Just a quick question for all those who are interseted in doing the chemical free approach to fertilising there bonsai...
I can get hold of worm castings (worm poo) from a friend who uses them on there garden beds as fertiliser.... my question is has anyone tried to use them for the bonsai ???does it have any benifits or does it harm them.....
What do you guys think.....
I had a home made worm farm (bought 50 thousands worms to start) and abandoned the whole thing after a year or so. The whole idea is great but unless you have a huge setup, the result is not very practical as you won't have much poo for your garden. Just remember that you can only feed them the certain vege scraps and you have to chop them small as "worms have tiny mouths...bla bla bla..."
In terms of fertiliser for bonsai, you must be extremely careful using worm poo as they may contain worm eggs, which will hack into small worms in your bonsai pot. Worms can help aerate the soil which is great for garden soil but in small bonsai pots and their micro-ecosystem, they will dig trenches and caves and create air pockets that can cause big issue for your bonsai. Worms use in wormfarm are of chosen species unlike garden worms that don't like confined spaces and may chew the roots of your bonsai too. However, there are no garantee that you won't get some of these in your starter pack.
Anyway, that was my 2 cents worth.
Last edited by kvan64 on May 1st, 2010, 9:44 am, edited 1 time in total.
Always we hope someone else has the answer. Bonsai is an art of shrinking.
kvan64 wrote:I had a home made worm farm (bought 50 thousands worms to start) and abandoned the whole thing after a year or so. The whole idea is great but unless you have a huge setup, the result is not very practical as you won't have much poo for your garden. Just remember that you can only feed them the certain vege scraps and you have to chop them small as "worms have tiny mouths...bla bla bla..."
In terms of fertiliser for bonsai, you must be extremely careful using worm poo as they may contain worm eggs, which will hack into small worms in your bonsai pot. Worms can help aerate the soil which is great for garden soil but in small bonsai pots and their micro-ecosystem, they will dig trenches and caves and create air pockets that can cause big issue for your bonsai. Worms use in wormfarm are of chosen species unlike garden worms that don't like confined spaces and may chew the roots of your bonsai too. However, there are no garantee that you won't get some of these in your starter pack.
Anyway, that was my 2 cents worth.
what about worm wiz (leachate) done some research on the net and found some interesting things...such as one of the best plant stimulants and is great as a foliar spray........
Does anyone else on here tried using worm bi produces for there bonsai....
I use worms in my compost as they break it down beautifully. I then turn the compost and sift it and use it in my soil for my trees. The drawbacks are that it is so labour intensive i am wondering if it is worth it
"Advice is rarely welcome, and the one's who need it the most welcome it the least"
bodhidharma wrote:I use worms in my compost as they break it down beautifully. I then turn the compost and sift it and use it in my soil for my trees. The drawbacks are that it is so labour intensive i am wondering if it is worth it
but how do your trees respond??? that will tell if it is worth it....
I had worms once but the doctor gave me some antibiotics and they went away. and besides my mates kept hassling me for fishing bait all the time so something had to be done. Hope this helps!!
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I use it mate. I dilute it and use as a liquid feed. Once a month I add a dash of seasol to it as well and I find it to befantastic. The tree thrive and it is a very gentle fertiliser.
On stock plants I put it on as a solid but find that if used as a solid in bonsai pots it can clo them up a bit.
I have a worm farm for years and at one stage I was using the castings in my bonsai soil, but I found they are too fine and after a few months settle and/or go hard. The result was loss of drainage and difficulty wetting the soil if it dried out. I no longer use the castings in my bonsai soil, but it's still great in the veggie garden.
The liquid that comes out is another story though. I let it sit to settle out any castings, then dilute it until it's the colour of black tea. My bonsai get watered with this with the same frequency as their fertilisers but one week off (e.g. fertiliser one week, worm water the next then nothing). Unlike fertiliser I've never bothered to water before applying worm water and it does not seem to be a problem. I suspect that worm water contains mostly trace elements and microbes and acts more to condition the soil than provide nutrients (hence I still fertilise). Either way it seems to make a positive impact on the health of my trees and I have had the best effects with both fertilisers and worm water than with one or the other on it's own.
