WORM CASTINGS TEA RECIPE: Step-by-Step Directions

[@blakebro1]

Could you do more videos on the Arizona Warm Farm/vermicomposting in general? Thanks!

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

You bet. 2 more videos in the works right now. Thanks for the suggestion.

[@brianseybert192]

Been brewing worm tea for a couple years now, only because I bought a microscope to check it. Without a microscope you have no idea what you are spraying on your plants. Another point that is very important is to sanitize your equipment after each use. Along with beneficial microbes, there are microbes that can get you sick or kill your plants. Another good way to use worm castings is just to make an extract. All I do is put a few handfuls in a paint strainer bag, agitate in a 5 gal bucket with dechlorinated water and apply as a soil drench or foliar feed. Going on 5 years raising worms, the garden definitely benefits. Stay Well!!!

[@pilsplease7561]

That is partially true, about harmful microbes but usually the good ones will out compete the bad every time. I will add that I am a winemaker so I have tons of sanitizers that will kill microbes that are food grade and use those to sanitize my gear after making worm casting tea for my wine grapes. Star San which is a food grade sanitizer is a cheap option for people to sanitize gear, its impossible to build resistance to and will defeat bio films as well.

[@pampotgieter7611]

WOW AWESOME! I have seen many videos that talk about this concept. But this the first video that actually gives you the recipe in a straight forward and easy way to understand. Thank You for taking the time to make this video. Very grateful, and I am pretty sure there will be many people that will agree. I have shared this video with family, friends and neighbours. Much love from South Africa 🌍🇿🇦 ❤️🤗👍👍💚 .

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

You're welcome. I loved learning about it too.

[@Tupelo_Honey77]

​@@GrowingInTheGarden Ashley. Where can I purchase the overalls you are wearing

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

@@Tupelo_Honey77 From Dickies: tinyurl.com/4a5p6b5a

[@PARAGRAPHIC]

Incredible!

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

Thanks for your help with this one, you're the best!

[@jenniferbailey2214]

We’re going there today!

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

Tell them hello from me! :)

[@Ashas.Garden]

This was wonderful. 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

[@Dingle1234]

I'm a beginning gardener, but it seems to me a recurring theme is that most pests are scavengers in a way. I keep hearing that fertilizing and strengthening plants in any way makes them less prone to pest activity. Including lawns.

[@reb4898]

Thank you for sharing the recipe…

[@pedromunoz4468]

I cant belive i was there Last week, its Beautiful, I was in the Phoenix Area Visiting Family for the Holidays, Loved it, Everyone was so Nice i walked around And toured the Farm my self 😅

[@swflorida]

you're questions were spot on. thank you!

[@naturescolours18]

Happy New Year 2024 😊👍👍🥳

[@Im-just-Stardust]

VERY good ! Helped me a lot. I was already extremely motivated to start a worm farm, now its a necessity. I like both of you very much, great questions by the host, great clear, short answers by the guest.

[@joydavis4087]

I love this video. TY ❤ I wish we had a place like this where we live, so I can buy my raised bed soil mix. We just don’t have anything like this here. NC, Zone 8A, clay rocky soil

[@VanessasVarietyVenue]

Sounds great , so Im not knocking this however we know nature is the best teacher so The thing im trying to comprehend is this a process that happens in nature i just want to understood how this method came about it certainly has a lot of components to get to the finished product

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

Trying to mimic nature can take several steps. More details here: growinginthegarden.com/organic-fruit-tree-fertilizing-4-simple-steps/

[@richardmeyer4406]

That’s the way how I feel about . Life , gardening should be easy , cheap and copping nature . Or we are going the chemical way

[@68dewster]

Sooo helpful. Here's a rabbit hole question about hose sprayers. I can never tell if they're working. The water always comes out clear and the tank seems to stay the same color. I've encountered this with many sprayers. Thanks.

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

You should see the tank emptying. If it's not, the filter may be clogged. I go into more detail about that in the blog post: growinginthegarden.com/how-why-to-make-worm-castings-tea/

[@DoItYourselfGardening]

Very happy I finally got to the BSFL part and would love to hear how you emulsify? I assume I could use a kitchen one possibly for small scale?

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

Check the Arizona Worm Farm website - they offer classes and can answer your questions.

[@DoItYourselfGardening]

@@GrowingInTheGarden appreciate ya! And will do! Also haven’t quite commented on your stuff yet but very much enjoy it. I’m in extreme heat however lucky humidity so I’m not as dry like I think your climate is in Arizona. Very nice to see the variance! Awesome stuff! Thanks for helping!🤙🪱

[@ZennExile]

few things, first, vegetative tea and fruiting teas are different. To get Veg Tea you only need molasses and you can mix it directly into the recipe and start bubbling. To get a fruiting tea you want fungal dominant tea, so you need to replace about 60% of the sugar with starchy carbs (baby oatmeal is fantastic and free of harmful chemicals). And this needs to be mixed into the castings and the mix needs to be laid out about 2 inches deep and flat in a cool dark place, partially covered until it develops an earthy smell and visible fungal growth on the surface. This can take 24 hours to 5 days depending on the temperature and light exposure. Once the fungus as become highly active you can then add the castings mix to water and aerate it for 12 to 16 hours. second, all the extra amendments aren't necessary unless you are preparing dead soil for new microbes and need the plant to continue to get concentrated fertilizer until the microbe activity can support a full yield of whatever you are producing. The tea is meant to rapidly develop a colony of microbes. Not to act as a refined fertilizer. And for the tea to work, you need organics in the soil to break down for all your little microbe babies to eat. Castings and/or Frass with sugar and/or starch are all that is required. And lastly, a proper AACT can be mixed 10 - 1 with water to get 100% of the benefit of leaf spraying. Also, when your tea is properly aerated to maximum microbial density, the bits of solid organics left in the tea will appear suspended, and that AACT will last a week if kept at 60 degrees or below before going dormant. At which point it can be revived with more sugar and/or starch. AACT is the cultivation of microbial livestock. Not the production of fertilizer.

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

Interesting, thanks

[@msbknows]

Nice! I think I’ll let AZ Worm Farm come spray my yard with their tea since I’m a half block away. Do they still offer that service?

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

Absolutely, you can learn more about it here: arizonawormfarm.com/mobile-tea-sprays

[@msbknows]

Thanks Angela! You’re the best.

[@rocksolidwealth]

How often should you spray? I'm thinking I will just buy it from them

[@msbknows]

@@rocksolidwealth They offer a one-time spray for up to a half acre or a multiple spray package. Check out their website for your specific needs.

[@JayleenJoy]

Love this

[@swflorida]

have you experimented with Beauveria bassiana powder for pests? Id love to see you do a video on it.

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

No - Haven't used that. Seems interesting.

[@kathrynburgess8987]

No one around me makes their own worm castings. Live in a very small town.

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

You can make your own in your garden beds - learn how here: growinginthegarden.com/vermicomposting-made-easy-in-bed-worm-composting/

[@zachyweezer]

if you can, visit a forest. when you move away the layers of leaves, i bet you'll see small, dark looking granular bits. those are worm castings. you can scoop some up and figure out a way to separate them from the dirt. i bet a kitchen sieve of some kind would work. good luck!

[@RichardMartin_Andromni]

Is the tea spray offered from AWF in gallons, etc? Or is this only available in their site service?

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

You can buy it by the gallon on Saturdays. Call first to make sure they have it available.

[@Sisteryoda1440]

Does Arizona Worm farm also sell live worms in small amounts?

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

Yes, they sell lots of worms.

[@joeblow9284]

Hi!! Where can I find some sweet potatoes to start growing my slips?? Any suggestions?

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

Check for organic ones at your local grocery store.

[@DebEastman-Proulx]

Good info. Only question I have is do you mix the final tea with water or use full strength? Thanks.

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

Usually you dilute with water. You can get the dilution instructions here: growinginthegarden.com/how-why-to-make-worm-castings-tea/

[@Avibobby90]

you're recommending a hose end sprayer to spray the finished brewed tea which would be an easy way to spray but if the brewed tea comes incontact with my city water (because it wouldn't be possible to dechlorinate what's in the hose), will there be any chance for chlorine to come incontact with the good bacteria and kill them. Please ask Zach on what he recommends here

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

Zach's response "No. The chlorine is not in contact long enough to cause any problems and it dissipates rapidly after spraying."

[@natasha1369]

Can this help with flowers (dahlias, zinnias, gladiolus, cosmos, etc cutting flower garden)?

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

Yes!

[@Karenm6899]

I accidentally bought the dried black fly larvae instead of frass. Can I still use this to make the compost tea?

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

No. I asked Zach about this and he said to bring them back and he will exchange them.

[@luv2cr82]

Can I do this directly in my garden in a few spots?

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

Sure

[@Dingle1234]

I alternately get excited at the giant worms in my soil, and dismayed to see various birds mostly crows, devouring them each time the weather warms up and it rains. Well I'm assuming that's what's on the menu at the apparent smorgasbord going on out there. Any advice you have on encouraging worm reproduction would be helpful.

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

Healthy soil makes for happy worms and happy worms reproduce. Follow good organic gardening principles and they will reproduce.

[@KarenCampbell-qh1xt]

He doesn’t add any molasses? No feeding the microbes?

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

Not to this recipe

[@jonathanbuford1793]

I was under the same impression that it was a. Essential part to get the most out of the castings? Hmmmm

[@chaselex]

I’ve seen worm teas with sugar in it as a food source. Is this something different?

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

Here's the response from Zach: Lots of people recommend Molasses. It primarily feeds bacteria and we don’t have any trouble growing bacteria. So we don’t. It is also useful for longer brews (briefly: as you brew longer good bacteria dies and then gets eaten by bad bacteria-which you really don’t want…..so people add sugars to sustain the good bacteria). Our tea recipe focuses on fungal dominance and helpful nematodes, neither of which is really helped by molasses. Frankly, it would be way more useful To add fresh alfalfa if they are looking to pump up their tea. It will speed fungal growth. We also hate long brews. Anything over 36 hours is risky. The tea peaks somewhere around 18 hours. I never understand taking a risk for longer tea. If something happens where you can’t use it on time, dump it and start over. No one should be risking growing potentially pathogenic bacteria like E coli and Salmonella.

[@chaselex]

@@GrowingInTheGarden wow thank you so much for your detailed response. I really appreciate that. I will take all that into consideration. I do live in South Florida and we have a problem with some nematodes. I’m wondering if that would actually be bad for me down here to increase nematodes.

[@AMAOG78191]

But if you take your tea and then mix it with city water, wouldn't it kill everything like he said in the beginning?

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

I had that same question. Zach's response 'No. The chlorine is not in contact long enough to cause any problems and it dissipates rapidly after spraying."

[@Girlwhatzdatea_]

Who has the supplies and time to make this. Can we just go and buy some

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

Yes, they sell it on Fridays and Saturdays at the Worm Farm.

[@Zee-hl5iu]

Hell yea

[@pawelkapica5363]

Vermicompost and compost contain humic acid. You need to decide whether you are making fungi dominant tea or bacteria dominant one. Different plants prefer different teas and you need to decide which one you are going to feed, because either the bacteria or the fungus will take over at some point anyway. Know the needs of your plant. Also you shouldn't need to replace the compost and worm castings half way through. After all you just multiplied the organisms exponentially that were in the original material by feeding and aerating, so adding more shouldn't be necessary. That's the whole point of aerating and feeding and brewing the tea.

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

Thanks for sharing.

[@zachyweezer]

just bought a bubbler and acquired a large trash can, only to discover that microbial reproduction is severely limited past 90 or so degrees. summers here are brutal and there's no way i could do this inside....bummer.

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

use it in the cooler months of spring and fall, your plants will love it

[@fit-with-eaz2627]

I AM LIKE #1,131 VIEWER 30,085

[@kathrynletchford5114]

Just put some castings into a bucket of water, stir it around, then throw it onto the ground under your trees. It works exactly the same way. DO NOT worry about all of that absolute twaddle, that the guy is rabbiting on about.

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

That works too. If you want more microbes, doing this will help.

[@chaselex]

I’ve seen worm teas with sugar in it as a food source. Is this something different?

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

Here's the response from Zach: Lots of people recommend Molasses. It primarily feeds bacteria and we don’t have any trouble growing bacteria. So we don’t. It is also useful for longer brews (briefly: as you brew longer good bacteria dies and then gets eaten by bad bacteria-which you really don’t want…..so people add sugars to sustain the good bacteria). Our tea recipe focuses on fungal dominance and helpful nematodes, neither of which is really helped by molasses. Frankly, it would be way more useful To add fresh alfalfa if they are looking to pump up their tea. It will speed fungal growth. We also hate long brews. Anything over 36 hours is risky. The tea peaks somewhere around 18 hours. I never understand taking a risk for longer tea. If something happens where you can’t use it on time, dump it and start over. No one should be risking growing potentially pathogenic bacteria like E coli and Salmonella.