By admin 
If you happen to’re rising in containers, you’ll know that one of many largest challenges is to maintain your soil fertile sufficient to develop greens, that are largely hungry beasts. Because the vitamins in most industrial composts are exhausted after six weeks or so, it is important to frequently add vitamins.
The variety of other ways so as to add vitamins will be bewildering. These vary from industrial inorganic fertilisers (greatest prevented for my part), to industrial natural fertilisers like rooster manure pellets and seaweed extract (helpful to fullback on), to handmade fertilisers like nettle or comfrey tea (glorious in case you have the time and might discover some).
For us metropolis bods rising in small areas, the wormery is a superb resolution. It takes up little area, doesn’t scent, and transforms your waste meals into magnificent compost. This compost is excessive in vitamins, has glorious water holding capability, and a very good construction. It’s additionally excessive in microbial life (micro organism and issues) which can be extremely useful to crops: they enhance resistance to illness and encourage robust root development. No surprise it’s identified by some growers as ‘black gold’!
A menu for a nutrient wealthy, wholesome wormery
A wholesome wormery wants a mixture of nitrogen wealthy supplies (most meals waste) and carbon wealthy materials like cardboard, paper and wooden chips. With out sufficient carbon it shortly turns into anaerobic, smelly, and the worms die.
What else are you able to add to your wormery to make a wonderfully wealthy and balanced compost? In addition to your waste meals (go straightforward on the onions and citrus and don’t add any meat or fish) listed here are a number of concepts to strive:-
– Manure. That is the magic ingredient. Properly rotted manure will encourage your worms to thrive and breed. It incorporates lots of microbes that the worms love. However don’t use contemporary uncooked manure (too wealthy) or bagged manure from backyard centres (sterilised so incorporates not one of the useful microbes). George Pilkington (see under) recommends including a layer each six weeks or so.
– Nettles. Wealthy in vitamins and in addition loved by worms. Chop them up and add a handful now and again.
– Soil. Add the odd handful of soil to introduce useful micro organism to the worm bin. Soil additionally incorporates grit that the worms will use to assist digest meals.
– Banana skins. Wealthy in calcium, sodium, silica, sulphur, magnesium and phosphates. Apparently! (Supply Companion Planting by Brenda Little).
– Comfrey. Gives an exquisite supply of vitamins, notably wealthy in potash. Grows wild in lots of components of the UK (together with London). Decide a number of leaves from every plant, chop, and add a number of handfuls.
– Seaweed extract – watering your worm bin with seaweed extract as soon as a month or so will most likely encourage useful microbial exercise.
– Wooden shavings or chips – good for retaining moisture and aeration, in addition to offering a supply of carbon. Nevertheless, it’s greatest to keep away from pine and different coniferous woods. These include chemical substances (eg terpene) that aren’t good for the worms.
For extra data, see George Pilkington’s glorious guide Composting with Worms.
The way to use worm compost
I’m additionally experimenting with when and methods to use worm compost to the utmost impact. It’s a strong and versatile fertiliser. A lot stronger than regular compost so you should use it rigorously. One mistake I’ve made this yr is so as to add vermicompost to my peas (see picture under). I’m pretty certain because of this they’re exhibiting improbable leaf development (over 6 foot tall!) however have been gradual to flower and fruit.
Mange tout – 6 foot of leaf development earlier than flowering. Impact of worm compost?