Do you know that plants before becoming our source nutrition require a great deal of nutrition too? Yes. Just like human bodies require an apt amount of nutrients and minerals to grow so does plants.
The vibrant plant life above ground is strengthened not by the gardener's hands, but by the billions of microbes and micronutrients in the soil below. To have healthy plants, you must first strengthen the plant's foundation, which means you must have healthy soil.
But how do you start with having a healthy soil? Well there plenty of ways to do that but today we are going to discuss an organic fertilizer, vermicompost.
So what is vermicompost?
Vermicompost is the end result of composting organic material with various types of worms, such as red wigglers or earthworms, to produce a homogeneous blend of decomposed vegetable and food waste, bedding materials, and manure.
When you start the worm farming, the food particles consumed by a red wiggler transform into a nutrient-rich cast containing all of the necessary ingredients for plants of all types to grow to their full potential.
Casts are 5 to 11 times richer in available nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, and magnesium than the organic matter the worm consumes to produce them, according to the USDA.
When worm castings or vermicompost as fertilizers for your plants, it slowly release a perfectly balanced blend of nutrients that can stimulate growth and healing while also increasing flower and fruit production.
Vermicompost also creates an ideal environment for strong root growth and the absorption of growth-promoting building blocks in each plant. Worm compost can even aid in disease prevention! Because this stuff is so potent, a little goes a long way.
Furthermore, finished vermicompost has all of the properties of humus soil, including the ability to retain water while still allowing for proper drainage and oxygen gaps. This worm shit is gold !!!
But How Exactly Do you Use Vermicompost ?
The Rule is simple : If You feed the soil, Soil will Feed You !
Even light sprinkling of vermicompost at the base of tired plants and creepers results in a noticeable improvement in plant vigour.
And when used for transplants, they are less likely to be experience shock and have a far superior rate of survival compared to those who do not receive any ‘fertilizer’ treatment.
Here are few ways you can be using Vermicompost :
1. Dressing at the top
As the name implies, this method is all about the application of worm compost directly on top of the soil. It doesn't take much and a light sprinkling over the root mass will eventually filter down and feed the plant.
This is the simplest way to incorporate vermicompost because no measuring or mixing is required.
You can also come across this method by the name of side dressing. Our experts suggests using vermicompost while plants are actively growing, During the spring, summer, and fall, both vegetable and ornamental plants can benefit from vermicompost's excellent water-holding properties
2. As Soil Amendment
Here again as the name suggests, we amend the soil with our ‘vermicompost’ before the plant is planted in it.
Unlike top dressing, here potting soil or garden soil is prepared with worm manure before hand to to ensure that it is evenly distributed and surrounds the roots once they extend into the ground.
Vermicompost is an excellent amendment for seed starting because it is nutrient-rich and promotes the growth of young plants. This method may require more compost to begin with, but it has the ability to improves the overall structure of the soil while also providing nutrition.
This is one the most preferred methods to make sure our young plants to establish themselves well and overcome environmental stress.
3. As a Seed Starter
Vermicompost is an excellent organic fertilizer to be mixed into your seed starting mix because it is nutrient-rich. Plants when grown from seeds require require a gentle touch, optimal sun exposure, water, and nutrients to progress past the first stage.
Planting in worm castings has been shown time and again to improve germination and seedling growth, as evidenced here in a report from South Carolina State University.
According to Cornell University research, “Ph.D. student Allison Jack from the Department of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology has shown that beneficial microbes in vermicompost can colonise a seed's surface and protect it from infection by releasing a substance that interferes with the chemical signalling between the host and the pathogen.”
All you need to do is simply mix a small amount of your worm gold into the seed-starting medium if you're starting seeds indoors and when planting them outside you need to sprinkle it along the trench or into the holes you dug for your seeds.
Believe us when we say this, Worm compost is a living organism. When put under a microscope, a swarm of microbes can be seen digesting organic materials and releasing byproducts.
The perfect natural balance of nutrients released in the red wiggler's gut results in a safe product that does not harm plants like commercial fertilisers can.
Comments
Leave a comment