Sean, thank you for being the voice of reason in a world full of contradicting theories. I worried about the anaerobic worm "wee" but the effects of the activated worm effluent was mind boggling, so I knew that there more to the story.
I make dormant worm tea and I can keep it bottle up for a good long time with no smell only smells like fresh soil so what I'm getting to is that you know way more than a lot of UA-cams grat job and amazing video
Don’t discount spraying crops with earthworm leachate. It may have a very low efficacy as a leaf fertiliser but its potential as a natural pest deterrent is extremely high. Earthworms secretes a variant of the chitin enzyme through its epithelium which eventually ends up in the leachate and can be used as a natural pesticide against pests like aphids and spider mites. The chitin enzyme irritates the skin and exoskeletons on these insects so they stay far away. When I spot these critters I spray once a day and normally within 2 - 3 days my plants are clean.
@@LivingseedsFarm I hope you can record it. Will be interesting to see what the results are. For me it only work on insects on its own. Later in the season I mix 10 liter leachate with a tablespoon of peroxide and half a cup of sunlight liquid to fight off rust and powdery mildew with good results as well
@@LivingseedsFarm were you guys able to run trials on this method? Would also love to try it out, since aphids are a huge problem in our curry leaf tree and citrus trees at home.
Hi Sean. What size pump do you use for a 20ltr volume? If you buy a small home aquarium pump, what volume of leachate would that properly aerate? I was told that little aquarium pumps would not be sufficient for proper oxygenation. Thank you
Hi. I have a few questions. 1)how often do you use this on your plants.and amount. 2)if it works in 12 hours ,does the effect of the wee then "die" off or it promotes growth for a longer period. 3)scenario - if all the leachate was extracted,thereafter it rains ,and then 10 litres are removed....will that be regarded as worm wee or compost leachate. 4)if its used anearobically, how long will it start showing effects compared to the activated one. Just love your channel and your passion .forgive me for so many questions.was actually going to call you guys and this vid was uploaded 😊
Stunning questions. 1) We use it at any time during active growth. We try get to every field at least twice in the season. 2) there is a massive response in the first 12-24 hours that is noticeable in the actual plant. The plant then takes-off and a second application does not have as big a response. Do it would seem that soil activity does not “die off”. 3) worm wee is a misnomer as the liquid is not actual worm wee. It’s a liquid leachate from moisture leaching out the farm be it rain, organics breaking down or you physically watering it. 4) it will definitely work, just a bit slower as the bacteria needs to “awaken” and start the multiplication process in the soil.
Great explanation, thank you. Just additional queries: -if the Leachate being tapped out of worm bin smells of sulphur, is it still OK to use? -if using food scraps, does this same principle apply. E.g. small amounts of meat and dairy mixed in the material fed to the worms. -How long can you keep the leachate in the container in which it's being mixed with mollases and oxygenating?
It really should not smell bad. If it does it’s probably because you are not tapping off enough or your bin is too wet. The bigger the worm farm the less important the ratios are. It’s a learning curve that you very quickly pick up on as long as you observe. The leachate must be used asap as you have built a huge hungry population. The minute the food or oxygen runs out they start to die off. We find that we have about 12 hours to use it up before it starts to degrade.
We use about 5lt molasses to 1000 lt so not much is required. We find that in warm weather 24-48 hours is sufficient. In colder weather you may need to run it an extra day or so.
You are looking for a soluble, high sugar feed to create a bacterial bloom. Molasses is cheaper than sugar and readily available from most co-ops or Agri stores.
If you feed them more carbon-based dry matter eg leaves and cardboard along with the vegetable scraps, you get almost no leachate, but the vermicasts are more fungal than bacterial dominated which is great. See Nicole Masters worminar. I've heard leachate is mostly vegetable ooze rather than worm wee. Will have some good stuff for sure, but not anywhere near as good as vermicasts themselves.
Absolutely. I agree. It’s a fit for purpose decision on how you use your worm farm. We need two products from our worm farms; Vermicasts mainly to germinate seeds, and secondly leachate to make our A.W.E. Other people may have different needs. Note also that the casts can be soaked to make a leachate/extract which is almost identical to the leachate.
I have a question. I aerate the water and then soak vermicompost in it for 24 hours, add molasses. How long do I have to use until the wormtea is activated? Can I close it in a bottle and use it in a month? thanks for the reply and great videos
Once activated there is no storage life. It needs to be used when ready. If allowed to stand the good and oxygen will be used up and the bacteria population will crash, leading to a very stinky mess.
I'm a little confused here are you talking about worm tea or the moisture that ends up at the bottom ??.. I have a worm farm but5 I rarely ever get any liquid at the bottom I get lots of lovely worm castings that I use for brewing worm tea also using molasses and I use that on my plants.. thanks for any reply, there is so much contradicting stuff on the internet..good video though cheers.
Dry castings are perfect. Use them to produce your tea, activated or normal. It’s perfect. In wet environments or environments with high vegetable matter inputs, the moisture can rise quite rapidly. That’s when you get leachate. Neither process is better that the other, however there will be proponents of each type of worm farm. And people willing to argue the point. We run both kinds, dry and wet, each has their own benefits.
The leachate is not really good for long term storage, we have kept it for a few weeks in both open and closed containers with good results. Once the tea has been activated with molasses and air there is a VERY short lifespan literally less than 2 hours.
1. How long can you keep the activated worm leachate in a bottle and 2.should or can it be diluted? 3. If you use your leachate as is without activating it, what should the dilution ratio be?
I suppose It can be bad in instances like when youre using raw cow Manure from a feed lot , because youre leachate Will be runoff from that highly pathogenic source
Sean, thank you for being the voice of reason in a world full of contradicting theories. I worried about the anaerobic worm "wee" but
the effects of the activated worm effluent was mind boggling, so I knew that there more to the story.
Your videos are amazing!!! I take notes with almost every video. Thank you for educating the masses.
Thanks Sean. I was waiting for this info. Well explained. I understand now.
Thank you for this info! Was confused between worm tea and leachate, this video cleared it up for me!
Only a pleasure.
Stunning explanation. Thanks for sharing your deep knowledge on the issue.
Glad it was helpful!
Very informative, thank you!
Only a pleasure.
I have been always wondered about anaerobic condition of worm tea packaging. Thank you for the clarification!
Only a pleasure.
I make dormant worm tea and I can keep it bottle up for a good long time with no smell only smells like fresh soil so what I'm getting to is that you know way more than a lot of UA-cams grat job and amazing video
Thank you, I really appreciate that.
Don’t discount spraying crops with earthworm leachate.
It may have a very low efficacy as a leaf fertiliser but its potential as a natural pest deterrent is extremely high.
Earthworms secretes a variant of the chitin enzyme through its epithelium which eventually ends up in the leachate and can be used as a natural pesticide against pests like aphids and spider mites.
The chitin enzyme irritates the skin and exoskeletons on these insects so they stay far away.
When I spot these critters I spray once a day and normally within 2 - 3 days my plants are clean.
Wow! That's awesome. Thanks for sharing 😀
Thank you. We will definitely run some trials this season specifically around this.
@@LivingseedsFarm I hope you can record it. Will be interesting to see what the results are.
For me it only work on insects on its own.
Later in the season I mix 10 liter leachate with a tablespoon of peroxide and half a cup of sunlight liquid to fight off rust and powdery mildew with good results as well
@@LivingseedsFarm were you guys able to run trials on this method? Would also love to try it out, since aphids are a huge problem in our curry leaf tree and citrus trees at home.
Thanks a millon! Great video.
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks, Sean. I've just a whole lot of new stuff which will be handy soon
A very good explanation, I tend to agree with the lot.
Thank you.
Hi Sean. Love your videos and your products - proudly SA! Regarding the leachate, is it safe to apply to soil where you grow edibles?
Absolutely. It’s 100 safe for food crops.
Hi Sean. What size pump do you use for a 20ltr volume? If you buy a small home aquarium pump, what volume of leachate would that properly aerate? I was told that little aquarium pumps would not be sufficient for proper oxygenation. Thank you
A small pump will do the trick. Just make sure the airstone is on the bottom so that you get the benefit of the water movement.
Hi. I have a few questions.
1)how often do you use this on your plants.and amount.
2)if it works in 12 hours ,does the effect of the wee then "die" off or it promotes growth for a longer period.
3)scenario - if all the leachate was extracted,thereafter it rains ,and then 10 litres are removed....will that be regarded as worm wee or compost leachate.
4)if its used anearobically, how long will it start showing effects compared to the activated one.
Just love your channel and your passion .forgive me for so many questions.was actually going to call you guys and this vid was uploaded 😊
Stunning questions.
1) We use it at any time during active growth.
We try get to every field at least twice in the season.
2) there is a massive response in the first 12-24 hours that is noticeable in the actual plant. The plant then takes-off and a second application does not have as big a response. Do it would seem that soil activity does not “die off”.
3) worm wee is a misnomer as the liquid is not actual worm wee. It’s a liquid leachate from moisture leaching out the farm be it rain, organics breaking down or you physically watering it.
4) it will definitely work, just a bit slower as the bacteria needs to “awaken” and start the multiplication process in the soil.
Great explanation, thank you.
Just additional queries:
-if the Leachate being tapped out of worm bin smells of sulphur, is it still OK to use?
-if using food scraps, does this same principle apply. E.g. small amounts of meat and dairy mixed in the material fed to the worms.
-How long can you keep the leachate in the container in which it's being mixed with mollases and oxygenating?
It really should not smell bad.
If it does it’s probably because you are not tapping off enough or your bin is too wet.
The bigger the worm farm the less important the ratios are. It’s a learning curve that you very quickly pick up on as long as you observe.
The leachate must be used asap as you have built a huge hungry population. The minute the food or oxygen runs out they start to die off.
We find that we have about 12 hours to use it up before it starts to degrade.
Sounds like it is worth activating the effluent. What is the ratio of molasses added & how long do you allow it to bubble for using the fishpond pump?
We use about 5lt molasses to 1000 lt so not much is required.
We find that in warm weather 24-48 hours is sufficient.
In colder weather you may need to run it an extra day or so.
Any suggestions for alternatives to molasses that is more readily available? Have you trialled other things such as banana peels or veggie scraps?
You are looking for a soluble, high sugar feed to create a bacterial bloom. Molasses is cheaper than sugar and readily available from most co-ops or Agri stores.
If you feed them more carbon-based dry matter eg leaves and cardboard along with the vegetable scraps, you get almost no leachate, but the vermicasts are more fungal than bacterial dominated which is great. See Nicole Masters worminar. I've heard leachate is mostly vegetable ooze rather than worm wee. Will have some good stuff for sure, but not anywhere near as good as vermicasts themselves.
Absolutely. I agree. It’s a fit for purpose decision on how you use your worm farm.
We need two products from our worm farms; Vermicasts mainly to germinate seeds, and secondly leachate to make our A.W.E.
Other people may have different needs.
Note also that the casts can be soaked to make a leachate/extract which is almost identical to the leachate.
I have a question. I aerate the water and then soak vermicompost in it for 24 hours, add molasses. How long do I have to use until the wormtea is activated? Can I close it in a bottle and use it in a month?
thanks for the reply and great videos
Once activated there is no storage life.
It needs to be used when ready.
If allowed to stand the good and oxygen will be used up and the bacteria population will crash, leading to a very stinky mess.
I'm a little confused here are you talking about worm tea or the moisture that ends up at the bottom ??.. I have a worm farm but5 I rarely ever get any liquid at the bottom I get lots of lovely worm castings that I use for brewing worm tea also using molasses and I use that on my plants.. thanks for any reply, there is so much contradicting stuff on the internet..good video though cheers.
Dry castings are perfect. Use them to produce your tea, activated or normal. It’s perfect.
In wet environments or environments with high vegetable matter inputs, the moisture can rise quite rapidly.
That’s when you get leachate.
Neither process is better that the other, however there will be proponents of each type of worm farm. And people willing to argue the point.
We run both kinds, dry and wet, each has their own benefits.
Very interesting. Thank you How do we activate the leachate at home ?
Exactly the same way, just on a smaller scale.
Thank you how long can the worm tea be stored or lifespan of worm tea thank you
The leachate is not really good for long term storage, we have kept it for a few weeks in both open and closed containers with good results. Once the tea has been activated with molasses and air there is a VERY short lifespan literally less than 2 hours.
1. How long can you keep the activated worm leachate in a bottle and 2.should or can it be diluted? 3. If you use your leachate as is without activating it, what should the dilution ratio be?
If it already activated it must be used within a matter of hours. It can be used neat and does not need to be diluted.
Does molasses make the mixture more acidic?
I have never tested the pH.
Will do so in the next run.
Can you put it in your drip system?
Absolutely. Just make sure there’s no floaties.
how much molasses to add?
About .5% by volume….. ish
It’s not exact but 1% is too much.
What about fungi?
Can you expand on your question?
Sean thank you. I was always led to believe that the leachate was bad. I'm going to get my worm farm containers up and running again 😀
It’s probably one of the best things you can do for your soil and plant health.
I suppose It can be bad in instances like when youre using raw cow Manure from a feed lot , because youre leachate Will be runoff from that highly pathogenic source
Worm tea