Trial 2: Raised beds with various planting mixtures

Part 1: Comparison growing (5/27-6/30)

     This experiment was conducted in Fairfield, CT by one of our food-waste suppliers, Catch a Healthy Habit. Four raised beds were constructed on a downtown rooftop on May 27th, 2016 and placed so that they received equal lighting, airflow, and rainfall. Two of the beds were filled completely with garden soil, the third was filled with 90% garden soil and 10% cow manure compost, and the fourth was filled with 90% garden soil and 10% Wiggle Room Worm Castings.
     All four beds were planted with the same seeds in the same locations at the same time. The purpose of the experiment was to determine the effect of Wiggle Room Worm Castings compared to conventional planting mixtures. The pictures below were taken on June 30th, 2016 and show the results 34 days after planting.

From left the right: the first bed is 100% garden soil, the second bed is 90% garden soil and 10% composted cow manure, the third bed (the control) is 100% garden soil, and the fourth bed is 90% garden soil and 10% Wiggle Room Worm Castings.

​     As seen by the results, the first three beds experienced low growth and reduced germination when compared to the Worm Castings bed. Both beds that contained 100% garden soil had the lowest amount of growth through the trial. The bed with 90% garden soil and 10% cow manure compost had slightly more growth than the 100% garden soil beds. The bed with 90% garden soil and 10% Wiggle Room Worm Castings had significantly higher germination rates and growth rates when compared to the other three beds.
     These results indicate that, when used in a 1:10 ratio, Wiggle Room Worm Castings provide a significant benefit to germination and growth rate. This statement held true for various vegetable types. More trials will be conducted to replicate these results and compare the Worm Castings to more products on the market.

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Part 2: Transplanting with worm castings (7/6-present)

     After the first part of the trial was completed, we wanted to see if we could even out the beds by transplanting from the Worm Castings bed into the other three. The transplanting took place on July 6th, 2016 in extremely high temperatures (93 F) and all plants were transplanted along with a small topdressing of Wiggle Room Worm Castings. The beds were photographed on July 7th, 2016 and are shown below in the same positions as the previous trial.

These are the same beds from the original trial after plants were transplanted from the worm castings bed into the other three.

​     Through the use of a small Worm Casting top dressing, we were able to achieve a 100% transplanting rate with all plants staying healthy and continuing to prosper in their new environments. The vegetable plants are still growing and updates will be provided at later times.