Friday, February 11, 2011

How Worm Tea Is Different From Worm Leachate

It's important to know that worm tea (also known as vermicast tea) is different from what a worm leachate is. Vermicast tea is basically a mixture that has been brewed, aerated, and blended with molasses.

This product then becomes the food source for the microbial life that is present in the brew. Leachate on the other hand is what you usually find at the base of the worm bin. It is basically the liquid that drips out from the composter (usually a tray underneath the bin helps contain the drippings).

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Now, never mistake the run-off from the worm composter as worm tea. Remember that it's the leachate that drips out of the worm composting bin. This organic compost tea from worms castings are made through aerated water, while the leachate is something that's already been made available. But you've got to take note that having a leachate isn't always a good thing. It might actually indicate that your bin might be in a very wet situation.

So, if there's too much water dripping from the bin, then you might have to check on your worms right away. You can't afford to lose your compost worms from drowning, wouldn't you? But if it does happen, you can resolve this situation by putting in some newspaper strips, so that these may be able to absorb the excess water inside the bin. There's also one more solution to this, and that's purchasing a worm composter that has a spigot attached on the base.

Basically aerated compost tea from worm castings is brewed using chlorine-free water. A bubbler is usually left inside the container (for where the tea is being made) to help aerate the mixture; and is then left to ferment for about 48 hours. This will help keep the aerobic microbes to grow and keep thriving. Now as soon as the worm compost tea is done, the brew itself should be used right away so that your garden soil and plants may be able to fully benefit from it. It can get spoiled almost immediately too.

If you must know, worm castings fertilizer tea is full of aerobic microbes. So expect the opposite out of a leachate as it contains nothing but anaerobic life forms (has a low population of microorganisms). So if you want a good fertilizer source for your garden, then you should choose to use your worm tea option. Never use the latter as it will do no good to your soil and plants.

If you want to harvest castings from worms, and be able to brew your own worm tea, then choose to buy worms at Gardenworms.com. They supply vermicomposting worms at very affordable packages.

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