Worm casting tea

[PLreef]

I've been doing a bit of reading and worm casting tea has caught my eye. Anyone use it and have a favorite recipe? I've found a few that suggest using 4 cups of casting, 2 tablespoons of molasses to 5 gallons of water. Aerate with a bubbler for 24 hours. Sound about right?

[Gingerbeard]

Not sure where you are PLreef . Our local hydroponic store (they have everything but are known as the hydro store) gives free tea for the asking. So long as they've gathered enough worm poop, I imagine. See if you have a similar hookup.

[PLreef]

I bought a large bag of it before my last grow and used it as a top dressing throught. I'd rather mix it myself. Was just wondering if any of ya'lls had any experience with it? Good, bad, ugly.

[SoOrbudgal]

I do it just a little different PLreef but that sounds like a good formula. I just don't feed unsulferated molasses all through the grow, i just give it early bloom and maybe 3x midway through and then it's only water and molasses. I top dress the plants with worm casings in stressful enviornment like outdoors during heat wave an windy.

[Gingerbeard]

Right. That part. Experience with the tea we got from the shop is it goes bad pretty quick when not being oxygenated. Even in the fridge. Not something for storage.
Still going to watch what people say.

[PLreef]

Sounds about right. I've heard similar. I plan to mix it for 24 hours and use it in one feeding.

[Jimmynuetron]

I make a worm poop tea bag using cheesecloth. A few days in a jar in the hot sun and tea. I foliar spray with this. I through an old tea bag in with a banana tree I grow outside in the summer, and worms came up through the pot and emptied the tea bag. Worm poop attracts worms. It’s a win win.
also I use banana leaves from my banana tree, and poppy plants in my tea during flower.
The molasses and Epson I only do 3-4 times per grow.

[crucialbunny]

I'm an avid worm casting mixed with kelp powder tea user during mid-late veg. It can contain lots of nitrogen, so during flower I turn to banana & avocado tea. I use molasses and Epsom in all my teas.

Edit: I neglected to mention how I make worm casting tea. I have a couple worm bins that I maintain throughout the year so I don't know much about packaged product. Basically I sift out my worms and add a cup of castings to a 1 gallon container of tap water that has sat for at least a day. Add a tablespoon of molasses and a tablespoon of kelp meal. I put it in a shady spot on a sunny day and let it sit for 24 hours. That then goes in a 5 gallon bucket that I top off with water and then just water as usual. This usually will be enough for 5-7 plants in 5 gallon containers. The beneficial bacteria grow very rapidly fed by the molasses so there's no reason to let it go more than 24 hrs.

[PLreef]

I appreciate the write up. Question, do you adjust the ph of the tea before adding it? I just check the tea I made last night and it was around 6.85 ph.

[crucialbunny]

Honestly PLreef since I've been growing in living soil there has been little need to chase PH. There's something about the living organisms that pretty much keeps my soil balanced. When I start to add my homemade bloom nutrients after flower I have found it will start to fluctuate. When that starts I find that using stone powder like Azomite helps bring it back.

[Ckbrew]

So what is in worm castings that the plants like so much?

[crucialbunny]

Great question Ckbrew. While castings have a high concentration of nitrogen, you can also achieve that with a simple compost tea. What the worm castings contain is a lot of beneficial bacteria and enzymes that can rapidly break down the nutrients in your soil for easy absorption by your plant's roots. It also seems to help maintain a balanced PH in your soil through most of the grow. My PH does get a little wonky during bud when I begin to add bloom nutrients to my feeding schedule. An overly simplified explanation but it gets the point across I hope.

[Gingerbeard]

Worm poop is instant compost and great for breaking down things like kitchen scraps faster than letting them break down. And what crucialbunny said.
The fresher the better, from what I understand.

[Ckbrew]

So is this only for soil only or can it be used in a coco/perlite DTW hydro grow? Do you have to make a tea or can you just put it on top of the grow media? How will it affect the nutrient schedule using GH trio & cal mag?

[Gingerbeard]

A quick google tells me worm castings are good for coco. Seems 10% worm castings to your coco mix is a thing.

[TOKABIGONE]

I actually went to 25 to 30 percent castings with 45% coco loco plus 25% perlite. It made the most wonderful feeling soil, so very friable. Squeeze into a clod and drop it; crumbles right back to normal feeling soil. I did pH my water input for the first couple weeks then stopped. Plants show no sign of distress so it appears to be doing it's job as a pH correcting soil should. I added a s pile of beneficials in and the leaves tell me the story. A few other live soil amendments such as crab meal and oyster shell. It was kinda like baking a cake but thinking wait lets put some of that in and that plus some of those, lol! Honestly it is a remarkable relief to not chase pH all the time. 5 week old Maui auto girls are loving it, Very healthy with more flowers all the time and still stretching for the moon! Might be a fair decent crop for autos!

[TOKABIGONE]

Ckbrew Oh I forgot...No Nutes! Nothing but tap water and teas plus top dressing. Check out my pics on AutoToka grow thread. They look pretty sweet to me!

[Jimmynuetron]

Quick Google- fried eggshells in vinegar. It’s something Ive been experimenting with. I’ve found that one tablespoon of the solution will ph perfect a gallon of alkaline tap water.

[Gingerbeard]

How about this, then. I understand about the microbes and things. Since the castings have a lot of nitrogen, would it be good, bad, or inconsequential to use it (them?) when I do my final transplant for flowering?

[Jimmynuetron]

I know people who top dress during bud with great success and apparently it enhances flavour. I have lots of worms live under my plant so they provided all she needed...