Worm Tea Experiment

I read the thread(sticky) "Worm Tea Use": It caught my attention and became interested; that I bought a bottle from Ken's via Ebay. On June 27th I mixed a capful to a gallon of water and put it in a basin and soaked my newly divided cattleya for 5 minutes. Thats the only time I had the plant have the worm tea and the rest of the time only watered it. Its now July 25th and as you see in the pictures; theres a new sprout and new roots are growing nice and healthy.

[katrina]

I used the worm tea for a good year (maybe a little less) and noticed no significant improvement over regular balance fertilizer.

This is the growing season for these guys so I wouldn't be so quick to chalk it up to the worm tea. Certainly not w/only one dosing of the stuff.

You would've gotten more nutrient value from one dosing of a balanced fert than you did w/the one dose of WT so I seriously doubt that is what caused the root growth. Nope...it's just doing what they do at this time of the year.

[Brooke]

I did two catt repots today - one L. rubescens had five new growths starting with roots peeking out. The other was C. purpurata with four new growths starting with nice young roots. This is the time of year many of these catts make new growths for later blooming.

The Laelia will bloom this fall and the Catt will bloom next spring. Mine have never seen a worm and I never share my tea

From your picture the Catt looks very over potted or is just the angle?

Brooke

[Stitz]

Originally Posted by Brooke

From your picture the Catt looks very over potted or is just the angle?Brooke

I agree with Brooke.

It appears that your Catt is grossly overpotted. Perhaps, you might consider repotting it while the opportunity is fresh? It's much better to underpot than to overpot!

--Stitz--

[NewGrower]

I recently just started using liquid seaweed and all my orchids showed some new growth within a week (including my stubborn ones!) .... I will have to look into this worm tea too Hey if it makes them happy it will make me happy!

Thanks! I will repot it in a smaller container.

[katrina]

Originally Posted by NewGrower

I recently just started using liquid seaweed and all my orchids showed some new growth within a week (including my stubborn ones!) .... I will have to look into this worm tea too Hey if it makes them happy it will make me happy!

No plant...least of all an orchid...responds to any type of fertilizer or "tonic" w/in a week's time. Summer...or active growing season...is the time when these guys put out new growths and roots.

This is my second Summer using liquid seaweed so I'm very familiar with it. It has very minimal nitrogen and a minor amount of potash...not much else except the (in my case) cold-processed Kelp. It's not a miracle in a bottle but rather it's like taking that extra calcium tablet in conjunction w/your multi-vitamin...a little extra something for over-all good health.

Rest assured, the 2 events occurring w/in a week of each other is simply a coincidence. Your plant sounds healthy so it's just doing what a healthy orchid does during Summer...it's growing.

BTW -- if you're using anything other than cold-processed kelp/seaweed, you are likely getting zero benefit from the actual seaweed aspect.

[jcaesar1310]

Hi Anky. I started using Worm Tea 2 months ago. I had to have my arm twisted to try it and I was happy with my regular balanced fertilizer routine.

I started out using the liquid worm tea, but at 1/2 cup to a gallon of water as the directions stated, it wasn't cost effective because of the size of my collection. When I ran out I switched to the "tea bags". Its a little more work, allowing the chlorine in the water to dissipate (24 hours) and aerating the water (24 hours) with an aquarium pump. I can see some of you reading this rolling your eyes, but everyone has a different level of committment to their hobbies.

I've been growing orchids for about 15 years and have had my orchids on a once a week fertilizing schedule the entire time. (4 weekly applications of the blue stuff and 1 application of Epsom Salts & Potassium Nitrate).

I've noticed very good results with the worm tea so far, specifically, multiple eyes breaking and roots everywhere. (Much more than normal). About an hour after feeding the plants (90% Catt species & hybrids) I notice that they all get a "waxy" glow to them. I've only seen this once before with Jerry's Grow, an ethanol-based fertilizer (I loved it, but it was tricky to use). From what I've read in the literature and on the 'net, worm tea (like Jerry's Grow) is in a form that is immediately available to the plant and contains all the micro nutrients and minerals. Worm tea doesn't have to break down like the "blue stuff" before the roots can utilize it. Also, worm tea can be also be used as a folier feed. I go through my shadehouses spraying it directly into the pots. When I finish, I go back and mist all the leaves. According to what I've read, it helps prevent scale, mealy bug, mites and rots. I haven't used it long enough to observe that and I'm not ready to toss my chemicals yet.

I plan to continue to use the worm tea and alternate it with applications of the blue stuff and the fifth feeding of Epsom Salts & Potassium Nitrate starting in August.

Anyway, don't give up on your worm tea experiment! We learn, grow and improve the hobby by experimenting with things. Could you imagine where we'd be if we continued to grow our orchids in hot houses like Victorian orchid growers! Good Luck!

[katrina]

Originally Posted by jcaesar1310

From what I've read in the literature and on the 'net, worm tea (like Jerry's Grow) is in a form that is immediately available to the plant and contains all the micro nutrients and minerals. Worm tea doesn't have to break down like the "blue stuff" before the roots can utilize it.

Not sure what your "blue stuff" is but if the N is derived from urea then yes, it'll take far too long to break down and would be of little use to orchid roots. On the other hand a fertilizer w/N in the form of ammoniacal nitrogen and/or nitrate nitrogen would be immediately available and usable for orchids.

Originally Posted by jcaesar1310

Anyway, don't give up on your worm tea experiment! We learn, grow and improve the hobby by experimenting with things. Could you imagine where we'd be if we continued to grow our orchids in hot houses like Victorian orchid growers! Good Luck!

No one is suggestion that experimenting is bad. Not in the slightest. I do a great deal of experimenting w/things. What I was simply pointing out is that one week and/or one dose of anything is not typically significant enough to produce any sort of visible results. It takes some time and to suggest that one dose of worm tea or seaweed (or whatever it may be) causes a sudden explosion of growth is silly.

Experiment away but the best experiments include a control group. W/out that control group one really doesn't know if it's the product/medium/whatever that's producing the results or if something else might be causing said results.

[Hummer344]

I found that worm tea didn't do anything more than my regular fert. did, plus it was expensive.
On the same subject, I agree with Katrina, no fert will produce new growth that fast. If you wanted to get a good comparison you would have to have at least two plants in a side my side trial. One being worm tea the other a comercial fert. or your choice. Would be fun to see the results.

[NewGrower]

Coincidence or not, I am happy to see a lot of new growth for the past 1 1/2 since I used it! Whatever keeps my orchids happy! I still use fert I just alternate weekly... Good luck repotting !

[koshki]

Is worm tea made from worm castings?

I ask because I had a bag of castings and it said the formula was 1-0-0. In other words, just nitrogen. So, if I understand correctly, it would promote vegetative growth, but not necessarily roots or blooms.

[jcaesar1310]

Originally Posted by koshki

Is worm tea made from worm castings?

I ask because I had a bag of castings and it said the formula was 1-0-0. In

Worm tea is made from castings, but from what I read the numbers were similar to what you'd find in MSU-Southern Ag formulas, and there were other things, like micro & macro nutrients and minerals. Do you have a link to where you purchasd the castings so that I could take a look at it?

Thanks!

[jerrymeola]

I have used Vermi-liquid for 5 years with tremendous results.

Worm tea from tea bags or castings do not have the microbes of the skin secretion of they only get he bacteria that is in the air, which could be good or bad.

There are no micro-nutrients in worm castings. Worm castings (manure) only contains the ingredients in the food feed to the worms. Some companies like OurVitalEarth add minerals that come out of the skin secretions but most companies do not.

I posted an experiment several years ago on this forum where two miniature Cattleya were grown for one month, one with water and one with Vermi-liquid. The plants were mature and flowering at 3 inches. The one with vermi-liquid grow 1/2 inch in the month and the other nothing. I do not get a 1/2 a year on these plants normally.

The sudden growth effect does not extend past the first month. It is a result of the plant getting whatever was missing in its environment. Like a hungry person goring to a buffet table, after your fill you eat more normally.

There were many people using the Vermi-liquid reporting the same results on this forum.

For a better example I am able to raise a 1 inch plug, that is a 3-4 inch plant from a plug tray with a root ball of about 1 inch, to flowering 4 ich pots in 12-18 months. This is a consistent result over about 6000 plants a year. I am using a triple cocktail of vermi-liquid, Companion and Essentials (the last two concentrated forms of seaweed extract). I soak the plugs on arrival before potting and then spary monthly.

[jcaesar1310]

Originally Posted by jerrymeola

I have used Vermi-liquid for 5 years with tremendous results.

Worm tea from tea bags or castings do not have the microbes of the skin secretion of they only get he bacteria that is in the air, which could be good or bad.

I'm not realy familiar with the process of how they collect what goes into the worm tea bags, but isn't it just a "dryer" form of Vermi-liquid and doesn't the water leeched from the worm's "home" environment contain whatever the worms live in...including the skin secretions?

The company I bought from said that the tea bags are fan dried to 30% and that the microbes fully re-grow within 24 hours w/aeration. They also state that the tea bags contain minerals.

If you think they're not being up front with what is in their product, let me know. I placed an order the other day and I would call them to cancel and perhaps go back to the liquid form.

I saw your 2009 posts...and not sure if I missed it...but do you use a standard "balanced" fertilizer, or do you solely use the liquid worm tea?

I appreciate your input in this thread...Thanks!

[koshki]

Originally Posted by jcaesar1310

Worm tea is made from castings, but from what I read the numbers were similar to what you'd find in MSU-Southern Ag formulas, and there were other things, like micro & macro nutrients and minerals. Do you have a link to where you purchasd the castings so that I could take a look at it?

Thanks!

Sorry, I grabbed it at my local hydroponics store when I went in for a bale of coir. That was in 2009. I just finished using up the bag when I put my lettuce and herbs in, and I don't remember the name brand.

[Ladyofthelakes]

I now use Superthrive along with orchid fert on my orchids, tropicals and cacti collection. Everyone loves the stuff. It is nutrients growing more roots. After about 3 months there are a lot of roots growing new, shiny green colors.

My poor bedraggled orchids that just have not done much in the years that I have had them are looking good.

They bring a smile to my face!

[raytan12]

Do you spray worm tea on your entire plant? How often do you spray it?