I also needed a way to grow some barley grain quickly each week for one of the worms we raise. I tried using soil which did alright however I went to plan “B” shortly thereafter realizing I needed a quick turnaround growing the barley to 6 inches tall. I did some reading on hydroponics however the startup costs were a bit high, especially for the amount of space which would be required for the tanks, pump equipment… for the amount of grain I needed to grow. I then decided to try growing the barley grain directly in well watered worm castings. The results were staggering to say the least.

I used the granular type of worm castings which are produced on the Organic Worm Farm. This enabled a type of blend between traditional planting and hydroponics since there was some water held between the worm casting granular. I use some starter trays with clear lids to help maintain the moisture until they grow tall enough in approximately 4 days time.

The seeds began to germinate in two days. After just three days most all the seed had germinated. Within the next four days, the barley grain had grown to about six inches tall.

The pictures below show the grain just 7 days after planting the seeds.

The next shows the extensive root growth taking place in the seedlings, something worm castings are known for.

Now back to the tomato experiment.

As for the tomato plants, these results are also amazing as they were all planted in the same soil with the exception of the addition of worm castings to some. They all receive the same amount of sunlight, water… in the garden.

To date not only are the tomato plants in the worm castings taller as well as bushier but they are also producing more tomatoes than the plants without the worm castings.

The benefits of worm castings are clearly noted here as well as how to produce more vegetables, flowers… per each plant.

The pictures below display the actual differences. Notice the wire tie for the plants and how the one without worm castings (first picture) only rises to the third wire while the one with worm castings rises to the fourth wire, 6 inches higher.

To produce these type of worm castings we use, be sure to visit 14 Day Worm Castings for more information and take advantage of the Father’s Day Special Promotion!

I plan to carry this experiment a bit further than most should all go well with the first part. Once the plants are established and large enough, I plan to take some of the plants and transplant them in and around the garden area. For example, take the plants grown in clay and transplant some into clay soil while others into my mix of vermiculture, peat moss, worm castings… The idea will be to see if the transplanted plants to the castings soil will take off and flourish or will they remain more stunted…

The below picture is of the three planters used in this worm castings experiment.

The planter on the left contains organic potting soil I purchased at a local nursery. Yes, I really did buy some

The planter in the center contains some clay soil from the yard. I tried not to dig down but rather only grab the top inch of clay soil since this should be the most fertile part of the clay soil.

Lastly, the planter on the right contains a mix of different worm castings I collected last week.

I planted open pollinated beefsteak tomato plants in each planter. I doubled up the seeds in each hole with each planter having four holes for seed, evenly spaced.

Each planter will receive the same amount of sunlight and water during the span of the worm castings experiment.

I planted the seeds on March 9^th of 2010. The listed germination period for the seeds is 7 to 10 days, however would expect this to happen sooner with the current temperatures, especially in the worm castings and organic potting soil containers.

Well that’s all for now on the worm castings experiment. I will post more pictures as the seeds begin to germinate as well as throughout the experiment.

Bruce

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