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Homemade Worm Castings Harvester

Bruce — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 02:24:44 +0000

Well I finally got around to making a short video on the homemade worm castings harvester I use a few times a week. This worm harvesting contraption can be modified for vermicompost or as a soil sifter by replacing the 1/8” screen with a larger size such as a quarter inch.

I had built the worm castings harvesting machine based on my own needs which permits me to harvest worm castings from a quality controlled setting every two weeks from 5 gallon buckets.

I start with some rich organic humus and add a special blend of grain and other organic matter as a food source. Within two weeks the half filled 5 gallon bucket is turned over to 8-10 pounds of worm castings less any debris, i.e. wood chips, bark…

The worm castings harvester is framed out of wood using wood screws to enable the system to endure the vibrations when in use.

The source of energy is produced from a $21.00 finish sander purchased at a local home improvement store.

The rest of the information is pretty much explained within the video below.

Directions For Using Worm Castings

Bruce — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 01:55:09 +0000

Worm castings benefit all types of plants and cannot harm them even if overloading the amount applied. They will not burn the roots and can be applied directly around the roots or sprayed via a worm tea.

Worm castings do not have an odor; hence they are excellent for both indoor and outdoor plants. If purchasing worm castings, be sure they do not come in an airtight sealed container as this will kill off the aerobic microbes which are one of the main reasons to use them.

For many the questions arise on what rate to apply worm castings. In order to assist you on this I have written down some spread rates and how often to apply based on successful experiences.

Vegetables and Annuals – Place 1-2 inches of worm castings in planting holes and seed furrows. Set plants or seeds, cover with soil and lightly water. Side dress during the growing season with ½ a cup of worm castings per plant or 1 cup of castings per linear foot for each row every 2 months.

Perennials – Work a ½ cup of worm castings above the root zone, cover lightly with dirt or mulch and water. Take care not to damage shallow roots while working the castings in. Apply in spring, early summer and again in early fall.

Planting Seeds / Transplanting Potted Plants – Use 1 part worm castings to 3 parts soil.

Established Potted Plants, Hanging Baskets… – Mix in 1-2 inches of worm castings to top of soil taking precaution not to damage shallow roots and water. Repeat every 2 to 3 months.

New or Freshly Transplanted Roses, Trees, Shrubs and Berries – Mix 1 part worm castings to 3 parts soil. Surround newly dug hole as well as drape roots over a mound of the mixture, cover and water thoroughly.

Established Roses – Mix 4 cups of worm castings 2-3 inches below the surface for each plant once a year.

New Lawn Seed – Apply at the rate of 10 pounds per 100 square feet. Work into top of soil, plant seed and water.

Established Lawns – Apply at the rate of 10 pounds per 100 square feet in spring and again in early fall.

Worm Casting Tea – Soak 1lb. castings in 5 gallons of water for 24–48 hours. Use an aquarium air pump to aerate and add 1-2 teaspoons of unsulphured molasses. Casting tea is excellent for fruiting, flowering or difficult to access potted plants, especially indoors. Apply weekly for best results.

Compost Piles – Spread a thin layer of worm castings over each new layer of material to be composted.

For a more elaborate organic soil matter mix which works great for most plants, vegetables, flowers, potted plants, seedlings and more, you can find a previous post for and print out the recipe here.

Using these ratios will ensure your plants thrive during the growing seasons.

If you do not have any worm castings, you can purchase them from the Organic Worm Farm online store.

Bruce Galle

Worm Castings Experiment Part 1

Bruce — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:13:18 +0000

Well I had the worm castings experiment up and running until I knocked over the one planter containing the worm castings. I tried to replant the seedlings which had popped up however they began to go through some shock therapy. Hence, in fairness, I decided to restart the experiment.

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