Worm castings from an indoor worm bin are great for giving a non-chemical boost to both indoor and outdoor plants! You can easily/cheaply DIY your own worm bin, but the pre-made ones usually offer a lot of little helpful design features (like nesting/stacking layers that fit correctly to contain the worms, but allow them to move; a lid; chunky mesh bottoms on each tray which allow worms to move more quickly/easily between layers; and a spigot at the bottom for collecting/removing the worm tea that leeches out of the bottom).
There are dozens of tutorials online, so I won’t go into too much detail. You’ll want to make sure to get the correct worms though. Red wrigglers are the most commonly used because they break down food matter quickly and because they are used to doing their thing in more shallow soil layers than, say, the North American earthworms you can dig up in your backyard. Just don’t leave them outside in the winter as they’re used to warmer climates and may not survive.
It’s a great way to put your veggie scraps to good use too, rather than throwing them away or clogging up your disposal. Despite what many people think, there really is no smell at all to a correctly maintained worm bin, and they’re extremely easy to manage. We split our scraps up between our chickens and worms 😊
We use our worm castings to top-dress our potted plants, and also as something we mix in to the immediately surrounding soil when we’re transplanting seedlings. Worm tea is also great... we’ve been known to add it to our outdoor auto water system to give the whole garden a boost!
February 14, 2019 at 02:42AM
