Great Organic Fertilizer - Worm Castings - for All Plants

What's up all my plant lovers, Devin is here and today I'm going to be talking about what I believe to be the very best fertilizer you can use on all of your plants, houseplants, perennials, veggies, trees, you name it, this is the stuff. So what is this stuff? This is called worm castings or worm poop. And not only do I believe this to be the very best fertilizer out there, it's even organic. So you can use it safely knowing that you're going to be treating your plants as best as you can, but you're also not doing any sort of detriment to the surrounding environment. Now many of us know that poop has been used as a fertilizer forever. Cow poop, chicken poop, you name it, it's probably been used. So worm poop is really no different in that respect, but there are a few different qualities that has led worm poop to be known as the true black gold in the world of gardening. First of all, it is odorless. You can stick your nose in it and it smells like nothing. It doesn't have to go through any sort of curing process like other poops out there before it can be used. So essentially when worms are out feasting on naturally occurring organic materials, they absorb all of those organic materials in the soil and they digest all of those complex nutrients. They break them down, refine them, and what they excrete is chalk full of those nutrients, but in a much more readily absorbable form that plants can easily absorb through their roots. It's very unlike chemical synthetic fertilizers where those nutrients actually need to be broken down over time before the plant's roots can actually absorb them. Now furthermore, worm castings are completely pH neutral, which is huge. Many of us that use chemical synthetic fertilizers have heard that chemical synthetic fertilizers can burn roots, and that is partly because synthetic fertilizers are often very acidic, and so they can really damage those young roots. And also by changing the soil's pH into a more acidic level, it oftentimes will close up the root's potential to absorb those nutrients, completely nullifying the point of using a fertilizer in the first place. So the fact that worm castings are pH neutral means they're never going to burn the roots of your plants. They help to stabilize the pH of the soil, allowing roots to absorb nutrients that are present, everything that we want. Now as you can see, worm castings are a deep, rich, black color. They are chock full of many different nutrients, including nitrogen, potassium, calcium, manganese, zinc, cobalt, and so many more. But what makes them so special, like I was saying, is that these nutrients are water-soluble, which makes them very readily absorbed by the plant's roots. But at the same time, the nutrients are very gently and slowly absorbed by the roots, which makes this the perfect slow-release fertilizer. So what that means for you is that you can apply it just once a season and know that it's going to be slowly but surely absorbed into those roots, providing your plants with the optimal amount of nutrition over the course of the year. You don't have to go back and repeatedly give it more and more fertilizer every two weeks, every four weeks, or on whatever fertilizing schedule you may currently be using. But what I personally think makes the worm castings that much better is that when you add these into the soil with your plants, they also act as a soil conditioner, which essentially means they improve the soil structure. They're going to add aeration to the soil, and worm castings are naturally very water-retentive, meaning you don't have to water it as often. So they add nutrients and they improve the soil structure. All in all, they just create a much happier environment for roots to flourish in, and that's what creates a healthy, happy, fast-growing plant. Now a couple other important points is that these worm castings are chock-full of beneficial microbes and bacteria, which help maintain a healthy soil. And now with that improved, healthier soil, that's going to help to ward off things like root rot or crown rot, while also fending off spider mites, mealybugs, whitefly, any of those pests that we all love to hate. We all know the best defense against pests is a healthy, happy plant, and that is what worm castings will do. So how do we actually use worm castings? As a matter of fact, using worm castings is super simple, and I particularly love it because, like I was saying, this acts as a slow-release fertilizer that you can use once and allow it to do its work over the course of the year. The first way is my preferred way for already-established plants, just adding a nice little half-inch top dressing on top of your soil, and then mixing it in and then watering it in. The next way that I like to do is to actually add it into the potting mix and utilize that when potting up new plants. You can do this when you're potting up a freshly-purchased plant or when you are transplanting it to a larger container. Typically, a 5% to 10% ratio of your worm castings to potting mix is perfect. For those of us gardening outdoors, you can add about a quarter-inch layer just around the base of your shrubs and trees, extending just a few feet wide from the base of that plant, and that will be slowly absorbed into the soil, feeding those roots with the worm castings all season long. If you like to grow plants from seeds, mix this directly into your seed starting mix. You can do about a 1 to 4 ratio with one part worm castings, four part seed starting mix, and that's going to be perfect. And a final way is to create what's called your worm casting tea. If you have a nice water jug like mine, you add one cup of worm castings per gallon of water that your watering jug will hold. You give it a nice stir, then you allow it to sit overnight, and then you just water your plants with that mixture whenever they're thirsty. Also, you can make your own worm composting bin. By keeping your own worms, you feed them, they poop out, you harvest the poop, and you'll have a fresh supply of worm castings all year round. That's going to be my project this summer to get my own worm compost bin started. I know all of us here on this channel are looking for the optimal ways to care for our plants to get the healthiest, best growth possible, and I know that worm castings will help you on your journey to become the best plant parent possible. And for all of you out there looking for new ways to improve the soil structure of your outdoor garden beds, go check this video about how to create leaf mold. Leaf mold is my go-to, free way of improving the soil structure of my garden beds. Just takes a little bit of time and a lot of patience. Anyways, I hope you found this video helpful, informative, and a little bit fun, and thank you guys for joining me here on Plant Vibrations. I'll catch you soon. Ciao.