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G’day there!
Thank you for purchasing a bag of our premium biologically active vermicompost often referred to as ‘worm castings’ or ‘vermicast’ and in turn helping support a small Australian family owned and operated business.
One of the best features about this amazing product is its versatility. It’s a safe and natural organic medium which can be applied directly to your garden bed, added to the root zone of a plant when planting, used as a valuable soil amendment / conditioner or used to create a liquid extract to help make it go even further.
How good is that!
Please also keep in mind that the real value in the vermicompost is in relation to its precious microbial properties as a soil amendment / conditioner as opposed to its N-P-K value.
So what we’re going to do now is cover each of these options in further detail to help you get the best bang for your buck and know exactly what to do when applying it in one or more of the following ways.
*Don’t forget to follow best practice and always wear your PPE
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1. Direct application to your garden / grow bed.
A targeted approach is recommended for this method. Simply add the vermicompost at a rate of approx. one handful per plant by sprinkling it on the soil around the plant, mulching over the top and watering in as required.
*Mulching over the top of the vermicompost is always highly recommended as it offers protection, helps with temperature and moisture control as well as providing a valuable food source for the microbes as well as any worms which hatch from the cocoons.
2. Add to the root zone of a new plant or when transplanting.
Adding a small handful of vermicompost to the hole you’ve just dug in your soil prior to planting is a great way to feed your plant/s directly at the root zone where it can easily take up valuable nutrition required to help keep strong and healthy.
3. Using as a soil amendment / conditioner.
When mixing up soil for a garden, plant pots or seed germination / cuttings it is recommended to add approximately 10 – 20% of vermicompost to the total soil volume for optimal results.
4. Create a liquid extract.
Creating a liquid extract from cured and stabilised vermicompost is a great way to feed your plants as well as making your valuable castings go further.
An extract is also a better way to feed plants in pots (particularly indoor) or plants with highly sensitive roots (i.e orchids) as the castings can become quite compacted inside the base of the pot causing an almost suffocating effect.
By using an extract, the plants still get the benefits of the biology within the castings and the handful of vermicompost which has been used to create the extract can be added directly into your garden once you’ve finished with it as an added benefit, so nothing goes to waste.
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To make an extract we recommend doing either of the following…
a. Place a handful of vermicompost into a watering can (preferably de-chlorinated water), mix it in well and use as a soil drench only around your plants.
Please DO NOT pour it directly on your plants, especially edibles. This is simply a safety precaution.
or…
b. Place the castings into a kitchen strainer / sieve (the small mesh standard kitchen type will do) or even a fine mesh paint strainer if you have one.
Hold the strainer over an open bucket and pour a couple of litres of de-chlorinated water over the vermicompost so the microbe infused liquid flows into the bucket below. This will give you an extract without ‘chunks’ in it.
Fill your watering can half way with de-chlorinated water and then fill the remaining half with the liquid extract collected in the bucket for a 50:50 mix.
This will make pouring the resulting extract through a watering can spout much easier as it doesn’t clog up as easily. If the strainer on your watering still clogs up, simply remove that section and gently pour the extract onto the soil only around your plant/s.
You can then tip the the remaining vermicompost left behind in your strainer into your garden.
Simple, easy and hassle-free!