How about unbleached muslin? You could use a laundry marker or fabric pen to put some kind of identification on it. Your castings would need to be fairly dry and they'd have to stay that way in order to not stain or mildew the fabric.

I thought the castings were suppose to stay moist for the best nutritive value.

Vicky~

I dry my castings when I save them. Otherwise they can get moldy.

Penny

Thank you for the answers. I had thought I read someplace you could use the material, and that would work wonderful. Thought I would make the bags, then make a label on the computer for them with the directions.
Thanks again everyone.

not sure why kelly hasn't left her answers to this one, she is a busy one tho...
from what I understand, the castings need to stay moist for maximum benifit of the microherd ( biggest benifit of the castings is the bacteria in it) drying them would kill off the herd, but you would still get the nutrients from the Organic Matter with dry castings.
I can see where mold could be a problem with moist castings. but mold actually helps with the breakdown of the food.(kinda smells tho...) my $0.02
John

I've had some castings in my garage refrigerator in plastic freeze bags for about 8 months with no mold, and the moisture content is still good. I closed the zip-locks with a piece of drinking straw sticking out to supply air to the bag.

I have stored vermicompost/castings in rubbermaid-type totes, using old bins. (Plenty of holes for ventilation). Since I set up worm bins with home composters here in Raleigh, NC, I use the vermicompost to start up the bins quickly. I have kept the compost over a year, sometimes checking for worms hatching. I think this compost can be stored for, maybe, 3 years if the conditions are correct. I think you just want to make sure it doesn't dry out. In the plastic bins, I have not had that problem.

Ok, I'll throw a monkey wrench into the whole discussion.

I've worked for a company that dehydrates castings (approximately 3% moisture), placing them in tea bags for use in making both aerated (ACT) and non-aerated tea (NCT). We've had the castings tested by all the major US testing labs and we've had the teas made from these dehydrated castings tested, and the microbiological numbers have always been very good.

I, too, once believed that the real value of castings was in the biology, but research from Ohio State U suggests otherwise. There are chemical compounds found in castings that duplicate naturally occuring plant growth hormones and regulators and these same hormones and regulators are themselves present, and a significant body of research suggests that in many cases it is these compounds that enhance the plant growth, not the biology associated with the castings. Sterilized earthworm castings still produce excellent plant growth enhancements, often demonstrating the same plant growth effects produced by the same castings that have NOT been sterilized.

It's important to remember that virtually all of the completed research into earthworm castings and their benefits to date is insufficient to make hard and fast statements about their "value", what makes them good, and how to use them to their highest purpose. Our own observation is still the most reliable tool we have to tell us whether or not the castings are working as we hope.

As to storing, again, there are no hard and fast rules. The general recommendation is to keep them damp, not wet, and to keep them in the dark. Everything else is up to you. There is no need to protect them from heat or freezing as neither have been shown to have any detrimental impact. If the castings are truly finished then whether or not the container in which they are stored is air-tight is irrelevant. If they are not fully processed, then do not store in an airtight container. How will you know if they are fully processed? Store them in an airtight bag for a few days, then open the bag and take a whiff. Trust me, at this point, you'll know. Stinky; store in a non-airtight container. Smell like soil; store however is most convenient for you.

One additional note on bags; avoid clear plastic; not because the light damages the castings, but because algae can grow inside the bag. This is not harmful and does not deplete the value of the castings, but is a serious turn-off to potential buyers/users of the product.

Last but by no means least, do not try to store castings in paper, cardboard or cotton bag containers! These materials are quickly degraded by the biology associated with worm castings and fall apart. GardenGrandma, if you're still reading this, consider using synthetic fabric if you choose to go this route!

Kelly S

The castings that i still have hanging around are stored in a styrofoam meat cooler. The lid is left somewhat ajar and worms from hatched cocoons seem to make their way to the top, where i collect them every few weeks or so. With my recent refridgerator bin going awry it is an easy way to replenish my stock (before this incident they were put into one of my gardens, compost heap, or into an existing bin).

The only bad thing about this method is that when i do use the castings i am getting canteloupe starts in alot of my pots. Whereas freezing would probably kill all the seeds but the cocoons as well.

Bryan

Once again, the underwhelming fact of inconclusiveness has reared its ugly little self with regard to everything we think we ought to know about vermicomposting but are becoming more and more afraid to ask. Specifically, I refer to the "Storing of castings?" post.

Kelly, I know I can get the straightest poop (pardon the pun) with your posts, and when you put in your invaluableness, I move it to my "Kelly" folder because "Kelly's stuff is right on". And it's true, but does it ever seem that the more experienceder we get with worms, the more stupider we become?

All studies always "suggest" certain things...never confirm them. "research from Ohio State University suggests otherwise". We get "good" numbers...", no "hard and fast rules" about storage..., I could go back and find mucho examples of our stupiderness after all our information gathering, but ....

"Our own observation is still the best", and "Use your nose", and ACT vs. NCT. The list just goes on and on.

These Universities should just scrap worm studies and get together to find out why the foam keeps falling off the space shuttle, or something.

Chuckiebtoo

::laughing very hard:: I love reading your posts, Chuckie! You show uncommon good sense!

I am beyond delighted that you picked up the word "suggest". I spent too much time early in my career lunching on my feet after answering a question as though I knew everything, only to have later research show me I was wrong to be willing to promote the current level of earthworm understanding as definitive. The issue is that, while the research to date is very good, well designed and has certainly shown significant, verifiable results, it has not always been replicated a sufficient number of times to prove conclusive data. Why hasn't it been adequately replicated? Because research costs money, even if it's simply performing replications, and work with earthworms does not, at this time, demonstrate sufficient bang for the research buck to entice lots of people/universities to devote to it the necessary resources.

So, we can do little more than suggest. I love the way you phrase it, though, that "the more research they do the stupider we get". Trust me, my friend, I've felt that way for years! But I think the problem here is as much one of a few people stepping forward too quickly with claims of efficacy (compost teas being an excellent example), launching a product with a staggering lack of conclusive data to prove the stuff is what is claimed. In many cases hype has outpaced information, and in these instances it is not science that is to blame.

The lack of repicated data has an upside, too, in that it does free one to feel very comfortable with challenging the prevailing conventional wisdom when what we see doesn't reflect what they say. I think it has made people realise that the ivory tower is not so high as was once thought and that, at the end of the day, research is little more than unbiased observation and documentation, and that those without pHd's are capable of that, too. Many worm people have been turned into ad hoc researchers, and this seems a very healthy thing to me.

So, thank you for your very kind remarks and your astute observations and communication. and thank you for the laughs this morning. I was feeling a little melancholy (our oldest daughter bought her first home and is moving out next week, and this morning, in the quiet, I realised how much I'm going to miss her), and your post definitely lifted me from that.

Kelly S