Worm castings as growing medium? - Cannabis Forums Message Boards - Medical Marijuana, Cannabis Club, Dispensary, News

Mr. Clandestine · #1 (**permalink**) Feb-07-2008, 17:53

I have the opportunity to get my hands on a sizable amount of weed-free worm castings, well over 100lbs if I desire, and I was curious if anyone has ever used a casting/perlite-only mix to grow their plants?

I always have some castings on hand to add to my soil mix, but I've never tried substituting it alone for all other organic matter. Would this be too "hot" even for plants well into veg? If anyone has ever done this, please let me know how it worked out for you. Include, if possible, any potential problems with pH, what fertilizers (if any) you used, whether it made any noticeable differences in your final weight, etc. Anything you can tell me about it will influence whether or not I'm willing to give it a shot.

If it makes any difference, the strain I'm growing right now is a Sativa-dominant AK-47. And so far, it seems to be pretty tolerant of high Nitrogen fertilizers.

xcrispi · #2 (**permalink**) Feb-07-2008, 18:25

They're not really that hot . 1-0-0 , all N .

Prob. = Worm diareha once wet though but can't hurt to experiment . All else fails it sells for 1.00 a lb. here locally . Some lazy dumbass would buy it on ebay and you could buy 5 bags of Happy Frog or Ocean Forest w/ the $$$ .
Crispi

Mr. Clandestine · #3 (**permalink**) Feb-07-2008, 19:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by xcrispi

They're not really that hot . 1-0-0 , all N .

Prob. = Worm diareha once wet though but can't hurt to experiment . All else fails it sells for 1.00 a lb. here locally . Some lazy dumbass would buy it on ebay and you could buy 5 bags of Happy Frog or Ocean Forest w/ the $$$ .
Crispi

Thanks for the feedback XC. I didn't think it would be too hot, but figured I'd ask anyway. I've found a deal on as much as I could ever want for $.50 per pound, so I'm considering getting a good bit of it anyway... but it looks like I'll probably just keep using it as an amendment for my soil. I might just experiment with one plant so I can get a good idea about how well it works.

Thanks again.

Rusty Trichome · #4 (**permalink**) Feb-08-2008, 10:35

About 3 years ago, I tried worm castings with perlite for seedlings and clones once. Made a muddy mess, and nothing grew.
By the looks of it after the attempt, the castings clogged up the perlite, and so it got no areation.
Still use it for my soil mix, but after buying 15 lbs I still have most of it left.

**stinkyattic** · #5 (**permalink**) Feb-08-2008, 12:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rusty Trichome

after buying 15 lbs I still have most of it left.

I had a similar experience. I found it retained a lot more water than I really wanted. I'd go for a 'worm tea' product made from castings but in liquid form that you can add to your regular ferts.

Mr. Clandestine · #6 (**permalink**) Feb-08-2008, 13:36

Thanks Rusty & Stinky for sharing your experiences with me. I'll just keep adding the castings to my soil mix, and see what I can do about finding some in liquid form. I remember seeing some liquid castings at a store somewhere, it was packaged in a 2-liter soda bottle, and I'm kicking myself in the ass for not getting it when I saw it. Now I have no earthly clue where to find it again w/out having to order online.

Thanks again for your responses XCrispi, Rusty, & Stinky! You've all been a great help.

xcrispi · #7 (**permalink**) Feb-08-2008, 14:07

Hey Clandestine
Make the tea yourself using the castings you already have .
I'm sure Stinky will give you her recipe . I have used it mostly as a soil amendment , but have tried to help N def. using it mixed w/ my reg. waterings but don't remember in what ratios .
Peace
Crispi

**stinkyattic** · #8 (**permalink**) Feb-08-2008, 14:48

I can't say as I've ever made worm tea myself but it involves a 5 gallon pail, some worm castings, an airstone and pump, and a 'teabag' made of a few layers of old stocking. Maybe Tex will have insight; I think he's been doing teas lately.
There are actually pre-fab worm tea products you can buy at the grow shop.

Mr. Clandestine · #9 (**permalink**) Feb-08-2008, 15:17

I have plenty of buckets, and actually have a few extra airstones/pumps from old aquarium setups I used to have. I've been playing around with making guano teas for a while, but recently found out that I've been doing it wrong. I used warm water with some homemade "teabags", only I didn't know that 90-100°F was too hot, and so I've probably been losing effectiveness of the tea. I'm an idiot, I figured they needed to steep... like Lipton's!

Anyway, when I start using guano again, I'll be making the tea by bubbling the hell out of it for 24 hours in room temperature water. I'll see if I can get some feedback from Texas about trying this with castings. I'd love to use less fishy smelling emulsion, and more earthy smelling castings during veg. I don't have a problem with the smell of castings, but I've yet to find a truly "deodorized" fish crap...

Thanks again for everyones insight!

melodious fellow · #10 (**permalink**) Feb-21-2008, 20:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rusty Trichome

About 3 years ago, I tried worm castings with perlite for seedlings and clones once. Made a muddy mess, and nothing grew.
By the looks of it after the attempt, the castings clogged up the perlite, and so it got no areation.
Still use it for my soil mix, but after buying 15 lbs I still have most of it left.

I read in a grow guide once that worm castings were the ultimate soil supplement and that they were so rich, one could grown in pure worm castings. It also said that they were so expensive though that this would be way impractical.

But after reading Stinky and Rusty's experiences, fuck that

mushaboom · #11 (**permalink**) Apr-17-2008, 22:33

hey i read that same thing somewhere... i think it was that green book the bible maybe. the information hasnt really ever been too helpful for me in that thing i just like to look at the pictures

texas grass · #12 (**permalink**) Apr-18-2008, 00:58

in my experiences in making teas compost and wormcastings are about the best things to use as your main base. both are full of biologicals and with aeration and the right amount of organic material and food they will flourish
good food and organic material to use is seaweed, mollasses, humates, meals, guanos. you only need about 1-2tablespoons total of food to help feed the biologicals

the teas can be used as a soil feeder, foliar feeder, and some insect/disease control
usually need to brew for about 24-48 hrs
if your brews sit for too long or conditions arnt right the tea could provide a home for pathologenic biologicals.

if you can get ahold of the vermicompost liquid, that stuff is liquid gold

Mr. Clandestine · #13 (**permalink**) Apr-18-2008, 15:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by texas grass

if you can get ahold of the vermicompost liquid, that stuff is liquid gold

Wow, I forgot all about this thread!

And yeah, I've found some of that stuff, but I've yet to find a very good deal on it. At my local stores, where it's available, it was going for something like $10 for 2 liters... AND it was already pre-diluted, making it tough to spread out over a longer period of time. That's a little expensive for my tastes, even though I know it's good to have on hand.

I never did purchase the bags of castings that I was thinking about trying as a medium. It's still something that I'd like to try in the future, but from what I've gathered from the great people of Cann.com, it will take some patience and experimentation to get it right. Thanks for the background info on teas, though. I'm certainly well on my way to finding just the right compromise between biological additives and organic teas to make my plants healthy and happy. I've made plenty of mistakes down the road, but I'm getting much more comfortable with the whole process.

And thanks again to everyone who responded!

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