Worm tea for Orchids - Orchid Board

TyronSA · #1 09-19-2013, 07:03 PM

Oky so i have bought this Worm farm that produces worm tea. My problem is im not sure how to actually produce this worm tea. Basically what it is is water drained through compost with worms in it..

Now what i dont completely understand is how long do i wait for the compost to be ready to be flushed with water or do i just leave it moist. Some people say Leave it like that just pour a little bit of water over the surface every now and then and leave it to drip into a jar. What they ment by that is to not flush it. Other people say you need to flush it with about 5liters of water every 3 weeks or so.. Its all a bit confusing to me. Can anyone give some advice to follow? I would like to see what this Worm tea does to the orchids. Apparently it is a all round GREAT fertilizer for anything.

Orchid Whisperer · #2 09-19-2013, 07:18 PM

Sorry - but IMO, the best advice I could give is not to use worm tea.
You are essentially making a leachate out of any bacteria that has passed through the worm's gut. Same goes for any bacteria or fungi in the compost. Were any plants that went into the compost carrying a virus? That could survive also.

For orchids in cultivation I recommend sticking with water-soluble balanced fertilizers.

kindrag23 · #3 09-19-2013, 08:04 PM

1st. Gross, sorry...
2nd. If I tried that my family would have a fit. They already do not like the whole "carnivorous plant" thing that I have to take care of the moths/gnats that get to close to my baby chids. in my windowsills. lol.

svlair · #4 09-19-2013, 09:37 PM

I tried using worm tea on one of my Phals. I think the claims of this being a "superior" fertilizer are greatly exaggerated. After four months of use I saw no improvement over regular fertilizer. I went back to the MSU fertilizer.

TyronSA · #5 09-20-2013, 02:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orchid Whisperer

Were any plants that went into the compost carrying a virus? That could survive also.

There is no plants going in the compost all you do is you give them the scrap vegetable peels and so forth but those should be washed. And the limestone dust should take care of any other bacteria shouldn't it? Sorry but i really don know anything about this worm farm. Everyone i asked so far spoke so highly of it.

I came to know about this from a daily newsletter a guy sends. Its that Ryan The Orchid Guy with the Orchids made easy book. He said it actually acts as a natural pesticide or anti bacterial. So you can understand my confusion right. Everyone has a total different opinion about this.

Nexogen · #6 09-20-2013, 03:48 AM

The micro-organisms found in Worm Tea are vital for nutrient uptake in plant roots and also protect the plant from disease.

Worm tea is an additive

Orchidhound56 · #7 09-20-2013, 05:25 AM

You should post this in the "scientific matters" section and ask their opinion about this.

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Orchid Whisperer · #8 09-20-2013, 06:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nexogen

The micro-organisms found in Worm Tea are vital for nutrient uptake in plant roots and also protect the plant from disease.

Worm tea is an additive

I respectfully disagree on all counts.

TyronSA, the decision is up to you, but I have 30 years experience growing orchids. This is a bad idea.

Use the compost on your vegetables, etc.

TyronSA · #9 09-20-2013, 06:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orchid Whisperer

I respectfully disagree on all counts.

TyronSA, the decision is up to you, but I have 30 years experience growing orchids. This is a bad idea.

Use the compost on your vegetables, etc.

No you dont use the compost at all. i know compost and orchids dont go together haha. You only use the water that has been flushed through the system (compost with worms in it aka Worm farm) It acts as a fertilizer and as a natural disease killer for plants. I will never plant a orchid in plain compost even if its this type of compost..

LadySoren · #10 09-20-2013, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TyronSA

No you dont use the compost at all. i know compost and orchids dont go together haha. You only use the water that has been flushed through the system (compost with worms in it aka Worm farm) It acts as a fertilizer and as a natural disease killer for plants. I will never plant a orchid in plain compost even if its this type of compost..

I think they meant use the tea (and if you do ever have compost) on vegetables in your garden if you have one.

I have only ever seen one article praising worm tea. I haven't researched it further though. I know he says its the "secret" to growing great orchids.
Maybe pick out some of your chids to experiment on and see what happens. That way, if it does have negative effects, you haven't done it to all of them.
I'd experiment for a year at least.

Also, is there any way to contact the author and ask what exactly goes into his worm farm? What if that is a "secret" boost too?