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market-farming - [Market-farming] Re: Worm castings

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  • From: "Alliums" <garlicgrower AT green-logic.com>
  • To: "'Market Farming'" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [Market-farming] Re: Worm castings
  • Date: Tue, 22 Mar 2005 16:31:10 -0500

Hi, Folks!

 

<<Any more than 15% worm castings in a potting soil or planting mix is not making good use of your castings.  Numerous tests have found no advantage to the castings beyond a 15% inclusion.  If enough castings are used they can actually retard growth of plants but surely no one would use that much.>>

 

You’re right if you’re talking about commercial grade castings.  However, the castings gathered from most home-based systems are not as pure – they are sometimes referred to as “worm compost” and you can pile them on if you have them with no ill effect because they aren’t as pure a nitrogen source as the commercial sifted ones – there is considerable amount of carbon still left in the worm poop that a commercial person would continue to process, but for the small operator, aren’t worth the continuing the process as there is plenty of raw material in the pipeline and no one is paying one the high prices for pure worm castings.

 

Dorene Pasekoff, Coordinator

St. John's United Church of Christ Organic Community Garden and Labyrinth

 

A mission of

St. John's United Church of Christ, 315 Gay Street, Phoenixville, PA  19460

 




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