OH which leads to a question... any data on there on how vermicompost compares to organic ferilizers? Trying to figure out if I should still use 3 cups or less since these are pretty rich castings even was a bit bad with not adding newspaper. (like I said haven't added much besides foods since august) Adding to... huge estimate here... aproximately 8-10 Gallons of potting soil, might be less. The worms seemed happy so didn't worry about it.

you don't have to worry about using too much, just don't use too little - plants grow fine in straight worm castings, which are not comparable to "organic fertilizers", because they're microbially active humus with the whole range of macro and micro nutrients, where the ferts are any of a range of nutrient containing materials in combination or singley - vermicompost is organic fertilizer!

feeding the soil with organics [including vermicompost] is the best fertilizing program, because it's the microbial activity that makes the nutrient substances available to the plants, and soil tests are the best thing for determining if you need specific amendments due to any imbalance in the nutrients available caused by materials you're adding

Bill

Thanks so much Bill for responding! I'm not worried about using too much... actually trying to figure out how little I can get away with. We kept to one bin and used the bin size to keep the amount of worms we had under control. Now I'm kinda regretting my decision and thinking about starting another bin now rather then in the fall as I'm now worried I don't have enough castings for gardening needs later this summer.

I was just adding a spoonful to my transplants in the ground and counting on that and natual soil to grow healthy flowers. But now with these container veggies I'm growing not quite sure what to give as the main source of nutrients for the veggies are going to be coming from the castings themselves (not counting on the potting soil to have much in there for the plants as it's mostly peatmoss and perlite). Also we are using bottom self watering (wicking)to do this so 'nutrients' won't be purged away.

Basically now that we've got the vermicomposting down (actually learned they happier the more you kinda neglect them and just keep em warm and fed LOL tough little buggers) we are ready to learn how to most efficently use their castings as a main source of nutrients with veggies. Was under the assumption that castings are more packed with nutrients (on top of the bonus of microbial activity) that maybe less could be used in comparison to say standard organic compost some grow their plants with... in a container setting. Was I wrong to think that? Not sure if anyone has ever tried to use castings in such a way or it's even possible.

P.S. Also, after talking to the hubby this morning we are hoping to get enough worms going now to supply castings in place of regular compost in a small (2x3) square foot garden next year. Normally the homemade soil requirement is 1/3 peatmoss, 1/3 perlite, 1/3 organic compost. Of course we would be using less castings.. maybe 20 percent of the mix.. and maybe up the amount of peatmoss and perlite a bit.

the only way to 'keep the worms under control' is to feed less - a small bin can handle a lot of worms if fed enough! can get like a box of hamburger :)

I wouldn't use perlite at all in anything, and the peat has zero nutrient value and can cause more problems than it cures - is there a reason you can't get hold of some decent garden soil? will your small garden be in/on the ground or a container?

worm compost is a great supplier of nutrition for plants, but the best way to grow things is in good natural soil with the compost/castings added as often as possible to maintain soil health by feeding the soil microbes - adding whatever you can to the hole when putting in transplants helps for a good start, but for production you need to be adding some fertility right thru the season

maybe you could start your small garden now for next year, by adding some soil and some vermicompost, with worms, and then do the lasagna thing with layering in organic material that will "compost in place" - sort of like a big worm bin that you just have to work up a bit next spring and plant in, maybe with the addition of a bit more soil to cover and bring up the level - that would grow some fine veggies

what I do in {{gwi:1334808}} [a large raised bed actually] is to trench down the rows before planting, fill that trench with compost from my large worm bin, pull some old soil back over that and plant - I usually add some bone meal and powdered eggshell to the planting holes to boost early root growth, and thru the summer I use some regular compost as top dressing as well as ocassional shots of liquid fish fert

Bill

I would love to start my garden now... but we are moving at some point this summer. Thus why my veggies this year are going into containers and we are planning only for a small square root bed next year right now. We are not sure what kind of soil conditions we will be dealing with where ever we end up.

Honestly, nothing could be as bad as our current yard was 6 years ago. It was HORRIBLE and neglected for 15 years. Totally not touched. And while far from perfect it has come a long long way :P and we have learned tons in the process.

But.. your lasagna thing... think I will bring that up to the hubby! Think that is a great idea for when we move to at least do that to get one bed started for something to plant next spring. He loves gardening and now even helps feed the worms too! (he was the death of both but has been converted LOL) Thanks for the ideas!

P.S. *drools and dreams of having a greenhouse*

Definitely look into the lasagna thing for prepping new beds at the new house. I make new beds in the fall, layering grass clippings and fallen leaves up into huge mounds (at least 10 inches high, right on top of the grass that already exists there). By spring, I can just move aside the remaining layers to plant. The next fall, after the last harvest, I do the same, heavily mulching with grass and leaves for the next year. Each year my garden soil gets better, and there's very little work.