Growing and taking care of plants is part of home improvement. While searching the internet for the best fertilizers, you might find a few different examples, such as feather and kelp meal. Worm castings and Miracle Gro are two honorable mentions promoting abundant plant growth and rich nutrient absorption. However, which fertilizer will you use in keeping nutrients in your potted plant or garden beds? Read on to learn more about worm castings vs. Miracle Gro.
Difference Between Worm Castings and Miracle Gro
Both are excellent plant food and good for overall soil health. You can use worm castings directly on topsoil, potting soil, or in the potting mix while gardening. Add earthworms along with your compost bin or worm farm. After the worms feed on the compost, they digest it and excrete worm casting, making a fine soil mix rich in nutrients.
Meanwhile, you have to dilute Miracle Gro in your watering can before using it on your plants or you risk burning them. The bottom line is you can use worm castings straight on the ground; get worm casting from your worm bin and apply it. With Miracle Gro, you have to follow specific procedures before using it to water your plants.
Are Worm Castings Better Than Fertilizer?
Based on our investigation, our verdict goes to worm castings. Unlike chemical fertilizers, worm castings provide organic nutrients for indoor plants and outdoor plants. Worm castings are another term for earthworm manure, and it contains good bacteria that convert organic matter into a form that plants can benefit from. Also, worm castings contain enzymes suitable for all plants, including vegetables. Moreover, using worm castings can prevent the development of plant diseases. Additionally, worm castings will not burn your plants, unlike chemical fertilizers.
Are Worm Castings a Complete Fertilizer?
Worm castings contain nitrates, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, iron, nitrogen, and other minerals and nutrients. Also, you can apply and mix worm castings on your potted plants, hanging baskets, and containers. Unlike regular composting, it does not take up much space and is suitable for potting soil. Vermicompost is a mix of worm castings and other biodegradable materials, and it should not be confused with regular compost. A little goes a long way for vermicompost because you do not need large amounts of worm castings for your potted and container plants. All you have to do is mix it with the potting soil and go about your gardening chores as usual. You get a pack of high-nutrient organic fertilizer on your potted plants. Plus, these organic nutrients make your plants grow strong and improve their roots.
Disadvantages of Worm Castings
None, worm castings have no disadvantage. Worm castings are excellent for garden or potted plants. If you consider planting in container gardens or hanging baskets due to lack of space, you could also add worm castings in the potting soil. They are also suitable for young seedlings because they promote plant growth.
Does Miracle Gro Have Worm Castings?
Yes, Miracle Gro does contain worm castings. Mixing the fertilizer with water allows gardeners ease of use and low maintenance work. They have various products ideal for trees, shrubs, and vegetables. Also, they have a specific product for potting mix.
How to Use Worm Castings
There are sellers in the market that offer ready-made earthworm castings. However, if you want to make one yourself, start gathering all the needed materials. You will need to find two containers of your preferred size, stack them on top of the other with a wedge, and then add your compost. You can use shredded newspaper or coconut coir for aeration. Please do not use too much kitchen waste as it will over-ferment. Lastly, add the worms to your bin. Ideally, people that vermicompost don’t use earthworms that you would find outdoors. Rather, they prefer to use special composting worms. Once you’ve gathered enough worm castings, add them to your potting soil at an optimal ratio.
Make Worm Casting Tea
Worm casting can also be a liquid fertilizer. To do this, make a worm casting tea like how you make a regular tea. Use an old t-shirt, pantyhose, or cloth, put your worm castings inside, and steep it overnight. Water your plants before adding the tea so the microbes will not die.
Benefits of Worm Castings
Since their texture is like coffee grounds (coarse yet reminiscent of humus), it assures that your plants will have good soil structure because of the optimal soil aeration that plant roots need. Also, worm castings promote water retention. Most of the time, when you water the plants, nutrients wash away, worm castings prevent erosion of nutrients from happening. Due to this, worm castings fall under the slow-release fertilizer category.
NPK Explained
In studying fertilizers and plants, you may come across a term called NPK ratio. It stands for Nitrogen-Phosphorus-Potassium. Worm castings are completely organic which have no negative effects on your plants while keeping overall plant health. Plants need organic material, and each of them has a different ratio for overall plant health. Nitrogen is good for leaves, phosphorus is good for plant roots, and potassium is for overall plant health. Worm castings have a 5-5-3 ratio, meaning five percent nitrogen, five percent phosphorus, and three percent potassium.
Conclusion
The fertilizer you use should be the most suitable for your overall plant health. We highly recommend worm castings from worms fed a pesticide-free diet of organic matter. If you plan to collect your own worm castings at home by vermicomposting, you’ll know exactly what your worms have eaten. Thus, you won’t have to worry about your worm castings containing certain pesticides or other harmful substances. When comparing worm castings vs. Miracle Gro, worm castings are the right fertilizer choice as they promote better plant growth. Miracle Gro could burn your plants if not used properly. We hope we have helped you decide which fertilizer is best and wish you good luck in your newest gardening venture!
