8 ounces 9.99 Tea
8 ounces including Sprayer 9.99 Tea
1 Pint (16 ounces) $18.99 Tea
1 Quart (32 ounces) $35.99 Tea
2 Quarts (64 ounces) $69.99 Tea
1 Gallon (128 ounces) $130.00 Tea
55 Gallon Drum $5,200.99 Tea
Description:
05 lbs. for $13.99 of Castings
10 lbs. for $23.99 of Castings
Collins Castings Worm Tea Extract Concentrate feeds your plants on demand. The nutrients can be used by the plants immediately because the worms have processed them in a way that plants naturally thrive on. The end result is a liquid plant and soil enhancer.
What makes this Collins Castings Worm Tea Extract Concentrate superior is that it includes 60/70 minerals and trace elements and is tested to make sure it meets a high standard of excellence.
One gallon of Collins Castings & Worms insecticide and fungicide.
- Worms fed cut pasture grass / no exposure to chemicals or pesticides
- Equivalent to highest quality humus
- Feeds / builds extensive, healthy root systems
- Increases plant growth by 30%
- Activates beneficial soil bacteria
- Suppresses harmful bacteria, fungi, and plant pathogens
- Repels harmful insects
- May be used safely up to harvest
- Excellent for indoor* and outdoor plants and trees
- Will not burn plants
- Use safely around children and pets
- Shelf life two years plus
For use as A Foliage Spray
As effective, or more so, than root zone feeding. Mix 1 tablespoon of Worm Tea with 1 quart of water in a misting or spray bottle. Mist all leaves and stems (preferably in the morning before the heat of day).
- Prevents Black Spot, Peach Leaf Curl, and other fungal diseases.
- Prevents Aphids and other harmful insects.
Add 1 tablespoon of Worm Tea to 1 quart water and apply a cup to the the root zone about once a week
CONCENTRATE 1:50 ratio
| Notice: Product may stain clothing or furnishings. Please use caution. |
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Known Things about Worm Castings
The information you need to know and consider is
presented below in a list format, which we believe is easier and quicker to
reference and grasp. Some of the
discoveries made will surprise you. Most
people will be amazed by the following information if they have no prior exposure
to the absolute beauty and completeness of the worm casting.
Basic points to start:
Worm
Castings are the worm
feces. The castings are made up of live biological organisms. The organisms include fungi, actinomycetes[1] , beneficial
bacteria, pseudomonads[2] ,
plant growth regulators, yeasts, molds, trace elements and the famous N-P-K
ratings used by fertilizers, to reference the Nitrogen, Phosphorus and
K (which is the chemical symbol for Potassium) quantities promoted by the
fertilizer industry (more on this below).
Worm Castings are harmless to plants (in any
dosage), pets or children. You cannot
‘burn’ a plant by over use of casting, even if not watered properly. Pets and children alike can play in castings
without any more damage than normal dirt.
Castings have no
odor themselves. There is a slight fresh
dirt odor that comes from the dirt in which the castings were created, but in
fact, castings do much to retard odor from other sources.
Fascinating Facts
To Know:
Safe To Use – Anywhere at Anytime:
Castings are
pathogen free and play a significant role in cleaning up the soil they are
placed in. They are safe to use around
pets and children both indoors and outdoors.
There is no requirement for a license to spread castings, even if done
by a professional company on your private land.
You cannot over load plants, shrubs, grass or vegetables even if you
plant them in 100% castings. Castings
need water to activate but failure to water immediately will not burn plants as
fertilizers are known to do. Use in home
environments for a safe, no-odor, easy care soil enhancement that will reduce
plant demand for water.
Improved Plant Growth: Extensive university plant growth research
has shown improved plant size, bloom quantity, quality, and color for flowers.
Fruit and vegetable tests have shown significant yield increases as well as
improvements in taste and appearance. Ohio State University research showed
that the optimum ratio of worm castings to native soil is 10-20 percent. In our own growing test plants grown in 100%
earth castings seem to grow no better than those grown in the 20% range.N-P-K: Worm castings test low on a normal soil report. The nitrogen level of Wormgold® tests at less than 1 percent. Phosphorous tests around 1 percent or lower. Potassium tests slightly higher than 1 percent. These levels appear to be low but all of the nutrients in a casting are in a form that is readily available for use by the plants. This low test is a critical point in today’s advertising promotions that higher and higher NPK ratings are needed to grow plants. That is true within chemical fertilizers only! Castings achieve the same or higher rates of growth without the high concentrations of NPK that is now known to be an environmental hazard to our waterways and soils. Castings provide a successful and balanced growth to all plants without overuse of any one nutrient.
Fungus Control: Four
major university research projects and testing have shown that the complete
soil food biology found in worm castings will quickly control fungus problems
on a long term basis. Fungus is an
important part of healthy soil, but causes nitrogen lock-up and other problems
when it gets out of control. Since fungus-eating protozoa and fungus-eating
nematodes are found in the worm castings using worm castings as a part of the
soil mix will control fusarium, rhyzoctonia, phytophthora, and sclerotinia
fungi. They also provide improved plant growth with the release of excess
nitrogen as the soil fungi are brought into balance. Within a few weeks plants suffering from
fungus problems will show significant improvement that lasts. All ground fungus
is quickly brought under control. Nitrogen is released in the fungus control
process providing added plant growth. (This is published research information
and can be given to buyers in a generic form).
Biological Decomposition: The decomposition rate of many biological materials is dramatically increased with the addition of worm castings. Testing has shown the decomposition of prawn and crab shells is doubled when worm castings are added to the soil medium. These shells cannot become valuable in the soil until they are fully decomposed.
Beneficial Nematodes: Some nematodes are harmful and others are beneficial. The harmful nematodes are root eaters that can destroy plants and ‘switcher nematodes’ that eat fungus then switch to consuming roots. ‘Beneficial nematodes’ on the other hand are fungus eaters and aid in plant health. Research by Dr. Elaine Ingham at the Soil Foodweb, Inc. lab in Corvallis, Oregon, has shown that worm castings have only the beneficial fungus-eating nematodes.
Soil Softening: Soils can become hardened with the reduction of beneficial soil biology. This limits fertility. Adding worm castings provides the biology needed to return the soil to a softened state. Within a few weeks, the hard soil is workable, allowing ease of plant growth.
Insect Repellency: Testing
has shown that several microorganisms found in worm castings stimulate the
organisms in plants that work as repellants for a large array of insects. The
repellants increase to a level where the insects find the plant nectar
distasteful. The insects then leave. The effectiveness has been seen for
aphids, white fly, and other bugs that feed on the plant juices. Plants tested
included but are not limited to: begonias, various citrus, hibiscus, various
house plants, morning glory, roses, solanum, and zylosma. The numbers of
individuals who have had successful applications of castings to control insects
now exceed 1,500. This research is on-going. A patent application to use
castings as a base for insect repellent is in process as well as a
bio-pesticide registration.
A
key element for insect repellency is the level of chitinase-producing
organisms. Chitinase is an enzyme that will dissolve chitin. The
exoskeleton of bugs is made of chitin [so obviously they don't want to hang out
where their skeletons will get dissolved!]. Bugs have various detection
mechanisms to determine the level of chitinase in plants and soil. Once the
chitinase level is high enough, they will leave the area. Worm castings
test with a very high level of chitinase-producing organisms.Also, some elements in worm castings are able to activate the chitinase-producing organisms found inside plants. Once triggered, these organisms multiply to a level that can be detected by the insects. The repellency effectiveness has been tested and confirmed for white fly, aphids, spider mites and various other bugs. Twenty various plants have been tested showing effectiveness.
The rate of repellency is in direct relation to the size of the plant. Spider mites will leave houseplants in about 2 weeks, aphids leave roses in about 6 weeks, and white flies will leave full sized hibiscus in about 3 months. Fire ants and common ants can detect the natural repellency organisms when they walk over worm castings. They find the worm castings highly objectionable. An immediate negative reaction can be seen by ants when worm castings are applied. The ants leave areas covered with a 1-inch layer, but will begin to walk across the layer after a few weeks. Apparently some change happens to the top layer. Red fire ants will leave their nests within 24 hours of a single application.
Odor Elimination: Testing
has shown that worm castings are very quickly effective at odor elimination.
Mix 10% - 20% worm castings with composted dairy manure, horse manure, chicken
manure, or compost and all objectionable odors are eliminated within eight
hours. You can now use these effective organic fertilizers without
offending odors. Worm castings have been
tested for odor absorption against activated charcoal and were found to be more
efficient and economical (1/2 the cost) as
activated charcoal.
Worm Casting is not compost: Worm
castings are not actually compost; certainly not in the normal sense. The vermiculture process is not a ‘hot’ process like normal composting. Rather it is done at cooler temperature
levels since it is done by digestion within the worm. This allows for a wide range of beneficial
microorganisms to survive the process and become helpful to the overall benefit
of the casting. In fact, the digestion
process in the worm adds to the casting a complete list of biological organisms
that includes up to 10,000 different species – no small feat!! They each do
their part in making the life of the plant healthier, easier to access and use
needed nutrients from the soil and the casting itself. Worm castings can help facilitate composting
both in time and in odor control, but they are not within themselves compost.
Some
of the sources for this paper are:
www.organicrosecare.org/articles/worm_castings.php
www.hiddenvalleynaturearts.com/acatalog/wormcast.htm
and our own experience.
Without Worms, It’s
just Dirt!
Increases drought resistance
|
Reduce irrigation
cost up to 50%
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No ground
water contamination
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Improves
soil structure by having shaped particles that improve aeration
|
Allows plants to quickly and
easily absorb all essential nutrients and trace minerals
|
Improve
crumb structure of soil for a better movement of air and water to the plants.
|
Castings
actually contain a perfect mix of nutritional needs
|
Castings
build soil biology and enhance it greatly over the years
|
Outside
Apply as a top dress of ½ inch to 1 inch layer on all plants.
|
Naturally
Odor Free! In fact, castings can
reduce odor when applied to other substances.
|
You can’t
make castings hurt you, your children or your pets. Use worry free!
|
Potted plants? Use castings at the
rate of 20% by volume of the potting soil.
|
Stores for years in a moderate
temperature and humidity. Use bags that allow it to breathe – there are living organisms in your worm
castings. (But why
store what can be helping you grow?)
|
For row
crops in garden, simply side dress the rows.
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Trial Results
- Propagation -
With 10% Worm Castings With no Worm Castings
Chrysanthemum Rooting:
- Incorporated 10% vermicompost into the propagation media (peat)
- Rooting occurred over 2 weeks, after which the media was washed off the roots
- There is an 173.5% increase in dry root mass when rooted in 10% vermicompost
- The dark pigmentation on the roots could not be washed offWith no Worm Castings With 20% Worm CastingsBrussels Sprouts:
Stem Diameter
Compared to the control plants (0% worm castings) the test plants are:- 10% vermicompost: 11.4% thicker
- 15% vermicompost: 8.8% thicker
- 20% vermicompost: 12% thicker
Plant HeightCompared to the control (0% vermicompost), the test plants are:- 10% vermicompost: 10.7% taller
- 15% vermicompost: 9.6% taller
- 20% vermicompost: 8.9% taller- Growing -This picture below shows that plants grown in 5% Worm Castings (1 part Worm Castings to 19 parts potting soil) have a dramatic increase in the number of flowers and the speed to flowering!
With no Worm Castings With 5% Worm Castings- Research Summary -- Increased root mass by: 3.3% – 173.5%
- Increased plant height by: 0% - 11.4%
- Increased stem diameter by: 0.9%* - 12.4%
- Crop cycle reduction by: 1.5% - 2.7%
- Increased flower size by: 4% - 5.7%
WORM CASTINGS SUGGESTED APPLICATION RATES
Potted Plants, Seeds, Seed Flats · Use 1 part Worm Castings to 3 parts potting soil mix
Potted Plans, Window Boxes,Hanging Basketsestablished) · Add 1 to 2 inches of Worm Castings to top of soil· Mix in, taking care not to damage shallow roots· Water well· Repeat every 2 to 3 monthsLawns(established) · Use Worm Castings as a top dress at 10 lbs. per 1000 sq. ft.· Apply twice a year – in spring and once again in late fallLawns(new) · Apply 10 lbs. of Worm Castings to 1000 sq. ft.· Work lightly into topsoil· Mix in grass seed· Cover with shredded straw and keep wateredRoses, Trees, Bushes, Berries(new or freshly transplanted) · Mix 1 part Worm Castings to 3 parts soil· Surround newly dug hole with mixture· In the hole, spread root over a mound of the mix, and coverBushes · Use 5 lbs. of Worm Castings per 10 BushesPerennials · Work ½ cup of Worm Castings into the soil above root zone,taking care not to damage the shallow roots· Apply in spring, early summer, and fallTables and Annual Flowers · Line bottom and sides of plant holes/seed furrows with1 to 2 inches of Worm Castings· Set plants/seeds in place and cover with soilDuring the growing season, side dress once every 2 months at arate of ½ cup per plant or 1 cup per linear foot of rowGardens · Apply 5 lbs. of Worm Castings per square footNote: The release time for nutrients is around 4 months for continual release of nutrients.Repeat application is recommended at 4 month intervals.Application rates may vary depending on soil test results.
[1]
actinomycetal ac'ti•no•my•ce'tal (-mī-sēt'l) or ac'ti•no•my•ce'tous Any of
various filamentous or rod-shaped, often pathogenic microorganisms of the order
Actinomycetales that are found in soil and resemble bacteria and fungi.
[2]
Pseudomonads Any of various gram-negative, rod-shaped, mostly aerobic
flagellated bacteria of the phylum Pseudomonad, commonly found in soil, water,
and decaying matter and including some plant and animal pathogens.
