“I have I guess what you call a worm tower? And there’s a liquid catcher at the bottom. how long can that liquid stay at the bottom of the container? And how can i make the worm tea last longer, so it doesn’t”t go bad.” ~ Chris Vialpando
Hi Chris,
The liquid you are talking about is worm leachate.
This liquid is different to worm tea by the fact that it is not brewed. Instead it is formed by liquid passing through the worm cast, compost, and non degraded organic matter in the wormery. As it passes through, soluble nutrients are absorbed and brought down to the bottom with it.
What you get as a result is a liquid with some beneficial nutrients from the cast and a very small number of microbes.
The advantage of this is that the leachate doesn’t go anaerobic as easily. But the possibility is still there, especially when you have dead and drowned rotting worms in there.
When it goes anaerobic, anaerobic bacteria thrives and produces plant toxins which can harm your plants even if you dilute it.
You will have to use your nose to determine whether the leachate is fit for use.
If it smells bad don’t use it!
If in doubt I will also suggest not to use it.
However if you got a soil bed full of weed you want to get rid of, anaerobic worm leachate may just do the trick!
Worm leachate should be diluted in the region of a 1:10 ratio (1 part leachate to 10 parts water).
Then just water your plants as normal!
