Comments on: The Worm Tea vs Leachate Conundrum

By: Thomas Taber

Thomas Taber — Thu, 25 Dec 2014 16:27:36 +0000

Good Morning All.
I have two compost bins. One was a thought out planned concrete 7 foot tall bin with a run off that flows into a ( Now full ) 50 Gallon drum. The other was a thrown together partical board four foot by eight foot box lined with plastic. Everything that is biodegradable goes in that box, that is outside. Angled, to collect run off, I’ve added worms for the last two years. The fluid that comes from that box ( No aroma from the box or the tea ) will not freeze. I’m wondering if the fluid that comes from the compost box might be flammable.
The I too have used it on newly planted bushes, flowers, trees and vegetables and tomato bushes that turned into Trees. Growing far above seven feet tall and sprouting new flowers and tomato’s way after 30 degrees.
Can some one tell me why the contents if the tea will not freeze?

By: Stephan

Stephan — Wed, 07 May 2014 10:09:42 +0000

Hello Opal,

its perfectly fine to run a worm bin without producing leachate. You just have to make sure that your worm bedding stays always moist. Visualize the wetness of a squeezed out sponge. This is a perfect moisture level for a worm bin bedding. If in doubt rather have it to wet than to dry.

If you take a hand full of bedding and squeeze it and just a few drops of moisture drip down than the moisture level is perfect.

Happy worming!

By: Bentley

Bentley — Tue, 06 May 2014 15:27:15 +0000

Hi Opal
You are absolutely NOT (necessarily) doing anything wrong just because there is no leachate. I myself aim to never have leachate dripping from any of my systems.
Obviously I can’t guarantee that everything is OK in your system (it could still be too dry, for example) – but I want to at least make it clear that having leachate dripping out is not some sort of proof of successful vermicomposting! lol

By: Opal

Opal — Thu, 01 May 2014 02:25:05 +0000

I’ve been worm farming for over two years, and I’ve always used a single bin, no drainage holes. I frequently turn the bedding, monitor the moisture level, and either have a towel draped over the top (if I’ve had problems with gnats), or keep the lid off.

My question pertains to leachate or seeping. I’ve never had liquid in the bottom of my bins.

Nearly every worm blog out there has a post or video tutorial on how to create (or buy their) stackable bin system.

Have I been doing it wrong for the past two years? If my bin is NOT producing this liquid stuff is that a sign I’m doing something wrong?

I’ve wondered about this for a LONG time but have never asked anyone.

By: Michael Ramirez

Michael Ramirez — Mon, 21 Apr 2014 15:52:37 +0000

Teresa:
“throwing my leachate down the toilet” is the worst thing you can do.
You are right, there are many contradicting informations and experiences an I am personally not a big defender of worm tea, but just use it and make up your mind.
Regards from Mexico
Michael

By: Stephan

Stephan — Mon, 10 Feb 2014 07:03:39 +0000

Hello Teresa,

I understand your frustration :-(!

Congratulations of saving your worm herd! If a worm bin smells bad there is certainly be something wrong. A healthy worm farm doesn’t produce bad odors.

The little white worms where most probably “Spring-tails” and they are beneficial for your worm farm as they are helping to compost organic waste.

Worm leachate is usually beneficial for your plants when the worm bin contains already a lot of worm castings. The leachate will absorb nutrients from the castings which can than be used as plant food. On the other hand if a worm farm contains mainly kitchen waste the leachate will be less beneficial. I suggest you give your worm farm about 2 month before you start producing leachate.

You can place your worm farm inside a greenhouse as long as it doesn’t get to hot inside. Compost worms can handle a maximum temperature of 86 degrees F / 30 C.

I hope this helps a little :-)!
If you have further questions please feel free to ask!

All the best and Happy worming.

By: Teresa

Teresa — Sun, 09 Feb 2014 00:24:04 +0000

I have been throwing my leachate down the toilet. I have been told that it is not to be used in the garden or on plants. Only the tea and the compost. If you can use the leachate and if you can freeze it, please let’s get this cleared up. There are so many different answers to just one question. All we want is just the right answer.

By: Teresa

Teresa — Sun, 09 Feb 2014 00:08:22 +0000

Hi Laural,
Did you ever find out if freezing leachate actually would hurt it?

Has anyone ever tried it first hand and found out if it would hurt the leachate or not?

I am also getting my first greenhouse this spring. Does anyone know if it would be a good or bad idea to put my worm bins in the greenhouse when I get it? I don’t want to make it filled with mold or fruit flies.

We just adopted a worm bin last week from a friend of ours and that was not so good. She was not taking care of it, I don’t know what she was feeding it or when she fed them last, but that thing stank so bad and was actually dripping with stuff that looked like mud and had tons of little white worm everywhere. My husband and I spent 6 hrs getting rid of everything we could git rid of including gnats or fruit flies, cleaning it out and saving as many worms as we could, and cleaning the bin. I am still finding some gnats or fruit flies but I think I pretty much have it taken care of. All I can say is at least those worms have a better home than what they had!!!

Any suggestions on anything I will take!!!

By: Stephan

Stephan — Tue, 28 Jan 2014 17:13:19 +0000

Hi Laurel,

I am pretty sure that the freezing leachate will kill the beneficial microorganisms in it and it will definitely loose some of its effectiveness.

Nevertheless give it a try next spring and compare it in an experiment against plants that are treated with fresh leachate.

Happy worming

By: laurel

laurel — Mon, 27 Jan 2014 00:51:08 +0000

I understand brewing proper tea is the best way to go but I also collect leachate throughout the winter. Does freezing this liquid dilute its effectiveness?