By: Chris Dailey

Many people are tea drinkers. Whether they are drinking Oolong tea or black tea from their local grocery store, that person has a certain image as to what it is, what it tastes like, and what it is for. There is a certain kind of tea that no one should drink but is one of the most beneficial, nutrient filled solutions that has ever existed. It is called worm tea. What is worm tea? Here are a few tips on how you can create and use worm tea otherwise known as compost tea to enhance your organic gardening needs.

Used for hundreds of years, organic gardeners and farmers that have known of the value of vermicomposting have been creating this potent nutrient filled liquid that is better known as worm tea or compost tea. This liquid which some say has a fragrant odor or is completely odorless can be used on the leaves of potted plants and also in the soil to enhance plant growth as well as help protect the plants that you grow.

It is actually a very simple process with a couple of not so simple steps if you have never done it before. Basically, the vermicast is put into a filter like a nylon and added to a jug of water and oxygenated in order to encourage microbes within the mixture to flourish and grow. Some additional ingredients to add to this tea include molasses or sea kelp. The oxygenation process will continue for about a day or sometimes longer.

Once done, it can be bottled and sprayed on plants or poured into soil at the base of the plants in order to inject a kind of a topical fertilizer that not only helps plant growth but also repels insects and disease such as spider mites and various pathogens, respectively.

There are various ways to get compost tea and one of those ways is through the collection of worm castings. Worm castings are essentially the poop of the worms. Their manure feels like soft little nodules that can be bagged up and cooked like a tea (except at room temperature water) and then used in the same manner that the worm tea was used in liquid form. Usually distilled water is used in the sifting process when using the castings and can actually be a much neater process when doing this on a large scale.

Most compost tea is concentrated so even if it does come in a bottle that looks ready to use, treat it the same way you would miracle grow or other non organic fertilizers. Castings tea should not burn the leaves of plants or over fertilize the soil but it is a good idea to use it more often in diluted form than less often in concentrated form. Red worms and their castings have become a hot commodity for all of those in the organic gardening field.

In essence, you are putting healthy microorganisms back into the soil which can then begin to thrive and multiply creating the ideal environment for your plants and a natural barrier at times for things that would come to destroy them. And unlike most nonorganic fertilizers, if you happen to spill too much into an area of your crop, it will not burn your plants.

By taking the time to create your own worm farm, and making your own tea for your garden or crops, you should see not only a positive growth in your vegetables or fruit, but a noticeable taste difference and production difference in how long it takes your crops to grow. You will also notice that your plants succumb less to fungus and other pathogens and diseases.

Also, by regularly adding this special tea into your garden area, it will also help you regulate the watering of your garden which is very important for crop growth. If you are doing this on a larger scale, you may need special equipment in order to harvest the worm castings and process them, and also to make worm tea on a commercial scale requires significantly different equipment than a small scale operation.

Overall, it will be worth your while to go the natural way and create a worm farm that will supplement the nutrient needs of your garden no matter how big or small. The use of compost tea as not only an additive of nutrients but also as an insecticide to protect your crops will make your organic gardening growing experience more pleasurable each and every year.

So the next time that you hear about a special tea that can enhance the growth of your crops, make your food taste better, and increase your overall yields, you will not think about the kind of tea that you sip quietly at the kitchen table, but of natures key that is given to us by red worms to help all organic gardeners grow more plentiful crops called compost tea.

By: Chris Dailey

If you springtime is a fantastic time of the year. It is the time of rebirth of nature and the many plants that you will begin to grow in your garden inside your home or outside. One of the favorite plants to grow at this time of the year all are plants with bulbs. Unfortunately, having a successful encounter with bulbs can sometimes be far and in between because of not knowing how to properly prepare bulbs prior to the planting season. Although the preparation process can be difficult, even more difficult is actually getting the bulbs to begin to grow. Here is a process that I use called the jumpstart process that I use every year with my bulbs and how worm compost can be used as an organic mulch in order to make sure this process is quick and easy.

If you have planted bulbs in the past, you know the process. You wait for your plan to begin to die off. This is shown by the use and flowers falling. You can also determine this by the time of the year depending upon the type of plant you are growing. Nonetheless, once the plant begins to die you begin to help it in its death by cutting back on water and fertilizer to make sure it goes dormant until the next season.

What needs to be done now is a particular planting process that ensures that the is ready to go. Some people will actually take their bulbs and after cutting away the stall, store them in their garage and wait until the following year before they begin planting. Some will also put them in a bag or container and place them in a dark area that is cold. I have a more natural process that I use to ensure that the bulbs are ready to go from day one. Here it is:

The first thing that you do is go out to your garden area and dig a hole in the ground at about 1 foot in diameter and about a foot deep. You will do this for every bulb that you have so make sure that the soil that you are using is either freshly tilled or just simply easy to dig into or you will have a backache by the end of the day. So if you have 10 bulbs, you will need 10 holes. Although you can double up the amount of bulbs that you place in each hole, it is recommended that one is used per hole only. If you live in a warmer climate, you are going to have to dig down another foot or so in order to ensure that the bulb is kept cool over the next several months.

Next your going to need some pots that are going to last a few months underneath the ground. I would recommend clay pots but if you only have plastic and plastic is economical, just make sure that you have enough for each hole. You also need to make sure that each pot has holes at the bottom so that any excess water can drain out if it happens to go in. Place the bulbs in the pots with a very porous mix of potting soil which can simply be soil that you already had in the garden next with worm compost if you have this or potting soil mix that you purchase from the store. Light and fluffy is the goal.

Once you have placed all of your bulbs into the pots, and you have placed in the pots into the holes, you need to cover the outside and top of the pot with soil. Then, and this is where an abundance of worm compost or organic mulch of any kind would come in handy, you pile this on top of each of the holes about a foot or so in height and diameter in order to prevent the soil from freezing where your bulbs are. If you live in a colder climate, you need to add more cover material. Lastly, you need to have a way of finding each of your bulbs as the year progresses. If you live in a very warm climate, this is probably not an issue. However, if you live in an area that has lots of snowfall during the winter season, it is a good idea to use sturdy sticks to mark where your bulbs are so that you can find them in the spring if the snow has not yet melted.

Once several months have passed and it is springtime again, it is time to go out and get your bulbs from the ground. The reason that you place them into pots other than for protection will become self-evident now. Simply dig out the pots, clean the outside off, and bring them into your home. This is the key to jumpstarting your bulbs. Remember that the bulbs have been in the ground and were probably at a temperature of about 40 degrees. Now that it is springtime, and the interior of your home is around 68 to 70 degrees, this instantaneous change in temperature will cause the bulbs began to wake up and start the growing process at an exponential rate because they have been placed into a warmer climate almost immediately which causes a jumpstart to their growth process.

Using these simple steps, you will be able to have reoccurring bulb growth, with very little worries at all. Plus, with the jumpstart procedure, you can fully expect to see blooms in the next few weeks, or at least much faster than you typically see because of this system. If it is already springtime, it is a good time to begin planning where you’ll get your mulch, where you will plant your bulbs, so when time comes again, you will be ready to use this bulb compost jumpstart system.

By: Chris Dailey

One of natures most underrated workers are the eisenia fetida or red wiggler worms. Commonly found in organically rich soils that they help to create throughout the world including North America and some parts of Europe, these special creatures do an absolutely amazing thing: they can take vegetation that is currently rotting and process it in a way that creates compost as the natural end product of what they do with this organic matter. Contrasting this to the regular composting process, red worms have become a staple product for organic gardening enthusiasts not only by the worms used to create their own compost, but also in the way of helping decrease waste in our landfills and at the same time creating fresh organic compost. Here is a very easy vermicomposting system that anyone can do in order to create their own worm compost machine.

Organic gardening is slowly becoming one of the most popular hobbies of not only environmental enthusiasts but people that happen upon this natural way to improve their health. Organic food is known for its ability to retain more nutrients per gram of dryweight of almost every vegetable or fruit grown in this manner. One of the key ingredients is making sure that proper amounts of rich compost are added to the soil in order to ensure that the final product is in rich with vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients that will help a persons general health through regular eating of organic foods.

Vermicompost or worm compost is an ideal additive for any garden because of not only the nutrient value, but the system that is so easy to set up which almost anyone can use to create their own natural fertilizer. Depending upon the size of your garden and your needs, you can take a simple container in the shape of a box or a large garbage can and begin this composting process.

The first thing to consider with your vermicomposting bin is that you need to have proper aeration and drainage. Remember that your container will have a living population of red worms so it is important to consider their needs. You will want to provide fresh air and also a way for water to flow out so that it does not become stagnant. You are, in essence, creating a community of workers that will create a product for you and all they ask is that you feed them organic waste from your table on a regular basis along with keeping proper moisture and ph levels.

There are several types of vermicomposting systems that you can try out. Some have a continuous vertical flow of air and water. These are stacked on top of each other in the format of trays that our filled from the bottom up. The top tray is where you will put the organic matter that the red wigglers will eat and process. The subsequent trays will be used to catch various things such as compost, worm castings, and worm cocoons. It is also okay to build your trays horizontally but this of course takes more room. Depending upon the size of your operation, and how much space you have, you could literally create a business of creating compost from worms given enough organic waste and room in which to grow.

Thinking again from the worms perspective, you want to create an environment that is similar to the natural environment that the worms are used to in a natural setting. Imagine walking through the forest and considering the temperature underneath the trees and the layers of leaves which will soon be decomposing on the forest floor. Likewise, you want to have a similar soil makeup in your bedding as well as an equivalent temperature so that the worms feel as if they are in a natural setting and will begin to process your organic waste.

Therefore, the bedding should be moist. The bedding materials that you can use that will mimic a natural setting would include peat moss, dried manure, or even newspaper from your local store. The bedding should also allow aeration so that the decomposition process, as well as the worms ability to access air, is available. The temperature should be about where humans feel comfortable or a round 60 to 70 degrees. Lastly, there needs to be a ratio between carbon and nitrogen in the bedding mix so that not only the worms, but the other organisms that will be living with and helping the worms decompose the organic material, can feel comfortable. This ratio is about thirty to one with the majority of the bedding content being carbon based and the rest being nitrogen based.

Once you have thrown all of this together which should not take longer than a few hours of your time, especially if you have access to soil and a source for worms, you should begin adding organic material to your vermiculture system and let the process begin.

A last thing to consider is the maintenance of the worms and their habitat. The most important thing to ensure the health of your population of worms is to make sure that it is aerated properly. There needs to be enough oxygen to allow their habitat to be aerobic and not anaerobic. The difference is aerobic allows for the decomposition process to occur via the worms. Anaerobic is just the opposite and that is similar to what you would smell if you left your organic material on your counter for several days or smelled meat rotting. This is more of a stagnant process whereas the worms perform a natural processing of the waste.

The entire project should cost you no more than forty dollars to get access to worms and a container, and a few hours of your time for setup and maintenance. In doing so, you will create a small vermicomposting system that will produce for you not only the freshest compost that you will ever smell but also a rich compost that will add flavor and nutrients to your organic garden products in a way that you have never seen, or tasted, before.

By: Chris Dailey

It is a well known fact in the organic gardening community that red worms create some of the best compost that you can use in your garden. It is actually a very simple process which I am going to oversimplify to get to the main point. The process is that you procure a container, fill it with dirt, some kind of bedding, add water, add worms, and add organic waste and this will set you on the path to having worm created organic compost. The problem with this process is that most people that do this often have the space and the time to make this process work on a continual basis. Some very large organic farms have entire hangers dedicated to the composting process. But what if you live in an urban area? Here are a few tips on how you can make a worm bin that will work in any urban or rural indoor situation.

The first thing you will need to do is go to the store and purchase some plastic storage boxes. They do not need to be very large but they should be sturdy. If you do not have a drill, you will need to borrow one or buy one in order to make ventilation holes. Do you read the newspaper? If so then you have what you need in order to begin the composting process. And finally, aside from dirt, you are going to need some red worms. About a pound of them will do.

Two very important things are air and water. All creatures need air and water to exist and composting worms are no different. The first thing you must do is cut large holes on the bottom of each bin with a keyhole saw. If you are following this particular format, you are going to need two bins because you are going to stack them on top of each other. This gets into separating the two worm end products, which will be talked about later.

Next you need to drill ventilation holes so that the worms can get air. Remember that these holes are not going to be as large as the drainage holes that you just drilled on the bottom of each container. The holes for water drainage should be at least an inch in diameter. Ventilation holes on the other hand can be one quarter of an inch so make sure that you have enough drill bits to choose from. The number of holes should be adequate to properly ventilate and drain the entire bin.

You will need to get your daily newspaper out now. If you just raked the lawn, all the better. Used shredded newspaper and leaves, get them wet, and place them so that you have about four inches of this material on the bottom. Also, if you have ever raised any kind of bird, you will know that they need grit in order to eat their seeds. Likewise, worms also need a small amount of grit to help digest their food. You can purchase corn meal or sand or if you have some dirt available from outside, throw a handful in the mix and they will be just fine.

If you are using two containers, you will do the following: take the lid from your top container and place it on the ground. Place the second container that does not have worms, but has dirt, on four blocks on top of the lid. Pending of course that you did not drill holes in the bottom lid, this will act as a catchall for excess water that will drain out of the containers over time. This liquid is what you may have heard being called worm tea.

The container with the worms will be placed on top of this with a sheet of cardboard that is soaked on top of the organic material and worms. Finally, to conclude this journey to make a worm bin, place your remaining lid over the top of the cardboard and seal it and check on it every couple days.

Worms actually do each quite a bit of food depending upon how many you have. With about a thousand worms per pound, and with each thousand worms eating half their body weight a day, you will need to add at least half a pound of organic material to your worm composting bin every few days in order to keep them happy, full, and processing compost.

Other things to check that you will learn over time is how moist soil is, and you might also check how many worms have replicated since you began the whole process. Too many worms in one small area can cause them to die if bin conditions and food amounts are not properly maintained.

You are done. You have just created your very own worm bin and now that you know how to make a worm bin, you might think of showing a friend or even making another one and expanding on your composting endeavor. Hopefully, you may use some of the organic compost or even the worm tea that will be produced over time to fertilize any plants or garden vegetables that you decide to grow during the year.

By: Michael Kohler

Perhaps you have heard the age old adage that you can’t get anything for free. This is true for most things in life with the exception of Irma composting or what many call worm composting. Basically, worms will take your organic garbage and transform it almost magically into a type of compost that is rich and ready to be planted with your garden plants to enhance their growth and make your food that much more rich. There are a few things you should know about worm compost that will show you clearly why it works so well.

Regardless of the affordability factor, worm compost is one of the richest forms of fertilizer that you can use in your garden today. Though this is a very simplified idea, it simply has to do with you taking a handful of worms, dumping them in a pile of dirt with some newspaper, a little water, and your every day organic trash such as leftover vegetables and in a few weeks you will have your worms producing the richest fertilizer that you may every news for your indoor or outdoor garden.

The reason why this is possible is that worms are ultimately natures greatest recyclers because they can take your organic garbage and turn it into expensive gardening real estate. Red worms are typically used in any worm composting bin which can be as small as a Tupperware container with holes or as large as a rain barrel depending upon how much compost you actually want to produce.

Be careful how much food that you give the worms because over time they will begin to overcrowd themselves and you may need to expand your operation which can only be good for you especially if your garden is in need of extra compost from time to time. Some people will actually use buckets and harvest the compost in as short as two to three weeks. Often times 50 to 60 days is necessary in order to keep a proper balance of happiness with your worms as well as moisture content and cocoon productivity.

Probably the most expensive thing that you will have to invest in is in the worms themselves which run about $25 to $35 a pound, which is about a thousand worms. Also remember that the container that you keep them in should be relatively warm as red worms do not produce well or create compost well in colder climates.

As far as a worm bin goes for your worm compost, you can usually pick one up for $20-$30 for a medium-sized one or if you are interested in a barrel, it would be a good idea to get a plastic one. Typically water barrels are made from Oak because Oakwood is used in wine barrels that are commonly seen in many landscaping schemes. Oak wood has an acid which is detrimental to your worm population so you would be better served to spend her money on a sturdy plastic container.

The average worm compost harvesting will net you a round 50 to 55 gallons a year. Make sure that the bottom of the barrel or the container that you are using has drainage holes for the excess water and if you have a lid on top it needs to be aerated with holes on the sides as well as on top of the container itself. Worms can be very finicky and you will have to get to know how the dirt fields with your hands in order to make sure that it is moist enough for the worms to continue breeding and creating compost area

Once you have your worms supply, and you have your bedding and dirt ready in your worm container, simply put the worms on the top about six to 8 inches beneath the soil and add the food scraps on a regular basis on the top making sure to close the lid because worms despite the fact they do not have eyes are photophobic and will not come to the food if there is too much light.

That is it! You are now on your way to creating worm compost for your garden. By following the simple steps provided, you should have enough compost to add to your small garden and create and enough food for your family on a regular basis all year long.