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South Carolina, United States
Vetsy is my nickname that my family have fondly called me since my childhood. My blog reflects my personal views about the world around me. My topics may be anything that interest me but the majority of it is about my favorite past times...nature and gardening. Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment or becoming a follower.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Fertilizing with Worm Poo











I love house plants, but I'm not an expert on their care. It is always a challenge for me to buy a plant and keep it alive. ( it has also been a challenge for me to keep up with my blog due to my demanding job...But here I am..

I'm never far from what I love...Anywho....

I read up on every plant that I buy before and after I purchase it so that I may mother it with the  proper care. 

Some of this information however, still eludes me even though I follow them to what I think is to the -T-......"Water this plant just a little, leave this one dry,  feed this one every other month"...


 It gets really frustrating, but not enough to stop me... No way!.....

 I'll just throw the ailing plant out and  replace it with another. Besides, I have read that it is not always my fault that a plant will not flourish under my care, sometimes the fault falls on the nurseries... 

( A plant is only as good as the nursery you bought it from)... be it from  a nursery you bought it from  directly or from mass market stores like Walmart, Lowes and HomeDepot.....Some of them I read, are ill and infested with pest upon their arrival to the store.


So whether the fault lies with me or the nurseries, I have come up with a plan that I hope will turn me into a successful plant owner/ green-thumb. 

What's that plan you ask? .....It's to fertilize all my house plants with Worm-poop!.. .Aka Worm Castings ( the proper terminology in the natural fertilizer industry).


Worm Castings are literally POOP! It's the excrement gathered  from a pooping worm. It supplies the natural nutrients your plants need to keep them strong, healthy, and less likely to be attack by insects that prey on sick, weak plants.  To learn more on Worm poo and it's benefits click the links at the bottom of my post.


Below: I'm not sure if you can tell.... But my Umbrella was a little ill and the leaves on the lower part of it shriveled up and died. Three days after I gave it a tablespoon of Worm poo It appears to be a lot greener.


The before photo is on the top and the after is on the bottom.








Below:   My poor little princess... She is a Ponytail plant that I had for over 6 years. She was gorgeous before she was damaged during my move to South Carolina. I can't wait to see what Worm poo will do for her.


Below: I have a thing for Ponytail plants... I bought this cutie last year from Walmart and hope with the help of Worm poo my princes ( above)  will look like this one.. once again. 

BTW!( This plant was priced wrong "too low" I thought it was a special, but this Mean Lady wouldn't honor the price, so I took it up with the manager and proudly took her home..at a special price).




Below:  My Rex Begonia is also included in the poo study..In the top photo it's limp and weak looking....




Below: Three days later it appears stronger and greener..


 Below: A Dumb Cane cutting from my neighbor back in Michigan...I call her Betty after this neighbor..." Boy can she stand a shot of Worm poo... Stat!



 Below: This is what house gnats did to my Tea rose......


 This is it after I moved it outdoors.....(No worm poo was applied at this time, just moving it out of doors helped it thrive).



And Still..... some evil little bugger got a hold of it and done this..... I will be saturating this with a Worm Poo Tea...


Below: An ill Sago Palm that I purchased from Lowes....I discovered after I purchased it... that it has scale... I have Pooed it too...



BelowHouse plants bathing in the sun outdoors as they each await a tablespoon of Worm castings for lunch. "open wide! the Poop doctor is in."



Below: New additions:




This lovely Yellow plant is called Sweet Broom, it smells just like my Winter honeysuckle. They both share a yummy citrus scent... The cashier at the Homedepot warned me that Sweet Broom can quickly become an enormous bush!.... I had intended to buy two of them but, put one back after her warning Lol!...


Below:  Winter honeysuckle... Blooms in late winter and is cold and drought tolerant.



I was also warned about the Lady Banks rose from a friendly cashier at Lowe's..... It's a pretty little Pom..Pom like  yellow rose with double blooms... for some reason I was not able to remove the glare to get a clearer photo... The cashier explained that her sister-in-law purchased one years ago and now its tall and prolific.... she was smiling when she said it.... I took that as a good sign...Lol!






All of my plants will be feed Worm Castings every three months... Worm casting to my surprise doesn't break down right away.... and just like commercial/chemical fertilizers Worm poo will continue to feed your plants for up to this time.... It is odorless and all natural. So if you can't stand the smell of fish fertilizer try this one...



Note: I have discovered that some companies sale Worm castings along with a mixture of compost.. some say that it is best to purchase pure Worm castings without the added compost for best results... 

( I so happen to have castings from one such company )  but so far my plants look great.....We'll see how things go as I continue my study stay tuned..


        "A SPOON FULL OF POOOO, HELPS YOUR PLANTS STAY BEAUTIFUUUUL!"


Here's a few useful Links to help you learn more...But don't stop here there's plenty more info to Google and learn more about on Worm Castings and it's benefits... Google away!

 http://www.organic-raised-bed-gardening.com/2010/12/04/worm-tea/

http://www.getbusygardening.com/2012/02/worm-casting-tea.html
  
http://mypeoplepc.com/members/arbra/trinity/id14.html
   







18 comments:

  1. Wow. Pooh. You have quite a collection of house plants. I have couple. I also have a dog and 3 cats that, especially during the winter, seem to think that they need their greens. Very interesting on the worms. I have heard of worm pooh, but didn't realize how good it is. Thanks. Hope you have your garden soon.

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  2. Thanks for introducing worm poo! As you know I have lots of those tropical plants ;-D Will see if I could get them here. And your plants look really great. They are in good hands I know. Happy gardening!! Btw, I am very bad with houseplants myself.

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  3. Vetsy girl how are you !
    How do you like living in South Carolina ?
    Number One Son is still waiting for paper work to go in .. My goodness you have a lot of house plants .. I also have a very bad track record with them so I only have two .. and a lot of the time they look sad .. so I am going to look for "worm poo" too !!
    You were right to fight for your lower price .. the manager of stores will almost always honour that situation !
    Good for you girl !!!
    Joy : )

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  4. Hi Vetsy! It's great to hear from you! Thanks for the interesting post. You have lots of lovely house plants. I can't have too many plants inside because my naught kitten will destroy them. How does Panini do with you plants?

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  5. Thank you Ann...I think about my garden every day that is way I have so many house plants because I can't garden right now but will in the near future.

    Steph...I try to pick plants that are not easy to kill...But I have killed off some of them too. So far I have managed to keep these alive.

    Joy... I love the weather and the scenery of the Upstate. I can't believe they are still dragging their feet on your sons paper work... Gee Weez!

    Angela... Panini used to chew my Ponytail plants to peices. She would also play with their long curling leaves. She is still up in Michigan with my mother.

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  6. You have quite a collection of house plants. When did you move to South Carolina? I hope the poo works for your plants. Keep us posted!

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  7. Thanks rmgales.... I moved 5 months ago and I'm still adjusting to my new state. I'll keep you all updated thanks for stopping by.

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  8. Worm poop is the best! I start my seeds every year in a mixture of lobster compost, mushroom compost and worm poop. That's some great stuff!

    Now....WHEN did you move to SC? And what part? I have family in Spartanburg.

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  9. Lobster, Mushroom and worm poo... Yeah, that sounds like a hearty mix for healthy plants. I moved to Spartanburg five months ago. I'm not sure yet if it will be my permanent home, but so far I like it.

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  10. It is good stuff! My brother in western Tennessee raises worms for fishing bait; he fishes a lot. Then in the spring he feeds all the plants in his yard with the old bedding and castings. He has some wonderful kitchen gardens and perennials. Lisa over on her blog "miller time" has written a lot about vermiculture. I will try to make a link to those posts, of course the beginning post is at the bottom, so we have to start there and read up the page. Then I went back to the bottom and clicked on "newer post". She has a lot of information in her posts. CLICK HERE
    If that sounds like too much trouble, do check out Debbi's method using patio pots CLICK HERE I plan to start one of these this summer.

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  11. Thanks Barbee I'll check those post out.

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  12. Hey! You haven't posted to your blog in a bit! You ok over there?

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  13. Thank you for asking.... I lost my Aunt on the 23rd of April. She was very ill before her death and I had spent countless hours in the Hospital before she passed so I have not been able to blog at this time but I shall return. Thank you for your concern.

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  14. Thanks for the Worm Poo report. I will try some!
    Your plants are great...you are a plant person I can tell!
    Sorry to read about your Aunt's passing.
    Hugs,
    Sherry

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  15. Vetsy! You are a genius. I have the touch of death when it comes to house plants, as soon as they come through the front door thry start to die on me - the only thing I was going to buy for myself was a cactus (surely I can't kill one of those?). But WORM POOP - could this be the answer to all my problems??? Love you for this!

    P.S. why is my blog not on your list - don't you love me anymore :(

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  16. Hey! Carrie had not talk to you for quite a while...Good to chat with you again.. I don't know why your post is missing? I'll get it back. Thanks for pointing that out.

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  17. Quite interesting. I have read about worm do-do. I only have a couple of house plants. One is a dumb cane that is nearly 8 ft. tall. My friend gave it to me and it seems to like my house. It also is sending up a new shoot and even has two blooms. I never knew that the dumb cane had blooms. I will have to soon move it into the living room where we have a vaulted ceiling. I wonder what worm pooh would do for it? You do have an amazing collection of house plants. So glad to see you posting again.

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