Worm Science Project: Worm Tea update 1/11/13

[Marin Rodriguez]

In a continuing effort to add hard science to the field of worm tea, some of my students are conducting an experiment to see which concentration of worm tea will work best for growing bean seeds. In our previous post, we chronicled the set up and beginnings of the experiment. At the end of the school day, we watered the beans with exactly 1 cup of worms tea of varying concentrations and one bean got the control-plain rain water.

 The worm tea then went home with one of my students and was refrigerated overnight. This morning we let the tea sit at room temperature for a few hours in an attempt to "wake up" the bacteria in case they fell asleep in the fridge overnight. We then watered the beans a second time, using exactly one cup of tea.

You will notice that the potting soil did not do a very good job of actually holding the tea and water. It passed through the soil and accumulated in the trays holding the pots. It was like this overnight and into today (Fri 1/11). Maybe watering daily is a bit much? One of the more interesting things we hope to find out about is how the worm tea does after being refrigerated. Most are familiar with the fact that the tea is only good for a few days at the most before the aerobic guys die off and the anaerobics take over. But can the aerobics be put to sleep via refrigeration and reawakened like yeast thus extending the life of the bacteria?  Can we "wake them up" by adding bubbles to the tea for a few hours as the water warms to room temperature? We will see...stay tuned. 

[Nomar Cuaresma]

Yeah one cup or tea or water is a lot for a plant that doesn't even have roots yet and it's not even in a large container haha. This is a great experiment! Goodluck with your results!

[Joseph Despins]

For my indoors plants I water once a week. If it is warm indoors I may give them a little sip halfway through the week. I think Nomar is on target with watering frequency. It is commendable you are getting your students interested in worm tea and soil biology.

[Hinzy]

A different way, which would get faster results, is to grow them like [bean] sprout. Place in a container, let them soak for 12 hrs & drain. Then soak [5 mins] & drain 2 times a day [start of school & end of school]. I get mine to sprout in 2 days using plain tap water. Would be cool to know if worm tea makes a difference.

[Marin Rodriguez]

Thanks for all of the insights guys. Really appreciate your thoughts. 

Nomar/Joseph...I have to agree that 1 cup daily is probably way too much, but like you said, the kids have to learn and discover for themselves. We can modify the procedures next time to see how the results vary from this year.

Hinzy...it would be fun to replicate your procedure using worm tea in comparison to tap water. I'll have to note that for next year's Science Fair. When all is said and done, I will upload my students findings in pdf form. Hope to have an update with pics soon. So far, no sprouting.

[Metqa]

Uh, didn't someone do something like putting a fish tank bubbler into a bucket of worm tea to keep it oxygenated and keep the bacteria alive and keep the anaerobic bacteria from taking over? I seem to recall Molasses was involved....