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Vermisterra Supports CCOF

Vermisterra is proud to be a CCOF business partner since 2016. We support and promote organic through certification, education, and advocacy. Buying organic is a direct investment in the future of our planet, so they work to grow the organic market by educating consumers about this important relationship to our food.

Vermisterra tests each batch of worm castings and nutrient tea for heavy metals. Our castings are also tested for E. Coli and Salmonella- to ensure that we are always pathogen free! We are already certified organic by the USDA’s National Organic Program (NOP) and California Department of California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). You can find our company JL Organics LLC listed in the CCOF Directory!

Vermisterra is a CCOF business partnerAs one of the first organic certification agencies, CCOF (California Certified Organic Farmers) has strong roots in the history of the organic movement. CCOF was instrumental in advocating for federal organic legislation; our organic certification standards were used as a foundation for the USDA National Organic Program, finally making “certified organic” a federally regulated claim. After more than 30 years of fighting for organic integrity, we continue to certify, educate, advocate, and promote organic.

 

CCOF organizes educational and technical training events for farmers, handlers, and farm advisors to expand their knowledge of organic practices and ensure they are equipped to comply with organic standards. Learn more about CCOF and what they do at https://www.ccof.org.

 

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Vermisterra Worm Castings: Standard and Premium Grades

Due to popular demand, Vermisterra released a Standard castings to offer customers two grades of organic worm castings to choose from. What’s the difference? The Premium castings are more fine and pure, ideal for indoor gardening, micro greens, and seed starting. The Standard castings are great for outdoor gardening fruit trees, vegetables and raised beds.

Vermisterra earthworm castings have so many benefits! They improve soil structure, fertility, are rich in beneficial bacteria and microbes, regulate plant nutrients for immediate absorption and support against pests and disease. This perfect soil amendment from nature is time released and will not burn your plants. Use once a season; A little goes a long way!

Take home the worm castings used by commercial organic farmers. Peace of mind that each batch of Vermisterra worm castings are lab tested, free of raw compost, guaranteed weed seed free, free of heavy metals and pathogens, aged until stable, screened of debris. Rich in humic acid, beneficial bacteria and fungi, micronutrients, trace elements, and natural growth hormones.

 

Vermisterra Standard Castings for outdoor use.

Our Standard Castings look like dark coffee grinds and contain small slivers of organic material. Widely used by farmers in fields and orchards, these castings are aged and purer than most competitors. Our standard castings are ideal as a soil amendment, use as potting mix, and general outdoor use:

•Patio and potted plants

•Create your own potting mix

•Conditioning the soil in your yard

•Use in raised beds

•Top dressing for trees, flowers, shrubs

•Provide year round nutrients for vegetable gardens

•Great for fruit tree fertility and production

•Beneficial microbes protect transplants and root area

VT Premium Castings retail $35.99 (discounts when you order 2 or more)

 

Vermisterra Premium Castings are super fine and ideal for indoor growing and seed starting.

Our Premium Castings are super fine, are weed seed free and have no odor. Originally formulated for commercial greenhouses, these castings are aged and purer than most competitors. Our fine nano particles of worm castings are ideal for seed starting, house plants, and indoor growing:

– Natural growth hormones great for Seed Starting

– Clean and efficient nutrient for Microgreens

– Time released, Balanced nutrition for Bonsai

– Time released, Balanced nutrition for Orchids

– Clean and efficient nutrient for your House plants

– Clean and efficient nutrient for Greenhouse use

VT Standard Castings retail $24.99 (discounts when you order 2 or more)

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CaliKim Explains – What is Vermisterra Tea, How to Use

We are so happy that our partner CaliKim tested Vermisterra worm castings and tea in her garden and absolutely loves it. Read her full article and view her gorgeous photos in high resolution HERE.

Below is a repost direct from CaliKim’s Garden and Home Blog:

 

Welcome back to the “Feeding Your Garden” blog series.  One of the keys to a healthy, productive garden is to feed your plants and garden soil powerful, organic nutrients on a regular basis.

In the last post, we learned what a powerful soil amendment worm castings are, in this post, we’ll learn all about worm tea.

Worm WHAT?  Yes, worm tea.  No, you don’t drink it, but your plants do, and they LOVE it!

VermisTerra Earthworm Tea – Liquid Gold

Although I had a worm bin at one time, I found it time consuming and difficult to produce the amount of worm castings I needed for my garden, let along produce worm tea.

 VermisTerra does all the heavy lifting with their ready made earthworm tea.  Their worm tea is microbial-rich concentrate, shelf-stable, comes in a quart or a gallon size, and is a snap to use on my garden.  Along with VermisTerra’s worm castings, I have been using their worm tea in my garden for several month – the results are impressive!  I like to call it “liquid gold”.

My lettuce gardening is thriving with a weekly dose of worm tea.

 

Lettuce garden – My lettuce garden receives a weekly dose of VermisTerra worm tea,  and produced loads of lettuce through a fall heat wave, and is still going strong today, well into the winter.  We eat out of it every single day!  And because the worm tea makes the plant tissues stronger, the greens last me 7-10 days in the fridge after harvesting!

 

 

 

 

Strawberry Crate Tower watered with worm tea thrives in frost

Strawberry Crate Towers – Many of you have seen my strawberry crate towers in my videos. To test  the effectiveness of VermisTerra worm tea, for several months, I watered one tower with VermisTerra worm tea once a week, and the other towers with the same liquid fertilizer I have always used once a week.  The strawberry plants watered with worm tea held up to frosts with minimal damage to the leaves, have larger leaves, and are starting to flower.  The plants that did not receive their “cuppa” VermisTerra worm tea had significant more leaf damage after a frost, leaves are smaller, and have no flowers.  Worm tea at work!

What  is Worm Tea?

VermisTerra worm tea provides a nutrient boost to your plants!

Worm tea is an organic liquid fertilizer derived from worm castings, and is a powerful soil nutrient that contains all the benefits of worm castings.  It gives your plants a boost and works quickly to provide your garden powerful nutrients.

VermisTerra worm tea contains microbes and beneficial bacterial that are dormant in the concentrate, but are activated upon adding it to water.  These microbes and beneficial bacterial go to work immediately upon being applied to your soil to help your plant be healthy and produce lots of fruits and veggies for you to share with your loved ones.

Why is Worm Tea Beneficial for Our Gardens?

 1. Rich in Beneficial Bacteria and Microbes – Like VermisTerra worm castings, their worm tea contains powerful beneficial bacteria and microbes – microscopic organisms that help create a healthy, living soil.

2.  Improves Soil structure – Microbes in the worm tea have the ability to create pore spaces in the soil. Not only will this help your soil retain water for longer periods of time, but also means more oxygen and water can penetrate the soil and be taken up by your plants.  When your plants are consistently watered with worm tea, they will be able to root easier, and take up the nutrients they need to be healthier and productive.

Probiotic-rich kombucha tea feeds good bacteria to our bodies, worm tea feeds good bacteria to our soil.

3.  Supress Pests and Diseases – As soon as you apply the microbe-rich worm tea to your plants, the army of microbes that are so helpful to plant growth get right to work and start to multiply.   These “good guys” live around the roots and surfaces of your plants, keeping them healthy.  Your garden will be equipped to fight off disease, and pests aren’t as attracted to them.   Many farmers who have tested VermisTerra worm tea report reversal of disease and increase in fruit production in their crops!

I like to compare this to feeding my body food rich in probiotics and beneficial bacteria – such as kefir, and my favorite, kombucha.  These foods feed my body good bacteria, helping everything to function as it should.  This gives me the ability to fight off a cold or flu much easier than if my immune system was compromised.

 

What Makes VermisTerra Worm Tea Special?

VermisTerra Worm Tea – “Liquid Gold”.

1. Extended shelf life – VermisTerra worm tea, in it’s concentrated bottled form, is shelf stable for more than a year.  Contrast this to compost tea that loses it’s effectiveness if it does not get enough oxygen, and can then possibly contain harmful bacteria such as e-coli and salmonella.

2. Certified organic and lab tested – VermisTerra is certified organic by the USDA, and the California CDFA. Each batch of worm tea is lab tested (something very unusual in the industry) and free of pathogens.  In fact, UC Berkley tests found over 2000 types of good bacteria in a sample of tea. VermisTerra takes great care to make sure that their worm tea is of the highest quality!

How to use Worm Tea in your Garden

VermisTerra worm tea is especially effective when used alongside their worm castings and can also be used in along with organic fertilizer and compost.  It’s easy to incorporate watering with worm tea into your regular garden routine.  The key is: a little goes a very long way and use it regularly.  Just like our bodies need a regular supply of good nutrition to be healthy, so does our garden!

The general rule of thumb is to use 3-6 ounces of worm tea for every gallon of water, and use the same day you make it.  Take care not to splash water into the bottle, as the microbes are dormant in the bottle (helping it to be shelf stable), and water will activate them.

Add worm tea to your watering can or directly to your drip irrigation system, or even to a hose end sprayer as a foliar spray.  Just like worm castings, it won’t burn your plants, and you can’t use to much.  Use a little, use a lot, use what your plants need and what you can afford.

Worm tea is gentle enough to use on seedlings

Seedlings

VermisTerra worm tea is the perfect liquid fertilizer to use on your young seedlings. It is gentle and won’t burn them. The young plants will take up just the nutrients they need to help them to thrive until it’s time to transplant them in your garden.

How-to: Mix one capful into a quart of water,pply once a week, more often more often if desired.

Container Plants

Container plants need consistent moisture and nutrients to thrive. Worm tea provides them the nutrients they need and help the soil retain moisture.

How-to:  3-6 ounces of worm tea per gallon of water.  Apply once a week, more often if desired.

 

Garden Beds

Using worm tea in your garden beds will increase the survival rate of your transplants, and makes your soil healthier.

How-to: 3-6 ounces of water per gallon in your watering can, or apply to directly through your drip irrigation system.  Apply every two weeks, more often if desired.

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Video on How to Use VermisTerra Earthworm Tea

Vermisterra Earthworm Tea is one of the most powerful products on the JL Organics line. The nutrient tea is a microbial solution which contains dormant beneficial bacteria and fungi suspended. Once you add water and water using a watering can or irrigation line, the living microbes get to work in your soil. Vermisterra can condition soil, improve soil structure, help with aeration, and work with your living soil to protect your plant’s root system and aid in nutrient absorption.

Many customers report increased fruit, oil, flowers, as well as less soil disease and pest pressure. As the soil health improves, so does the plant health and ability to fight off disease.

Vermisterra Earthworm Tea is great for organic farms and gardening because we go the extra step to lab test each batch of tea. Vermisterra tests for heavy metals and pathogens to make sure the soil amendment is safe for consumption, and safe to use in your home where children and pets are present.

CaliKim’s DIY Home and Garden blog includes a great article on how to use Vermisterra tea, and includes beautiful photos of her garden. Watch this video by CaliKim and Mindy to learn more about how to mix, store, and use Vermisterra Earthworm tea.

 

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Video Interview: The Power of Earthworm Castings and How to Use Them!

Last weekend, Mindy joined Youtube gardening blogger CaliKim29 to discuss the power of earthworm castings and show viewers hands on how to use them! Watch the video below to see Kim and Mindy plant tomato seeds, transplant seedlings, and dig a hole to find worm friends!

 

Mindy shares about how the company first started from farming row crops and found their way from using synthetic fertilizers to using organic methods. JL Organics LLC helps farmers switch to organic. Learn why we are so passionate about bringing the purest castings available for agriculture and home garden use!

We feed our worms green waste only, and lab test each batch to ensure that our worm castings are free from heavy metals. Vermisterra worm castings are certified organic by the USDA and are approved organic input material (OIM) by the California CDFA.

Earth worm castings are great for seed starting and protecting roots when transplanting seedlings. Earth worm castings provide elements, micronutrients, trace minerals, growth hormones, and beneficial microbes to your plants. Castings also help with soil structure and water retention. A little goes a long way!

 

 

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Benefits of Organic Gardening

Growing organically has many benefits in a wide range of areas. It is ecologically friendly and less harmful to the environment than conventional farming methods. Crops grown organically produce comparable yields to those grown synthetically but are higher quality. Organic farming also brings economic benefits, bringing in more money per crop. Among the benefits of going green is the knowledge that you are choosing a sustainable method of farming and living.

Organic farming is ecologically friendly in many ways. It promotes biodiversity both above and below ground. This diversity helps in biological control of pests and increases pollination by insects. An added benefit of this is the lack of pesticides necessary for green farming. Without the introduction of pesticides, organic farmers don’t need to worry about possible contaminations. Along with this, they greatly reduce adverse environmental effects brought about by excess runoff of chemicals into the ground and rivers. Organic farmers see higher soil organic matter and nitrogen in their soil and conservation of soil moisture and water resources, which is especially advantageous for the environment during a drought.

Customers are demanding organic fruit and vegetables now that consumers are more aware of the possible pesticides and toxins on their food. Many consumers say organic food tastes better.  Organic fruits and vegetables do not contain as many toxic additives and boast 19 to 69 percent more antioxidants than conventional fruits and vegetables. Organic fruits, vegetables, and grains have several measureable nutritional benefits over conventional crops. Without pesticides to guard against harm, an organically farmed plant will produce more of its own compounds, called antioxidants, to fight damage. And when consumed by humans, these antioxidants also protect our bodies from harm.

The benefits of organic farming touch on all aspects of living.  Among the benefits are more nutrients per serving which benefits those eating organic, and sustainable farming  preserves Earth and her natural balance, making it possible to eat and live healthy for generations to come.

Organic grapes ripening on a vine
Organic grapes ripening on a vine

 

 

 

sources:

https://www.organicconsumers.org/news/demand-organic-food-growing-faster-domestic-supply

http://theplate.nationalgeographic.com/2014/07/14/organic-foods-are-tastier-and-healthier-study-finds/

http://www.ncagr.gov/cyber/kidswrld/plant/nutrient.htm

http://bioscience.oxfordjournals.org/content/55/7/573.full

http://www.systems-comparison.fibl.org/fileadmin/documents/shop/1546-organic-world-2011.pdf#page=26

 

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Farmer’s Appreciation Day and Visiting Derby Orchard

Uncle Steve and Mindy went on a road trip to Yuba City, a big agricultural area near Sacramento. We had a great time sharing the benefits of earthworm castings and worm casting tea. We met with almond, peach, prune, and walnut farmers at the Farmer’s Appreciation Lunch. Attorneys, council members, and farmers checked out tractors, solar panels and organic soil!  We ate some amazing Indian food and American BBQ!

 

Then we ended the day with a tour of Derby Orchard to see their prune and walnut trees. We chatted about worm castings, chemical vs organic fertilizers, correcting soil problems, the joys of farming after decades working in the corporate world. Uncle Steve checked their soil and trees, and was able to explain some of the causes of a couple challenges. Then we did a taste test while blind folded to prove that different brands and types of walnuts taste completely different. We really love the ladies at Derby Orchard and their dedication to fresh walnuts. Check out their Facebook page HERE. On our tour of the walnut orchards, we met the Derby girl’s two rescue pups, saw the neat harvesting machinery, and even got to hang out with their miniature ponies!

 

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Vermicompost Wards Off Crop Pests

Worm castings are an effective way to repel white flies, aphids and spider mites and any pest that feeds on plant juices. According to recent studies, applying earthworm castings to the soil around your plants increases the production of a certain enzyme chitinase. This enzyme is a degrader of chitin, the substance that comprises the exo-skeletons of most insects. When used properly, worm casting acts as a natural insect repellant. If a bug feeds on the leaves of a plant which has absorbed the chitinase, its exoskeleton will soon begin to dissolve, and death will come quickly.

North Carolina State University researchers have dug deeper into the mechanisms behind insect resistance of plants grown in soil amended with vermicompost, and the preliminary results suggest this may provide an ecological friendly means of managing pests in vegetable crops.

Yasmin Cardoza, an entomologist and soil arthropod ecologist, along with graduate student Amos Little, found that different insect species responded differently to host plant resistance of brassica crops. They also determined that it takes as little as a 20 percent concentration of vermicompost mix in the soil to boost the resistance of host plants against caterpillar and aphid pests.

Be sure to select a quality worm casting that’s pure and not cut with compost or other raw materials. Vermisterra pure organic earthworm castings are fine, aged and readily absorbable by plants.

 

Resources:

https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.950.1099&rep=rep1&type=pdf

https://georgia.growingamerica.com/news/2012/04/ncsu-research-explains-how-vermicompost-amended-soils-ward-crop-pests/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19423335/

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317490950_Effect_of_vermicompost_and_chitin_on_the_control_of_Meloidogyne_incognita_in_greenhouse_tomato