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11-May-2006
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#1 |
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bonsaiTALK Neophyte
Join Date: Apr-2006
Location: Orange, NSW
Country: Australia
Posts: 2
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Worm castings as a soil component?
Hi Everyone,
Just wondering if anyone has used worm castings as part of their bonsai soil mix? |
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Worm castings as a soil component? |
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11-May-2006
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#2 |
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Square Tree - Round Pot!
 
Join Date: May-2004
Location: Walsall U.K.
Country: United Kingdom
USDA Zone: 8
AHS Heat Zone: 1/2
Posts: 2,476
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Hi Scott,
I started a thread about a Wormery I was given as a present here . . . There is concern about them causing blockages in the drainage, but generally a "tea" mixed from them could be seen as a good fertiliser. It seems from the lack of replies in the original thread, not many Bonsaists have experience with using them, so best to keep it plain a simple to mixtures we know will work. But then, experimentation on a few lowly regarded pieces of stock might be an option.  Regards, Ian. |
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11-May-2006
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#3 |
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bonsaiTALK ArchMaster
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I would NOT use castings in bonsai soil. They dissolve into a fine grained gunk that WILL clog your soil. You will not notice the fouling of the drainage until you lift the tree out of the pot and find fine black muck at the bottom. They are unecessary if you're fertilizing correctly.
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11-May-2006
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#4 |
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Enthusiast
Join Date: Feb-2005
Location: Carlsbad, California..coastal desert
Country: United States
USDA Zone: 11
Posts: 5,413
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As Rockm says, it pretty much turns to sludge. I made a tea of it, used the water for watering the bonsai, then mixed the sludge into a big ground growing area. That works great!
Joanie |
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11-May-2006
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#5 |
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bonsaiTALK Neophyte
Join Date: Apr-2006
Location: Orange, NSW
Country: Australia
Posts: 2
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Thanks for the replies everyone!
Seems pretty unanimous on the subject of adding castings directly to the soil. I won't be doing that! I really like the "tea" idea though and I think I'll do some more experimenting with it. I've heard of people making a "tea bag" from shade cloth, putting the casting inside that and agitating in a bucket of water. I guess the aim is to extract the maximum amount of nutrients into the water and leave the gunk in the bag for use on the garden. If I come up with anything good I'll post my findings to this thread. Cheers, Scott. |
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