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kod130
Stranger
Registered: 12/22/05
Posts: 4
Last seen: 17 years, 10 months
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worm castings
#5167375 - 01/11/06 12:51 PM (18 years, 2 months ago) |
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hey guys i am new to this and heard that worm casting were good to use. Is that true? and i was going to use it in a casing. what do i mix it with?
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Fraggin
Multi-Faceted
Registered: 01/05/05
Posts: 8,707
Last seen: 8 years, 2 months
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Re: worm castings [Re: kod130]
#5167380 - 01/11/06 12:53 PM (18 years, 2 months ago) |
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I mix worm castings with peat and use for potted flowers.
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krill
absolute gonzo
Registered: 10/25/05
Posts: 521
Loc: mars hotel
Last seen: 11 years, 8 months
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Re: worm castings [Re: kod130]
#5167384 - 01/11/06 12:54 PM (18 years, 2 months ago) |
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wrong hobby, brosef. i think you're thinking about growing pot. you "sweeten" the soil (or whatever soil/soilless mix you use) with worm castings. never heard of using it in mushroom cultivating, but i know jack shit about outdoor mycology or using compost, so...
-------------------- "DO NOT ADJUST YOUR MIND. IT IS REALITY THAT IS MALFUNCTIONING." - Robert Anton Wilson NO LEFT TURN UN-STONED
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kanpan
The Beast
Registered: 02/10/05
Posts: 156
Loc: Kanbodia
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Re: worm castings [Re: kod130]
#5167400 - 01/11/06 12:59 PM (18 years, 2 months ago) |
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I have used worm castings with a 50/50 mix with vermiculite as a bulk substrate spawned with rye. It seemed slow to colonize but did produce pretty well as I recall.
-------------------- "Love is the Law" "Love under Will"
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phrostbyte_x
Stranger
Registered: 09/12/05
Posts: 105
Loc: No where
Last seen: 11 years, 7 months
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Re: worm castings [Re: kod130]
#5167444 - 01/11/06 01:12 PM (18 years, 2 months ago) |
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I have heard of people adding worm castings to there BRF PF jars.
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rod
Ψ
Registered: 06/29/05
Posts: 3,727
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Re: worm castings [Re: kod130]
#5167467 - 01/11/06 01:19 PM (18 years, 2 months ago) |
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I have never used worm castings for shrooms myself, but other people have good luck with it, heres a link with some info.
http://www.shroomery.org/index.php/par/7969
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Fraggin
Multi-Faceted
Registered: 01/05/05
Posts: 8,707
Last seen: 8 years, 2 months
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Worm castings are very nutritious, but also know, that essentially it is digested compost which can include anything from newspaper to coffee grounds. I don't know if this fact is important or not, but if you find that you can and will use lots of worm castings, then look into getting a worm bin. Basically it's a stackable system that you throw your kitchen waste into. The worms migrate upwards, so once they get to the top, you empty the trays and put them back on the bottom. This is one project that I'm supposed to be undertaking soon. I feel guilty fro throwing away so many veggie and fruit scraps.
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Rahz
Alive Again
Registered: 11/10/05
Posts: 9,300
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Re: worm castings [Re: kod130]
#5167543 - 01/11/06 01:38 PM (18 years, 2 months ago) |
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I pasturize and use in the substrate (though pasturization may not be required). It holds additional water and provides nutes the straw I use might not have.
It could be used in a casing layer, but if so, I wouldn't sterilize it. I'd be curious to know if anyone has used it in a casing layer... or if that's just a bad idea.
Rahz
-------------------- rahz comfort pleasure power love truth awareness peace "The object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid." - Gilbert Keith Chesterton
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agar
old hand
Registered: 11/21/04
Posts: 9,056
Loc: Somewhere Else
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Re: worm castings [Re: kod130]
#5167667 - 01/11/06 02:19 PM (18 years, 2 months ago) |
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Worm castings have a fine dirt/soil like consistency. Hydrate it to its saturation point & you end up with MUD. Add a little to much water & you end up with mud soup. Mud or mud soup is not a good substrate.
Some folks have added some to chopped straw, h/poo and/or combinations of various high fiber things, with good results.
Optimal substrates have a very high fiber consistency.
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mycofile
Pooh-Bah
Registered: 01/18/99
Posts: 2,336
Loc: Uranus
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Re: worm castings [Re: agar]
#5177469 - 01/13/06 03:41 PM (18 years, 2 months ago) |
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worm castings are a great substrate component, though as agar points out, it's all in the moisture.
I find that a roughly 50/50 mix of castings and coir (by volume, castings from the bag/hydrated coir) makes an excellent substrate, particularly when given a relatively high spawn rate. It holds plenty of moisture, is very fast, and performs well. The large % of coir makes it much more forgiving when it comes to water. It is also great for shallow layers, like in seedling propogation flats like these:
Prep couldn't be any easier. Start with quality castings like those from Gardensalive.com. Take a brick of coir, put it in a cooler, add boiling water to hydrate the coir, dump the castings on top, close the cooler. Stir after 30 minutes or so to break up the coir, stir again in an hour, check moisture (add if needed, you want to be able to squeeze some water out, like a sponge it should suck up whatever it gives if you squeeze and release quickly, and spawn when cool.
You can adjust pH if you're into stuff like that, but it's never been necessary.
Does it beat agar's primo compost pictured above? Probably not, but it sure as hell is a lot more practical for somebody living in an apartment who wants a few square feet of bulk substrate to play with, or anybody who doesn't want to use poos or straw or compost for whatever reason. Try it, you'll like it. BTW, psilo187 was a dope ass mother fucker. I miss that dude, and hope he is well. !Vive el burro!
-------------------- "From a certain point of view" -Jedi Master Obi Wan Kenobi PM me with any cultivation questions. I just looked at my profile and realized I had a website at one point in time on geocities, it's not there anymore and I have no idea what I had on it. Anybody remember my website from several years aga? PM if so please.
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agar
old hand
Registered: 11/21/04
Posts: 9,056
Loc: Somewhere Else
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Re: worm castings [Re: mycofile]
#5177576 - 01/13/06 04:18 PM (18 years, 2 months ago) |
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>>>>for somebody living in an apartment who wants a few square feet of bulk substrate to play with, or anybody who doesn't want to use poos or straw or compost for whatever reason. Try it, you'll like it.<<<<<
I agree 110%.
Readily available, cost effective, quick & easy is always a good thing.
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