Worm Castings - was RE: the "no till" system
- To: "'Mediterannean Plants List'"
- Subject: Worm Castings - was RE: the "no till" system
- From: R* a* B* T*
- Date: Mon, 25 Sep 2000 16:44:27 -0700
- Importance: Normal
Robert:
I'm puzzled by your reference to Master Gardener policies. California
Master Gardeners don't have their own policies but are mandated to use
official UC guidelines when giving pest and disease control advice to the
public. U.C. publications on Integrated Pest Management (IPM) (source of
Master Gardener pest and disease control information) urge gardeners to
reduce chemical usage and promote pest control with natural parasites,
manage plant diseases with good cultural methods, and grow plant varieties
appropriate to your environment. These IPM practices reduce chemical (both
fertilizers and pesticides) use in the garden thereby promoting healthy
soils and healthy worms. Composting and mulching are promoted in _Natural
Enemies Handbook_ by UC.
Vermicomposting is a promising method to generate plant fertilizers.
Community composting classes offer bins and training to interested
gardeners. Many Master Gardeners here in Santa Clara County maintain these
bins and use the fertilizer on their plants. I've not heard of research
that supports the use of worm castings to reduce white fly, fungus and
virus. Perhaps you can provide some links?
Cheers,
Bracey
U.C Cooperative Extension Master Gardener
(I now know how little I know. :-) )
-----Original Message-----
From: Robert Anspach [r*@att.net]
Sent: Sunday, September 24, 2000 9:27 PM
To: theryans@xtra.co.nz
Cc: Mediterannean Plants List
Subject: Re: the "no till" system
>snip
I believe that the reason that no-till works is that we stop destroying the
holes that the worms dig and provide them with all the food that they can
eat. Every time we till we cut off their passage to the food on the surface
and their chance for romance. When they can come to the surface to eat they
carry the food down into the earth and leave it there as castings. Castings
seem to be the answer to many of our problems such as White Fly, fungus,
virus and many more problems. The proof is slow in coming and mostly
anecdotal but there are enough stories to make one think there must be
something to the worm castings story. Help your friendly worms. Stop the
chemical fertilizer. Don't destroy their highways. Give them lots of food
to eat and they will help you. This is my experience and is not the policy
of the Master Gardeners or the Fullerton Arboretum.
Robert Anspach---Robans@att.net
Docent at The Fullerton Arboretum
Assistant Co-ordinator-Children's Garden,
Orange County Master Garden
Trust everybody but cut the cards,
even if your playing with a marked deck
