Tom did it. That’s right. He ordered 15 pounds of worm poop for our garden.
And since it wasn’t my Valentine’s Day gift, I’m not complaining. We love worm poop (worm castings) for our vegetable garden and can’t imagine not feeding our garden with it.
Worm castings are simply loaded with beneficial bacteria and nutrients.
As they burrow through the earth, worms naturally aerate the soil and leave behind waste, known as worm castings or poop as we fondly call it.
Over the years, I’ve noticed that I get a higher yield with plants that receive a little worm poop over the duration of the growing season.
Not only that, you need worm castings for your compost pile, potted indoor plants and a plethora of other ways, too. There’s always a bag in my garage!
So if you’ve already digested your breakfast and are eager to learn more about worm poop, this is the post for you!
Is worm poop gross? Does it smell?
The answer to both is simple. No and no!
There is absolutely no scent whatsoever to worm poop. None. It is not sticky but rather hard and dry and you will not mind touching it, even with your bare hands. Worm poop is very similar to dry coffee grinds.
Worm poop are tiny little pellets that crumble in your hand. Orderless and hard (like Nerds candy really), non-offensive fertilizer.
And dark. Worm castings rich in nutrients are a rich dark brown color and have a firm and hard texture.
Worm poop is good for your garden when you allow it to work its magic!! Worms are powerhouses to your soil on so many different levels.
You can adds worms to your garden and wait for them to poop or you can buy worm poop and mix it in yourself.
I do both to cover my bases.
Why worm castings?
Worm castings are 100% organic humus. Castings contain rich microbiological colonies that help fight soil-borne plant diseases and repel insects.
Worm castings are water-soluble allowing plants to quickly and easily absorb essential nutrients and trace minerals.
And worm castings contain trace minerals including concentrated nitrates, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium and calcium.
The poop also contains manganese, copper, zinc, cobalt, borax, iron, carbon and nitrogen.
In fact, worm castings stimulate plant growth more than any other natural product on the market.
Unlike animal manure (chicken, horse or cow manure) and artificial fertilizers (Miracle-Gro) worm poop is absorbed easily and immediately by plants for a quick rush.
Animal manure and those dang artificial fertilizers must be broken down first in the soil first before a plant can use them.
Did you know?….
Worm castings can remove heavy metals, toxins and pollution from the soil along with fighting off harmful fungi, bacteria and nematodes promote better plant and root health.
Worm poop can actually curb diseases and inhibit some insect pests including mites, aphids and mealy bugs. Oh my!
How to apply worm castings in your garden
Nothing could be easier than applying worm poop to your garden. I literally just sprinkle the worm poop by hand around the base of each plant to replenish nutrients and stimulate beneficial activity.
It doesn’t take a lot. Roughly two tablespoons per plant does the trick every two weeks or three if I get busy.
Don’t wait more than a month. If you do, I’d add 1/4 cup worm poop per 6-inch diameter of growing area.
You can lightly dig it in if you wish but that’s not absolutely necessary, especially if you water right away.
Worm poop is a wonderful additive for growing bigger and tastier veggies as you can’t add to much worm poop. It’s not like fertilizer.
Worm castings can’t damage your plants or burn them by mixing in too much. When you’ve finished sprinkling the castings in, I find it’s smart to water soon thereafter.
If you have healthy soil, I bet you already have worm poop in your garden but maybe haven’t noticed it before.
They look like tiny round piles of poop! Truly. But to the untrained eye, they may be harder to spot. Almost like tiny round rabbit pellets. Worm poop is cute!
Other ways to use worm poop….
Worm castings are also ideal for enriching your compost bin.
Apply a 1/8 to 1/4 inch layer of earthworm castings between each layer of your compost materials.
So layer worm castings as you build your compost pile. Enrich the compost bin with fresh castings every two to three months.
I also love adding a little worm poop to my potted plants. It’s just what the plant doctor ordered! A great time to mix in the castings is when you go to re-pot once a year or maybe two years to re-pot if you get busy!
A standard 6-inch diameter pot needs 1/4 cup of castings, while a 12-inch container requires 1/2 cup.
Also consider sprinkling worm poop as an additive for trees, vegetables, shrubs and flowers around your yard. Just realize, the bigger the plant, tree or shrub, the more you need to add.
My blueberries love worm poop! It’s smart to add castings in particular when the plant sets buds and fruit.
Remember: worm poop can’t burn your plants so you can use as much as you like or as your budget allows!!
Last….are you ready for this?! Use worm castings for germination purposes. Yep. Use 20-30% worm castings with sand and a seed starting mix as an excellent germination mixture.
They will also ensure continuous and lush growth for about three months, without it you will have to add another type of plant food.
How to make casting tea!
Another easy way to add worm poop to your garden is to make casting tea. Then you can serve it at your sister’s baby shower. Kidding!
Simply add two cups of earthworm castings to 5 gallons of water, directly or in a mesh bag.
Let it sit for 24 hours before watering your plants with your castings tea. Kind of like making your own iced tea.
With your fingers gently work the wet residue into the soil.
But whether dry or wet, earthworm castings provide so many awesome benefits to plants and the soil.
Benefits of worm castings in a nutshell!
1.) The humid acid in worm castings stimulates plant growth, even in very low concentrations. This is because the humid acid is in an ionically distributed state so it can be easily absorbed by the plant. Humid acid also stimulates the development of micro flora populations in the soil. Big win!
2.) The humus in worm castings extracts toxins and harmful fungi and bacteria from the soil. Worm poop can actually fight diseases!
3.) Worm castings act as a barrier to help plants grow in soil where the pH levels are too high or too low. They prevent extreme pH levels from making it impossible for plants to absorb nutrients from the soil.
4.) Worm castings reduce the acid-forming carbon in the soil, an increase the nitrogen levels in a state that the plant can easily use.
5.) Worm castings increase the ability of soil to retain water. Yay!
Final thoughts….
Just as an F.Y.I. it’s a good idea to use your worm castings are fertilizer within 6 months of purchase. It’s not like they spoil, rot or “go bad” but rather they are not as effective after 6 months.
Vermi composting is an easy way to compost your fruits and vegetables during the winter for those of us that live in cold climates. Worms eat approx 1/3-1/2 of their weight in food every day, plus you get worm castings for your plants!
would love to win this, my dad always invested in worm castings and his vegetables always thrived
Thanks for the informative post. Your tomato plant support had given me a great idea. I will show Dave later.
I never knew this about worm poop, lol. Thanks for posting!
This is very interesting thanks for the info
I have never heard of worm poop as a fertilizer. I will pass this along to hubby as we are up for new ideas to help improve our gardening.
Thanks for the great information! As a beginner, I appreciate the detailed article.
I never knew thus thanks for the info .
Thank you so much for the informative article.
This was so informative! I always love to learn anything new to help my garden! I will definitely have to give this a try. Nice to know that you can’t add too much. Thank you for sharing!
Worm poop…makes so much sense once you know! Thanks!
cool
Bring on the worm poop!! Romans 8:28❣️🤗
Yes! I believe in using earth worms in my garden!
I believe in using earth worms in my garden!
I never knew this. Thank you thank you, I am definitely going to purchase some, as I have plenty of plants that can use help.
Never heard of being able to by this. I have always used different plant enhancement media. Thanks for sharing.
I never realized there were so many ways to use worm poop. I especially like that it can’t burn your plants so you can use as much as you like.
I’m glad worm castings can moderate extreme pH levels in my soil! While a large number of our plants like slightly acidic soil; a few benefit from a more neutral pH, so I’ve added Ashes and Dolomite Lime where those plants grow. Thank you for your helpful insights. Worm castings appeal to me now.
Very interesting! I never knew all this about worm poop…I’ll have to try using casings in my garden.
awesome and so beautiful
Thanks for all the info!
Interesting article and I love those tomato supports!
Worm poop is awesome for our gardens.
Sounds kind of icky but interesting
Never knew about this, I don’t know if I could even touch earthly worms I dislike and I hate the slime texture it just erks me out HA HA.
This has long been the secret of a healthy, fertilized garden.
It was new to me that they were full of beneficial bacteria. Kind of like probiotics for plants
I knew worms were good but I didn’t know this about worm poop. Great info!
So much great info here, thanks!
A very informative article with both usage directions and benefits explained. We always tried to put any worms we find while digging in the garden – never thought about going out and buying the castings though.
Worm poop! Who knew? Actually my dad did, he made the tea stuff for his gardens all the time.
LOVE THE DOUBLE BOOT TABLE…….
Work poop is awesome
I have always known that worms are good for the soil, but actually never thought about any waste from them being a good fertilizer!
I need to give this a try everyone says it really helps your plants and it looks so easy to do too.
I knew worms were good for the garden, but hadn’t thought about actually purchasing castings to hurry things along. Thanks for the advice!
This stuff works great! We are thinking of starting a worm farm here on our place.
This lightweight tiller would be perfect for my husband’s garden!
Interesting article
I don’t see any worms in my garden. Need to put some back in there. Great article!
What a great article! Thanks so much, I never knew this!
Love it. Need it!
Looks like I need to go get some worm poop!😂😝
I just started a compost worm bin. Can’t wait to try the idea!
Buying worm poop…. learning something new every day.
Great info! I put a worm in my terrarium.
Sounds like I definitely need to try this
interesting! i like learning new stuff every day
Wow I never knew that. Kinda gross but good to know 🙂
who knew!!
Excited to share this information with my grandson who loves gardening alongside me!
Love all this knowledge! Thank you!
I didn’t know you could even buy this. You always share such good information.
Thank you for the information! My daughters uses worm poop, but didn’t know all these facts!
I need to grow worms for my garden!
I wonder if other critter poop works lol
I remember my parents telling me this as a child, they loved to garden, plants and veggies
My friend Katie has an earthworm ‘farm’ and I am one of her best customers.
Thanks again for all your great info.
I never knew that one could buy worm poop for the garden. I knew about other manure though.
Interesting info about worms
While I first learned about the benefits of using worm castings from you, I somehow missed the part where I could use them for germination purposes. It’s an idea I like & must try! Thanks for this insight.
I like the idea of using a worm casting tea to fertilize.
Great info! I love worms!
Who knew? I like to learn new things from you.
I love compost and worm castings. I never knew how they were helpful until reading this. Thanks!
need worms
Your tomatoes look so healthy! Very informative article.
Interesting idea. I’m weary of introducing live pests to a garden though this might attract some other critters who might like to snack on worm guts?
This is very interesting- and fun! I haven’t tried this yet in our garden, but now I am going to look into it!
Good for my favorite garden.
Awesome info. Thanks for sharing
Worms are certainly good for the earth and the soil.
Great Fire Ant suppression suggestion, trying it immediately
And thanks for all the suggestions
I’ve never bought, but always have added worms I find in other areas of the yard to the garden.
Great article! Fish bait helping your garden.
Great information. thank you
I am a believer in worm castings. Still learning….
Very very interesting info on worms, who’d a thought!!
i learned something today!
Honestly, I’d be totally down if this was my Valentine’s gift. Worms and their poop are awesome!
Thanks for sharing this info!!
This is useful gardening info.
Love the info. Thank you.
I enjoyed the post and learned some great tips for my garden.
I’ve been raising my own worms for years, mostly for the garden, but I save a few for fishing.
Such great info! Thank you! Love your blog!
It sounds gross but I see why its necessary
I think I need to buy some earthworm castings. It sounds like I really need to start using it soon. Thanks for the great information.
Verwy interwesting!! I didn’t know you could water your plants with worm casting tea as well as incorporate the castings into the soil. Thank you for this very informative article.
I never knew there was so much to learn about worm poop! LOL ty for another great article!
nice qaulity and value
I need to get some worms here in FL. the ones native here are not many
I learned something new today! I’ve always liked worms and picked them up and put them back in the grass after a storm is over so they don’t dry out.
I have heard of worm poop but never used it. The way your garden looks… I will try it. Thank you for the information.
would like to win as I am lead volunteer at PAR Garden which is Plant a Row for the Hungry and this year we Have donated 2,382pds and we could use a tiller
Thanks for your giveaway!
Awesome info! I like to throw worms in my garden, but I wasn’t aware that I could order worm castings. Thanks for the advice!!!
Something like this really makes you think about how everything has a purpose in the grand design of things.
Never thought about how worms worked to benefit the dirt, knew they did, but not the hows and whys of it. Very interesting.
My flower beds are full of earthworms, so I’m happy! Every year I add lots of purchased organic compost.
Very interesting thank you
A wonderful article. Thank you!
Thanks for the detailed reasons why we need worms in our gardens.
Who’d a thunk it?? Worm poop!
Now I know I need to be using worm poop after reading here how it can benefit my butterfly garden. Thank you will share this with friends.
I had never heard about worm poop before, we have always used chicken poop. Next year I intead to try the worm.
thank you so informative!
Thanks for the tip
I am always happy when I see earth worms in my gardens!
I want to start composting and using worms for my vegetable garden.
Oh! POO! I guess it is good but cow poo is better.
And you dont need 10,000 of them to do it.
I’ve always seen a ton of earthworms in my garden, night crawlers as we always called them as a kid. I guess having a healthy number of Robin birds in our yard is an indication. I’ve known that it is beneficial, but never bought any casings before, now that I know tomatoes love them, I might just get myself a bag. Thanks for the info!
I’m going to try it, although I probably already have some. I see a lot of worms when I dig around.
Thanks for sharing, i have never heard of worm poop.
I will try this !!
Thanks for the wonderful article.
I need worm castings were good for gardens, but I didn’t know the extent of the benefits you get with it. I had no idea the castings actually help with soil- borne plant diseases or that they help detoxify the soil. I knew live earth worms did lots of helpful things, but I didn’t know that their castings did much more than act as fertilizer.
My post above should read I “knew” not need. Sorry for the typo. Anyway, this was a really informative article. It makes me wonder how nutritious and healthy commercially grown crops are since I wouldn’t imagine they would use worm castings and would instead rely on lots of chemical pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers.
I love worms. My granddaughter and I go digging for them every few days. We have some seriously huge worms here.
Every dedicated gardener knows that they need worms
i know alot but i always learn more here
sounds new to me to learn
I might give this a try in our garden.
Glad to hear that some of the things my family told me when I was younger are still very, very true today. Worms are key to a good garden was always one of them!
Tom and 15 lbs. of worm poop, those worm’s had to work overtime to get that out, I hope there getting paid well. In all serious, this was a good read, lot’s of info I never knew, thanks.
really need that tiller
Now to get some worms! Super excited to see the difference in my soil!
I never thought of this. It would work perfect. Thanks so much..
Thank you for the information. This is so useful. I never knew it could be so helpful having worm poop.
sound good to me
I’ve never tried this before. I will definitely keep it in mind!
Very interesting article. thanks.
And since it wasn’t my Valentine’s Day gift, I’m not complaining. We love worm poop (worm castings) for our vegetable garden and can’t imagine not feeding our garden with it.
Thanks
Thanks for the article, it was very informative!