How should you use vermicompost?
Mix it with your potting soil - 1 part vermicompost to 4 or 5 parts potting soil. A little goes a long way. In studies, 20% was the ideal ratio for growth. You should not need to add any fertilizer to the mixture. Our vermicompost was tested to be more than sufficient in all necessary elements. Miracle-Gro is not recommended because it harms the beneficial microbes in vermicompost and most of the nitrogen washes through the soil.
Put it in the hole as you plant. For bedding plants use a tablespoon or two for each hole. If you are planting tomatoes, add some crushed eggshell in the bottom of the hole. It adds calcium to the soil. Blossom end rot is a symptom of calcium deficiency.
When sowing rows of seeds, I sprinkle a fine layer on the seeds before covering them with soil. Vermicompost speeds germination of seeds.
Vermicompost tea is an economical way to extend the benefits of vermicompost. Five gallons of tea will cover approx. 1 acre as a spray. In the garden, vermicompost tea used as a foliar spray, populates the surfaces of leaves with beneficial microbes that don't allow diseases to attach to leaf surfaces. You can either extract the organisms from the vermicompost or "brew" the tea.
To extract the organisms from the vermicompost, simply put approx. 4 cups in a fine mesh bag (paint strainer bag) and drop it in a 5 gallon bucket of water and manually squeeze the bag for about 5 minutes. (If you have public water you must make sure that you have allowed the chlorine to vaporize from the the water. If the water also contains chloramine you must neutralize that by adding a few drops of humic acid until the water takes on a brown color.) The water will now be populated with the organisms that were on the surfaces of the compost. This water can be mixed with additional water and sprayed on the ground in your garden or on your lawn. The biological counts will be whatever was in the compost.
Aerated compost tea is a way to increase the numbers of microorganisms and encourage either bacteria or fungi to grow depending on the purpose of the tea. If you are using the tea as a foliar spray it must be brewed to make sure that the organisms are active. They will only stick to the leaf surface if they are active and producing the glue necessary to stick on foliage. You can brew the tea in a five gallon bucket with an aquarium pump and tubing.
The most important thing to remember is that you want to feed the soil and let the soil feed the plants. Healthy soil creates healthy plants. Plants that are provided with everything they need to flourish, naturally resist pests and diseases.
