Worm Tea (pee) and Hydroponics

[wolfmanjack]

Hello.

I am growing cucumbers hydroponically using a drip to waste system and every day have some that are not salable due to various reasons. I was thinking of getting some worms to feed the cucumbers to make worm tea then putting the worm tea in the nutrient tank. I was also thinking that the cucumber plants could be fed to the worms at the end of each crop.

I was wondering if this would be a good idea or would just cause any diseases to spread more quickly negating any benefits from the free worm tea nutrients?

Thanks for any input.

[WormFarmer]

I suspect you are actually talking about leachate, being the liquid that runs off the worm bed. Worm Tea is made by aerating wormcast in water for about 24 hours. But for your purposes, no need to make tea just put the wormcast into your tanks.

[teletiger]

What to do with the leachate? I normally pour it onto the compost pile.
Regards.

[wolfmanjack]

Thank you for the reply wormfarmer. Wouldn't putting the worm casting directly into the tank plug up my drip feed system ?

I have been reading about the difference between leachate and tea but what I was actually thinking of at the time was what i saw at Mae Jo University where they had a tank of worms with no dirt that they put vegetables in every day and the liquid drained into a tank every day that bottled to sell for fertilizer.

I didn't think that method would allow for the worms to reproduce so I was thinking of having a worm bed that would also create the worm castings for leachate and tea.

The main question that I had was if I fed the cucumber plants to the worms when the harvest was complete would that take any diseases that some of the plants had and spread that to all of my other plants? Would the worms eating the plants destroy any diseases?

[WormFarmer]

What to do with the leachate? I normally pour it onto the compost pile.

Regards.

Leachate can be used as a fertiliser or spray, but be aware that any pathogens that were in the bedding / food may be in the leachate, for example if you use manure as a food for the worms. Pouring it on the compost heap is as good as any way of getting rid of it. We just let it run to waste in the garden.

[WormFarmer]

Thank you for the reply wormfarmer. Wouldn't putting the worm casting directly into the tank plug up my drip feed system ?

I have been reading about the difference between leachate and tea but what I was actually thinking of at the time was what i saw at Mae Jo University where they had a tank of worms with no dirt that they put vegetables in every day and the liquid drained into a tank every day that bottled to sell for fertilizer.

I didn't think that method would allow for the worms to reproduce so I was thinking of having a worm bed that would also create the worm castings for leachate and tea.

The main question that I had was if I fed the cucumber plants to the worms when the harvest was complete would that take any diseases that some of the plants had and spread that to all of my other plants? Would the worms eating the plants destroy any diseases?

I don't know how your system works, but maybe the loose casting would cause a blockage, in which case put them in a breathable bag, the sort you would use anyway to make tea.

Leachate can contain pathogens, it depends on the source of food, see my answer to teletiger above. When worms digest food they seem to eliminate any germs or pathogens in the food. I don't know how that works, but it does. So worm tea or wormcast is safe but leachate MAY contains pathogens.

Edited April 4, 2015 by WormFarmer

[BSJ]

I'd like to set up a worm farm myself to use up some of the kitchen waste and waste fruit. What varieties of worm do well in Thailand? Back in Oz we had Tiger worms in the vege garden and around the flower beds. Stick a shovel in the ground and dig the dirt up and there would be at worst half a dozen!

I'd be happy to buy some worms to start as there isn't many in the soil around here!

[WormFarmer]

I'd like to set up a worm farm myself to use up some of the kitchen waste and waste fruit. What varieties of worm do well in Thailand? Back in Oz we had Tiger worms in the vege garden and around the flower beds. Stick a shovel in the ground and dig the dirt up and there would be at worst half a dozen!

I'd be happy to buy some worms to start as there isn't many in the soil around here!

We find that in this climate African Nightcrawlers do better than Tiger Worms, others may disagree. Both are compost worms so can be used successfully in worm bins or worm farms.

If you want to buy worms either PM me or visit my website at pennworms.com with www. in front.

[WormFarmer]

Duplicate post deleted - something wrong either with Thai Visa or my computer - I keep getting message saying action failed, then the action happens!!!

Edited April 6, 2015 by WormFarmer

[BSJ]

Hi WF, TVF is so annoying sometimes when it acts up. I've had that same problem time and time again.

Thanks for the link. I'll have a look at your site.