Why I needed the worm castings... 03/09/2010
 If you look real close at the tomato stems, you can see fuzzy little hairs. These little hairs will become roots. Also, see how "leggy" the sprouts look? See how the "dirt" doesn't come up all the way to the top? I did that for a reason. In the gardening section, I told about transferring my worms to new bedding. The old bedding being worm castings or poo. I needed to have the castings for my sprouts. I made my starter mix which is: Starter mix 1 part vermiculite 1 part perlite 2 parts spagum moss moisten with enough water to saturate fill cups 2/3 full, add seeds,cover lightly. Keep moist and in full sun for 8 hours a day.  Here is my starter mix. It is still dry. I am using a 2 1/2 gal water jug as bucket...sort of. I have cut the front off and can still use the handle. Right now I am measuring the dry starter mix. I would guess it is about 2 gallons.  I added it to a 5 gallon bucket.  I then added 3 cups of water, 32 oz each cup. I could have added 1 more cup. I didn't want soup.  I then added 2 cups of worm castings and mixed together well. MY FERTILIZER MIX 2 Gallon of dry starter mix 128 oz. water, warm is best 64 oz worm castings mix completely add to cups, water from the bottom.  This is what my fertilizer mix looks like. I am just experimenting with this mix right now. If it burns my tomatoes, I will start again...but I think this is more of a light feeding. Especially the way I used it. Worm castings are the best fertilizer because it is already broke down molecule wise so it is readily accessible to the plants. This might be what turns my plants from Jekyll to Hyde. They could turn out to be spectacular! I get so excited! I need to get out more! Anyway...  I took a spoon and my fertilizer mix and carefully spooned it around the shoots.   Then I gently pressed it close around the shoot and firmed it up a little till the cups were full.  Here they are, cups all full with fertilizer goodness, and if you look close enough...the first "true" tomato leaf. I want you to also notice how the plants look... more sturdy with the dirt around them. Let's see how fast they grow with a little food.... ********************** Commentswea Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:28:32 LOL I can't wait!! remember who called me that? Leave a Reply |  Trish Westfall
Just trying to get back to basics. Gardening. Canning. This is what America was founded on. Using less additives and preservatives helps those with allergy's and sensitivities. ArchivesJuly 2010 CategoriesAll |
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