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Boardwalk :: Forum List Six (6) New Worm Digest Forums 1) General Earthworm Discussion Forum
Bev Warden
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A Hatchling Earthworm
Posts: 24
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 Plants. Lush green but NO blooms? - 2006/05/11 11:34 I experimented with worm castings and plants. All the plants that I used the worm castings are beautiful green, but no blooms. It has been about 2 months since I started these plants in my greenhouse. The Iris plants are about 30 inches tall as are all the other plants. Anyone have a suggestions as to why I have no blooms? The plants with no castings are lush green and bloomed. I used about 1 part castings to 2 parts miracle grow potting soil.

Thank you,
Bev
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KatJ75
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A Fertile Cocoon
Posts: 8
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 Re:Plants. Lush green but NO blooms? - 2006/05/11 11:48 I am in no way an expert, but the mix of castings to soil that I have seen have called for up to 20% castings in the mix. Usually lush green and no bloom equals too much nitrogen. I am not sure how much nitrogen is in the Miracle grow potting mix. The theory about castings is that the microorganisms and such make the nutrients more available for the plants. Soo if the Miracle grow soil has a lot of nitrogen, and the castings have made it into a form that the plants can use quicker and easier, then you have plants hopped up on nitrogen. I would recommend using the castings, maybe, in a soil that has less nitrogen then the Miracle grow soil. Or rather use potting soil with no fertilizer added, and add fertilizer just as needed.

Also, not 100% sure, but your Iris may not bloom this year. Did you start them from seed or cuttings? I have started them from seed in the past but they don't bloom until the second year, unless you start them in in the fall and grow them in the greenhouse over winter. Not sure what your other starts are.

Kat
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WormMainea
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A Protected Species Earthworm
Posts: 149
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 Re:Plants. Lush green but NO blooms? - 2006/05/11 13:19 I agree-- lack of blooming is probably due to too much nitrogen. I don't know what's in Miracle Grow, but I suspect is it loaded with chemicals-- typically any garden 'miracle' is short-term chemical band-aid marketing ploy (just wait 'til I tell you how I really feel!).

I grow my transplants in a 50/50 mix of worm castings and peat before going outdoors and have good success. WormMainea.com
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Worm Police
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A Mature Breeder Earthworm
Posts: 96
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 Re:Plants. Lush green but NO blooms? - 2006/05/11 13:25 Hi Bev,
Iris do not like rich soil, they prefer a bland soil, or you get lots of green and few blooms. Worm castings are low in nitrogen, I use them on my iris, but nothing more. For winter I will mulch them over with grass clipping mulch, then remove the mulch in late spring. As the upper roots of iris need sun exposure to bloom. Even my discarded iris in a haphazard pile will bloom, they seem to thrive better on less attention.
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Bev Warden
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A Hatchling Earthworm
Posts: 24
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 Re:Plants. Lush green but NO blooms? - 2006/05/11 23:30 I planted bulbs from Walmart.

I didn't buy the Miracle Grow. Hubby bought it at Costco.

Thank you for your replies. As you can probably tell, this is my first year as a gardener.

I can use all the advice I can get.


I love this forum. I just knew I would get good help here.

My worms got hundreds of little bugs that looked like seed ticks. I emptied the worms in a plastic wading pool and there they sit. We washed the cow very good and it is now sitting empty.

I am thinking of keeping them in the pool. They seem happy there. I just keep the closet light on at night.

Right now, I am just not in the mood to mess with them any longer.

Those bugs bit my feet. They weren't fleas or gnats. They didn't fly, they just crawled all over inside and outside of the cow.

With my old eye sight, I couldn't identify them even with a magnifying glass. I haven't fed them any kitchen food, only grains from Bob's recipe.

The bugs seemed to go away when we washed the cow.
They were mostly in the bottom of the cow and the worms seemed to be trying to get away from the bugs. This is the first real problem I have had with them.
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redhen
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A Protected Species Earthworm
Posts: 684
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 Re:Plants. Lush green but NO blooms? - 2006/05/12 07:59 Try going to: happydranch.com and look at their "invertebrate" page to see if you can ID the creatures you found. Could they be mites? Susan Quinby-Honer
redhen@nc.rr.com
Starve the Landfill...Feed the Earth.
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glowery
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A Protected Species Earthworm
Posts: 127
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 Re:Plants. Lush green but NO blooms? - 2006/05/12 08:44 I don't do flowers, but in past veggie gardens I have been told that any fertilizer over 8-8-8- in the veggie garden could result in more plant than produce. I don't know what the numbers are on Miracle Grow but on the ousdie of the bag of castings I had, it said 1-0-0.

I did notice on my tomatoes that one plant had a bloom in less than I week after I planted them using the castings, which I pinched off, because I don't want any blooms on them yet. I don't want anything taking from the root system until the plants are bigger.

It has been very rainy, and cool here all week. In the past my tomato transplants would have looked like they were standing still under these conditions (cool cloudy days and even cooler nights)but it is very plain to see these plants are growing. This is the first year I have used castings so I am attributing this faster growth to that because I changed nothing else in the preperation of the containers before putting in the plants except to use the castings instead of any other type of fertilizer.

Glenda Glenda

I always wanted to be somebody; I guess I should have been more specific.
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WormMainea
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A Protected Species Earthworm
Posts: 149
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 Re:Plants. Lush green but NO blooms? - 2006/05/15 14:56 I consulted Rodale's "Complete book of composting (the fat red book from 1960)". He cites several examples of excess soil fertility. WormMainea.com
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Boardwalk :: Forum List Six (6) New Worm Digest Forums 1) General Earthworm Discussion Forum

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