I am doing a performance comparison between wormcast and compost teas and the "blue" liquid fertilizers. Have any of you had experience with any of these?

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), May 24, 2002

Answers

Glad we are back on the air! No Jay I don't! Sure don't use chemical stuff. Rabbit, goat, llama, horse, etc.

BTW, Tomatoes love rabbit poop!

-- Susan in Mn (nanaboo@paulbunyan.net), May 24, 2002.

I plan on having samples of my wormcast tested to compare to the commercial fertilizer levels also to have element comparisons in addition to performance data.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), May 24, 2002.

Jay,

Should be a lot of scientific research, especially from Cuba, on worm catings, as it is a major enterprise in Cuba. Seems that comparing apples to oranges here in the performance area, imho.

If you are looking for marketing ideas, might consider the soil enhancement benefits of worm castings and organic health of the soil (benefical organisms that are benefited by tea) in addition to just the NPK and minerals.

-- BC (desertdweller44@yahoo.com), May 24, 2002.

I have some data on the Cuba project. My question is the fact so many arbtrarily discount commercial fertilizers, yet many operations are now in place similar to the Cuba project which are developing organic sources in an attempt to paralell commercially produced fertilizers. Maybe not all commercially produced nutrients are "evil compounds" after all.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), May 24, 2002.

I have never considered commercial fertilizers as being that complex. Not that I consider them overtly “evil”, I just prefer organic, if at all possible. IMHO, commercial fertilizer production is set upon a bottom line accounting system that does not take into account the vial ability or sustainability of living soil.

One web site states: Worm casting analysis: Nitrogen 14.4% Calcium 1.58% Phosphorous 0.89% Potassium 0.34% Magnesium 0.34% Charles Darwin said in his thesis on the worm: "They are the intestines of the Earth”

The July/August 2000 CS article on “Composted manures offer yield and disease resistance benefits” touches on my point. I have used commercial fertilizers, but given the choice I will go organic if at all possible.

-- BC (desertdweller44@yahoo.com), May 24, 2002.

Yes, I have those references. But if organics can be pampered to increase the natural compounds is what interests me. The performance comparison is just to set a baseline.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), May 24, 2002.

Jay, how many worms ( beds) do you have? How much wormcast do they produce say,. . in a day?

-- Granny Hen (cluckin along@cs.com), May 24, 2002.

I adjust the bin volume and output quantity to accomodate the required waste disposal and my nursury needs. I generally try to maintain at least 100 pounds of breeders at any given time and can ramp it up within 45 days as needs increase. Currently , I have ramped up the herd size to produce a volume of approximately 100 cu ft of castings per five week cycle to stock my raised beds with topsoil mix. I have 5 plastic pick up truck toolboxes and two outdoor SFG frames currently under active composting. All the herds are breeding nicely.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), May 25, 2002.

Not scientific Jay. Just for convenience I use Miracle Grow on my potted plants and "used" duck shavings on the plants in the ground. I have no complaints about either and they seem to do great. LQ

-- Little Quacker in OR (carouselxing@juno.com), May 28, 2002.