Worm Castings 101: Introduction to Gardening with Worm Castings
Ever wonder why some gardens have plants that look lush and healthy while your plants struggle to thrive? The answer may be down to a garden super ingredient; worm castings. Discover everything you need to know in our beginner’s guide to ‘What are Worm Castings?’
TL;DR
- Worm castings are produced as a by-product of worms as they work their way through soil and organic matter (aka worm poo)
- Castings contain many beneficial nutrients and minerals that plants can use during all stages of development.
- Worm Castings have many applications for indoor and outdoor gardens.
Welcome to the wonderful world of worm poo!
Yes, that’s correct. At the Garden Bench Top, we love worms and their excrement!
And by the end of this guide, our goal is that you will love the stuff, too, and understand why we just cannot get enough of it!
So grab your gloves, and let’s get our hands dirty!
What Are Worm Castings?
So why do we get so excited about something that comes out the wrong end of an equally off-putting creature?
Because plants love worm castings (or worm poo), anything that improves our plants’ health or productivity is automatically in our good books.
Worms form part of nature’s army of macrofauna that helps break down organic soil materials into usable nutrients and minerals.
As worms eat and munch their way through the ground, they consume unprocessed materials, like leaves from trees and plants or food scraps, and convert them into worm castings. To put it differently, Worms essentially process raw, complex nutrients into a form that can be absorbed into a plant’s root system.
Other Name(s) for Worm Castings
Before we move further, we thought it would be wise to identify the other names (or synonyms) that other gardeners may use for worm castings.
Worm castings are also known as:
- vermicast/vermicastings
- earthworm castings
- black gold
We particularly like the last nickname because it is true