Comments on: Using Worm Bin Leachate

By: Freida Wolden

Freida Wolden — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 11:48:17 +0000

I just read this article on Leachate. I’m planning on using an old Fiberglass Tub with a drain at the bottom to catch the worm juice. First I’m not sure if I should leave the bottom drain open or plumb it. Now I’m worried about the Leachate. Is it dangerous for my dogs? Maybe someone can take a look at my YouTube Channel and advise me. http://www.freidasgarden.com. Thanks for sharing this information.

By: jws

jws — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 21:29:25 +0000

I now understand the difference after recently making compost tea with a brewer…totally different. However, previously I was diluting the leachate; 1 part to 10 parts water and using it as plant food, bottling it up and giving it to my garden friends. Have not had any bad reports, I have not hurt any of my plants, some more noticeably than others really took off. I was fairly confident that only very good things were going into to the vermicomposter anyway, and I spoke to someone at Water-Wise gardening who also told me that it was fine to use at the base of plants, close to the base of trees.

By: k

Tue, 02 Nov 2010 04:50:30 +0000

I have four stacked bins 5-8 months old (never harvested). after recent heavy rains there was about a gallon of ‘leachate’ in the collecting tray (two days ago) to which i already added 3 gals of rain water yesterday and stirred it today. how do i proceed from here? i have blackstrap molasses and other additives at hand as well as an aerating kit. main question: for how long should i aerate before application; i presume soil drench is better than foliar spray as per above?

By: Dan

Dan — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 12:07:11 +0000

Could this be something to test? maybe take 2 bins, feeding 1 vegies etc. 1 feeding just manure. take each leachate and feed it to its own plant for a while.
Im just looking to see why some have good results with leachate and some have poor results. Do you think it will be a waste of time?

By: Dan

Dan — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 11:57:40 +0000

I have only had my worms for 2 months. maybe I should test this theory myself by having 2 seperate bins feeding 1 just manure and the other regular vegies ETC. Take the seperated Leachates and apply to each to its own plants. Maybe thats why some have had good results. ITS just a guess But I like a good challenge. Please give me Your thoughts !

By: Dan

Dan — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 11:13:55 +0000

Been reading about Leachates to understand more about it, as good or bad for plants. As many people have come up with different results, Some good. My question to everyone is, What have you been feeding your worms? maybe just manure? Would that be the reason some have had good results with the leachate?

By: Bentley

Bentley — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 14:11:05 +0000

KELLY / ALEX
Not all leachates are created equal – not even close. If your bin is fairly new, and you tend to overfeed it (creating anaerobic pockets), the liquid coming out the bottom likely isn’t great stuff at all. If your bin is mature and you are getting the hang of it (vermicomposting that is), it is perfectly reasonable to assume the liquid coming out the bottom will be reasonably good stuff.
The only reason I get a little huffy about people calling leachate “worm tea” it can lead people to assume that vermicompost tea isn’t all that amazing – when the “real” tea truly can be.
Any leachate that is then oxygenated and augmented with additives (molasses etc) has the potential to become “better quality”. As such, I wouldn’t be surprised if you find that your liquid works fairly well, Alex. Please do keep us posted!

By: Alex D

Alex D — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 19:59:47 +0000

I find this whole leachate conundrum rather perplexing, which is why I decided to do my own research and have just started my first batch of leachate derived tea. I am busy oxygenating just over a gallon of leachate after having added 1 tablespoon of blackstrap molasses. It smells perfectly fine so far. Once the 24 hour period is complete I will most likely dilute the mix down to 1 part leachate:3 parts water (dechlorinated) before using on my plants. I am looking forward to seeing the results of my little experiment!

By: Kelly

Kelly — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 15:20:42 +0000

Interesting, I was excited when I harvested my leachate thinking it was something good for my plants. I diluted it, put it in a spray bottle and added it to my starts. It didn’t kill them, but it didn’t seem to help them much. So here I am do some research of leachate and I am finding that is can be very harmful to plants.

I went to my bottle of leachate and opened it outside (it smells like fart, really bad “omg i ate too many beans” fart), and there was some pressure. So this is alive, so I decided to add some molasses and shake it. I will see what happens in a few days (the lid is on, but pressure can still released, imagine that bottle exploding, oh the smell), but I am more interested in adding it to my compost pile then my plants.

Do you have any ideas on using leachate as a inoculate of microbial activity? Perhaps it would be like adding EM to the compost pile.

By: Bentley

Bentley — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:25:17 +0000

Thanks for sharing all that, Richard! Very interesting stuff. Glad to hear that your tomato growth experiments have gone so well.