Worm juice fertilizer

[fredman]

I bought 4 liter from a friend. Does anybody know if it has any NPK value? Also how long will it last bottled up?

[Phoenix238]

It's more like a tonic, like seasol. Not sure how long it lasts bottled up, I use mine straight away

[Isitangus]

Hi fredman my advice is use with caution. I used to use it every time I'm fertilised-adding a bit to each watering can. Then I killed 2 x standard gardenias and almost killed a standard azalea. The only thing I changed was adding the work
Juice. Use it sparingly and you should be ok.
Agree with Phoenix-treat like a tonic not like a fert. Benefits for increasing microbiological activity.

[treeman]

I bought 4 liter from a friend. Does anybody know if it has any NPK value? Also how long will it last bottled up?

The NPK depends largely on what the worms were fed. NPK is usually quite low but some samples (from pig or chicken manures for eg) can have very high P. enough to damage some plants.
Most of its N is in the nitrate form so ammonium toxicity is unlikely. K can very a lot but is usually substantial in the commercial product. (most of the K comes from friut, veg and green waste)
Also you need to know its pH. If lime was used or the chickens fed shell grit) the pH can be way too high for acid loving plants. I would only use it if I made it myself (or knew exactly what went into it) It can certanly be high in trace elements and it can help improve with leaf colour
I have been studying vermicompost lately. The main benefits seen to come from the huge range of bacteria and fungi in it and there have been many lab and field trials which show positive effects, not only in improved growth but disease and pest suppression. In particular, it has shown to reduce root-knot nematode numbers which have plagued my flowering quince. But mites, aphids and other pests are also reduced.
According to the trials, the best performance comes from freshly harvested vermicompost extracted in water and areated for at least 30 hours in a plastic container with an aquarium pump. You may add a little molassus to this to get the microbe numbers even higher.
You will need to apply twice a month or so for the best results.
If you want to keep the P within resonable limits, some materilas to use are cow/horse manure (real), straw, leaves and you can supplement the protein with cottonseed, soya or canola meal. And leave out the lime.
Don't use it for its NPK but for all the other benefits.
I would like to have 20lt on the go at all times if I can have the disipline to set up a couple of farms and keep them going!

[fredman]

Thanks everybody. Very interesting Treeman. I think he said its made from mainly horse manure. I plan to dilute it 50:1. Thanks for the molasses tip. I searched a little bit and found the same on a few sites.

[shibui]

I collect the leachate from my bathtub worm farm. Mine get fresh feed irregularly when I can get it, mostly manure - chooks get all the kitchen waste so none left for worms. When i put fresh stuff on the worms the leachate is stronger in colour so I assume also stronger in nutrient. In hotter weather less liquid leaches through so also probably stronger then. If the beds are watered more often or more heavily the leachate will be weaker. Some worm farms reuse the leachate to keep the wormfarm damp so nutrient levels gradually increase the longer the liquid is reused. All this means that you can never be sure of the strength of worm juice unless you analyse each sample.

Nutrient in most are quite low (compared to commercial chemical fertilisers). I usually have 200-400 litres stored in drums and use about 200 litres each time I use it. I just water mine straight onto the plants undiluted and have never seen any adverse reaction - usual advice is to dilute to look like weak black tea. I alternate worm juice with other ferts so the bonsai get worm juice about every 6 weeks through the growing season and 1 or 2 other, higher analysis ferts between.

[fredman]

Thanks for that Shibui.
Does anybody know how long it will last bottled up? Those organisms needs food my logic says to me. I don't think their is much food for them in waste leachate.....?

[Ulf]

I have found the worm juice from my own tanks is far too strong to be used undiluted. The ratio of 50:1 is about what I use and I get very good results. I have found it to be an excellent foliar feed on vegetables although I have not tried this on my bonsai.
As for keeping times, I would use it quickly. When I store the juice for any length of time I notice a marked change in the smell which indicates to me it has "gone off" which is probably the microbial life dyeing.

[treeman]

Thanks for that Shibui.
Does anybody know how long it will last bottled up? Those organisms needs food my logic says to me. I don't think their is much food for them in waste leachate.....?

The mineral elements in it won't change however the species of microbes will. Fron aerobic to anaerobic. You can still use it.

[treeman]

All this means that you can never be sure of the strength of worm juice unless you analyse each sample.

Shibui, You can buy a fairy cheap EC meter from hydroponic shops to check the strength of liquid feeds. I use one often for making up solutions for my orchids but they are much more sensitive than trees. However it gives you a good understanding as to what you're pouring onto your plants.