings before redrawing the string. The advantage of the flow through systems is that it is less labour intensive
What do I do with my worm casting now?
Can you tell which container used the worm castings?
The casting can be added to potting soil mixture for new plants or baskets, ratios of potting soil to castings is somewhere between 1 part soil to 3 or 4 parts castings. The castings can also be added as a top dressing for house plants or dug right into your outside garden and flower beds. You can also use the castings to make worm tea.
Worm Tea
Another way to use your castings is to make “Worm Tea”. “Worm Tea” is the process where castings are placed in water for a few days and stirred to add oxygen, the resulting brown tea like liquid is used as a fertilizer for your indoor and outdoor plants. By placing the castings in a fine mesh “tea bag” you can use the worm tea in a spray bottle a natural pesticide spray on your plants to help combat pests. Like composting with worms making Worm Tea can be as easy or as elaborate as you want.