The use of worm tea

[Nancy Walsworth]

I was wondering, after the use of worm tea as a foliar spray can I pour the excess in the fish tanks?  

[Converse]

Hi ..It is late....I will answer more completely tomorrow ...But just in case you might happen to be standing by, ready to dump the excess into your AP tanks..or in case you get ready to tomorrow before I can address this....the answer is..."It depends."  So do not do it until you have a chance to read the 'worm tea' reply here later.

    Sincerely,

 Converse

[Francois Lemmer]

if the tea was made using pure worm castings ...why not...i do

saying this don't use  what drains from your worm bin.

use pure castings and brew worm tea...

Yust me Thinking

 

[Converse]

  I am back...after some sleep....

  Thanks, Francois, for chiming in there.   Good input.

  The term 'worm tea' can mean different things to different people.  The stuff that drains from any vermicomposting set-up is properly called "leachate", and is not 'worm tea'.  Do not use leachate in connection with your AP system.  I think you really mean "worm casting tea", which is made from worm castings - pure worm castings - as in, all the stuff that is used to make the tea is only castings, and not other composted matter (or partially composted matter).  This is so you avoid starting off making the worm casting tea with "bad" bacteria. When worm casting tea is brewed for foliar feeding, it is done so that the naturally occurring microbial population it contains increases.  You want a bloom of 'good' microbes, and not 'bad' ones, so you want to start with a pure worm castings.   Next,  you need to be sure that the equipment you use to make the worm casting tea is clean to start with.  Kind of like cooking with a pan you never clean...most people would not do that for obvious reasons...it is same with the equipment for making worm casting tea.

     If you have a media bed type of AP system, there really is no need to add any left over worm casting tea.  The whole system can benefit from worm castings simply by adding redworms to the media beds.  I recommend Eisenia fetida, because they are the most highly adaptable of the composting worm species and tolerate the widest range of pH, temperature and food-stock change swings, AND they do not have a wandering habit, as some other species do, making them very suitable for small spaces, like AP media beds. This is purely for the benefit of the plants.

     I DO NOT recommend ANY composting worms to be used in connection with an AP system that houses crustaceans (crayfish/fresh-water lobster, etc.).  This is because the gut of the worm gives off an enzyme called chitinase, which will attack chitin. Chitin is the substance that the exoskeleton of insects are made of. There is chitinase in  the worm castings. This is why worm casting tea is effective to use against hard bodied insects.  This will also be detrimental to your crustacean friends in your water, whose exoskeleton is also made primarily of chitin.  Also, if you have any of these crustacean friends in your AP system, I would definitely not add any left over worm casting tea to the water for the same reason. Using it as a foliar feed, or to control insect pests and plant maladies is fine.

 

    My recommendation would be not to add worm casting tea to the water in your AP system.  Use the extra on plants around your house, on the lawn, use it on your roses, mist it onto any seeds you are going to plant.  Water seedlings with it. Worm castings, and thus the tea,  also contain auxins and gibberellins, which are natural plant growth hormones.  Misting seeds with it is proven to increase germination success and lower germination time. 

There is a LOT you can do with left over worm casting tea besides dumping it in the water of your AP system....I caution you on this practice simply because an AP system is a closed system.  Yes, many people do this with impunity, but it can be similar to playing russian roulette.  It should not be harmful, and may be beneficial, if you make the tea with pure worm castings AND your equipment is clean to start with when making it.

 

I run a commercial scale redworm farm, and keep up on the current vermiculture and vermicomposting research.  Reading scientific papers helps keep me current on the scientific  end of the industry, even though it can be dry reading.  Much of this information can be found online through the Ohio Sate Univ. Soils Lab published papers. I also live this daily, since vermiculture and vermicomposting is my Biz.  I realize I am not the fount of all knowledge, but do try to keep current on the matter as much as possible.  It is nice to be able to help people once in a while along the way, by sharing what I know.

 

Back to my original statement,..."It depends...."

 

I hope this was somewhat helpful.  If this has brought up more questions, please ask.

 

- Converse

   

 

[Nancy Walsworth]

Thank you for such a perfect concise answer.  I did spray the extra worm tea on the flowers and pear tree. I really appreciate the info you gave. Thank you again for your time.  Nancy      PS I did mean worm casting tea

Converse said:

  I am back...after some sleep....

  Thanks, Francois, for chiming in there.   Good input.

  The term 'worm tea' can mean different things to different people.  The stuff that drains from any vermicomposting set-up is properly called "leachate", and is not 'worm tea'.  Do not use leachate in connection with your AP system.  I think you really mean "worm casting tea", which is made from worm castings - pure worm castings - as in, all the stuff that is used to make the tea is only castings, and not other composted matter (or partially composted matter).  This is so you avoid starting off making the worm casting tea with "bad" bacteria. When worm casting tea is brewed for foliar feeding, it is done so that the naturally occurring microbial population it contains increases.  You want a bloom of 'good' microbes, and not 'bad' ones, so you want to start with a pure worm castings.   Next,  you need to be sure that the equipment you use to make the worm casting tea is clean to start with.  Kind of like cooking with a pan you never clean...most people would not do that for obvious reasons...it is same with the equipment for making worm casting tea.

     If you have a media bed type of AP system, there really is no need to add any left over worm casting tea.  The whole system can benefit from worm castings simply by adding redworms to the media beds.  I recommend Eisenia fetida, because they are the most highly adaptable of the composting worm species and tolerate the widest range of pH, temperature and food-stock change swings, AND they do not have a wandering habit, as some other species do, making them very suitable for small spaces, like AP media beds. This is purely for the benefit of the plants.

     I DO NOT recommend ANY composting worms to be used in connection with an AP system that houses crustaceans (crayfish/fresh-water lobster, etc.).  This is because the gut of the worm gives off an enzyme called chitinase, which will attack chitin. Chitin is the substance that the exoskeleton of insects are made of. There is chitinase in  the worm castings. This is why worm casting tea is effective to use against hard bodied insects.  This will also be detrimental to your crustacean friends in your water, whose exoskeleton is also made primarily of chitin.  Also, if you have any of these crustacean friends in your AP system, I would definitely not add any left over worm casting tea to the water for the same reason. Using it as a foliar feed, or to control insect pests and plant maladies is fine.

 

    My recommendation would be not to add worm casting tea to the water in your AP system.  Use the extra on plants around your house, on the lawn, use it on your roses, mist it onto any seeds you are going to plant.  Water seedlings with it. Worm castings, and thus the tea,  also contain auxins and gibberellins, which are natural plant growth hormones.  Misting seeds with it is proven to increase germination success and lower germination time. 

There is a LOT you can do with left over worm casting tea besides dumping it in the water of your AP system....I caution you on this practice simply because an AP system is a closed system.  Yes, many people do this with impunity, but it can be similar to playing russian roulette.  It should not be harmful, and may be beneficial, if you make the tea with pure worm castings AND your equipment is clean to start with when making it.

 

I run a commercial scale redworm farm, and keep up on the current vermiculture and vermicomposting research.  Reading scientific papers helps keep me current on the scientific  end of the industry, even though it can be dry reading.  Much of this information can be found online through the Ohio Sate Univ. Soils Lab published papers. I also live this daily, since vermiculture and vermicomposting is my Biz.  I realize I am not the fount of all knowledge, but do try to keep current on the matter as much as possible.  It is nice to be able to help people once in a while along the way, by sharing what I know.

 

Back to my original statement,..."It depends...."

 

I hope this was somewhat helpful.  If this has brought up more questions, please ask.

 

- Converse

   

 

[Tetlom]

Thanks Converse,
Glenn Martinez has developed a very cool integrated tea maker for adding vermicompost tea to the system. Must admit I love the look of the thing, are you saying this is not something you would recommend?

Very interested in your thoughts also Bob?

Thanks in advance