A lot of people wonder what worm castings are and if they actually provide any additional benefits to you garden or grow. This post could go on for awhile about all the benefits you’ll find, but for time sake and not going over everyone’s head, here is a narrowed post of how worm castings are one of the best natural fertilizers in the world.     

  How are worm castings created – Worm castings are created when a composting worms eats organic matter/bacteria and processes it through its gut. When it is being processed through the gut about 5 to 10 percent is actually being digested by the worm. The remaining material is coated in an enzymatic casing when it is excreted by the worm. This enzymatic casing gives the worm casting a huge boost to the microbial life that survives the digestion process.  

  Best things to feed worms for quality castings – Knowing what the worms ingest to make the casting in overlooked by most and in fact the most important part of worm castings. The ideal material is something that already contains a good amount of organic matter, nutrients, and microbial life. Animal manure can do this, just be cautious of where you get it and what went into the animal. Food waste is another alternative most prefer and is also a good direction. Choosing diverse types of food will be great for the worms, just know that most of that food is composed of water so supplementing diverse nutrients could build even more nutrient dense castings. My personal preference to achieve the best castings possible is through making good quality compost first. By going through the composting process you’ll cook off much of the material that could heat up your bin, contain pathogens, or cause a strong ammonia smell. Feeding worms compost that has been properly finished and allowed to set contains a much more diverse range of microorganisms the worms can eat and put into castings.    

  Always ask what goes into the castings – A lot of people just grab worm castings at the store and expect all castings to be the same. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Many of the bigger worm casting companies feed their worms anything from peat moss, to landfill waste. Now I’m all for recycling wastes that can be toxic, but bagging it after the worms have eaten it and selling it is a little too far for me. You don’t know what kind of heavy metals, plastics, filler, and other toxic material might be in those so called worm castings. Always ask what kind of material the worms are being fed and how long they are processing it. It typically takes at least 2 months for a worm to fully process a food material. Also if they label them as 100% or pure worm castings they are lying to you. No worm casting bag can be completely pure, this isn’t to say the castings are bad but they should definitely be followed up with questioning.  

  Benefits of worm castings – The enzymatic casing that was mentioned above is the key to unlocking much of these benefits. The enzymes and microbes help to break down nutrients into more plant-available forms for plants to more readily uptake. This is why knowing what went into the castings is crucial. Good worm castings can contain almost all 16 essential elements for plant health. As well as plant growth hormones like gibberellins, a wide range of vitamins including B12, and nitrogen fixing microbes. Worm castings are so beneficial that compared to regular compost they can contain 1000 times more bacterial life. They also increase CEC (Cation Exchange Capacity). For those that don’t know, CEC is essentially how much nutrients a soil can hold for plant uptake. Increasing this is like increasing the money in your savings account at the bank. Worm castings are also great for deterring pests. Mostly focusing on nectar-sucking pests like aphids, white fly, spider mites, fruit flies, etc. Other benefits of worm castings include:  

• Increased aeration of soil 
• Improved seed germination 
• Enhanced seedling growth  
• Increased plant productivity  
• Fungus control  
• Contains chitinase enzyme 
• Increased soil moisture  
• Can’t burn plants 

  Recommended application – While worm castings can’t burn plants, which is a huge benefit. I would recommend not using more that 25 to 30 percent in a potting mix. After 25 percent the benefits start to taper off in your mix. If amending your soil it is recommended to put about ½ inch layer around your plant and water in. Making an extract with 50 percent water and 50 percent castings then watering it in is a simple and fast way to also apply worm castings to your plants.  

 Worm castings are a fantastic tool for any grower. Just remember to be cautious of what ingredients go into the worm castings. If you can’t get a direct answer from who you are getting them from, remember there are tons of other worm casting providers out there you can find. Maybe even look into starting your own worm farm at home. Our next post will be about what it takes to start your own worm bins from home. Thanks for reading!