Have you ever wondered about where the Professional Gardeners and Landscapers go to get the compost they use when they do a job. Perhaps you assume that they get a "wholesale" rate at the local garden centre, and perhaps some do. The gardeners who are in the know, use something called nicknamed  "Black Gold" which increases the chances all round, of plants taking and growing healthy.

This is a special sort of Wormery compost that is actually earthworm excrement. Before you go ugh! Or pull a face, this extra-special compost does not smell and feels like the finest soil, when you rub it between your fingers. Called Castings or vermicompost, it has been scientifically proven to not only improve aeration, structure, drainage and porosity but also greatly increase the moisture holding capacity of the soil. This negates the use of that expensive water retaining gel. Then again Professional Gardeners have known this for years, that is why they seem to get almost miraculous results compared to the ordinary Joe that gets his compost from the local garden centre.

This Wormery  "Black Gold" increases the height, stem, diameter of a plant. It enhances root growth, increases dry weight and produces more flowers per plant than normal compost. You can use it on vegetables with similar results. If you are using a concentrated method of growing your own organic veg in a small space (raised bed, high density planting) Wormery  vermicompost will make all the difference. Some small-holders has reported 30% more yields. If you use it with tomatoes you can make your own grow bags, as this "Black Gold" essentially eliminates the need for additional fertilizer.

You are probably wondering where can you get this stuff? If your are thinking of using a lot of it, you will need to source a commercial worm farm. If you are going to use it for your own garden or to grow on cuttings and plants to sell on, you can easily get more than enough by running your own domestic Wormery. There are quite a few commercially made models out there but they can be a bit expensive. The best and cheapest way to go is to build your own. Do not worry, they do not smell and they are easy to maintain. The internet is great for advice but if you want to cut down on your learning time there is a great Diy Wormery Manual available on-line. Just put the phrase in your favourite search engine. It will teach you how to feed, breed and care for worms, as well provide plans to build a range of wormeries.

To use the Wormery compost you can top dress the soil with a mulch spring, summer and early fall. You will not need much, about half a cup every foot of row. If you are starting a new lawn you will only need 15 lbs for every 80 sq ft when sowing. When the lawn is established use half that quantity as a top dressing. That is about 7 lbs per 80 sq ft, and water in. For containers and hanging baskets put an inch on the surface and again water in.

 Another by-product of having your own Wormery, is a liquid feed it produces. Watered down, this is an excellent plant feed for house plants and those in containers. This is the rich brown liquid you see gardeners with commercial contracts use, when watering the plants in office blocks. This enables them to get away with fortnightly visits, knowing that the plants are healthy and well fed.