Peter Nixon transformed his garden in only 18 months using Worm Wee, a liquid vermicast biostimulant created by Lee Fieldhouse. Lee operated a small worm farm and created Worm Wee to extract the benefits of worm castings into a liquid. He encouraged Peter to use Worm Wee in root dips and foliar sprays to reduce transplant shock and make nutrients available to plants. Worm Wee contains beneficial microbes like bacteria, protozoa and fungi that improve soil quality and nutrient availability, resulting in excellent growth of Peter's new plants.

1. 18 WINTER2016
were made more effective by active biology.
Eighteen months on, I moved operations
to a 600m2 greenhouse and shifted my focus
from selling worms to creating soil improvement
products. I changed the worm bed set up to
be easier to use by having two flow-through
cast harvest beds; these are fed on top and
the finished cast is simply sliced off through the
mesh floor, meaning no handling of worms ever
again! Also important was sourcing good quality,
readily available food for my worms. My aim
was to thermophilically pre-compost (at heat)
all of the materials to eliminate weed seeds and
harmful pathogens. The compost is now made to
the same recipe every week to ensure that our
finished product is homogenous.
The next stage of the project was to find the
Editor’s note: The dramatic transformation at
Peter Nixon’s Sea-Changer garden in only 18
months (see Planty Fierce on page 13) is due
largely to the excellent growth and health of the
new plants. He attributes this to his application of
Worm Wee as explained below.
I
was operating a small worm farm from my
backyard when I first met Peter Nixon, who
was then living in inner-Sydney. We shared
a keen interest in plants but from very
different perspectives: Peter was all about design
and aesthetics, whereas my interest was in
biological soil improvement in relation to growing
healthy plants. Peter's knowledge about soils
related to minerals as nutrients, but smart guy
that he is, he very quickly grasped that minerals
above
Islands in the Stream
greenhouse with worm
harvest beds.
WINTER2016
BIOSTIMULANTS FOR
HEALTHY PLANTS
STORY AND PICS: LEE FIELDHOUSE..
Lee owns and runs Islands in the Stream Vermiculture, a supplier and manufacturer of liquid..
biostimulants to improve soils and promote healthy biological plant growth...

2. 19WINTER2016
best way to extract all the goodness of the worm
cast into a liquid form. Assistance came from
the Soil Food Web in Lismore and with a bit of
experimentation, some good advice and a few
refinements "Worm Wee" was on the market.
It is not actually worm wee or a leachate, it is a
liquid vermicast biostimulant, but try explaining
that..."Worm Wee" has stuck.
At about this time Peter moved to the fresh
air and sunshine of the Central Coast, NSW.
He called on me to supply product for one of his
upcoming jobs at McMasters Beach, while also
enquiring about me assisting on his own Sea-
Changer garden. His garden was a complete
restart, beginning with nothing but scorched
earth and a vision of how Peter wanted it to be,
and that included lots of plants!
To embody his vision, I
encouraged Peter to employ
Worm Wee in a couple of
different ways:
1. Use a 10:1 dipping solution for roots to reduce
transplant shock. In effect, this equals inoculating
the plants against the world. It gives them a
‘packed lunch’ and also a doona to keep them
warm. The enzyme activity and naturally occurring
acids contained in the Worm Wee stimulate the
plant to grow while the mineral elements, although
not in great quantities, are available to the plant
as required. The biology now attached to the roots
provides the plant with a method of accessing the
minerals contained in the soil.
2. Use a 20:1 foliar spray which makes nutrients
rapidly available to plants through their leaves
top to bottom
Peter Nixon's Sea-Changer
garden before new
planting; less than 18
months on showing strong
and luxuriant growth with
Ensete ventricosum and
a Dwarf Form “pointing"
into early flower, Cassia
didymobotrya (Popcorn
Senna) with forward
companions Sanchezia
speciosa, violet Barleria
cristata flowers, Schaueria
flavicoma and Ipomea
batatus.
CONTACT DETAILS:
Hill & Blume
Tel: 02 9332 4888
Hill and Blume have been providing surveying services to
Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong and the Blue Mountains for
over 60 years.
A land surveyor or a land surveying company measures
and maps land. Why get a survey? For any of the following
reasons:
• To see exactly what you are buying or selling on a property.
• To know the exact property line measurements and the
precise locations of all structures, fences, or driveways
related to those property lines.
• To be able to put up a fence on your property in the correct
location.
• To make sure the building you're constructing is on the
lot, within the setback lines, and not encroaching on any
easement lines.
Call Hill and Blume to discuss your needs for a professional
surveying report. Visit their website to see the range of
services they offer, and the blog that has further information.
Website:
www.hillandblume.com.au

3. 20 WINTER2016
below left to right
Bean plants from a soil
inoculation test. The
beans on the right had
Biocast+ incorporated
into their soil while the
left ones went without.
Note the height difference;
Bean plants from a soil
inoculation test. The beans
on the right had Biocast+
incorporated into their soil
while the left ones went
without. Note the root
mass difference.
is a very good indicator of things starting to be
in balance biologically. All that is left to do now
is two or three foliar sprays of Worm Wee or
Biocast/+ per year and to lounge around smelling
the roses, or in Peter’s case something far more
unique.
Biocast/+ is a new two-part liquid vermicast
biostimulant that has only been recently
released. Part A is a liquid vermicast and part
B a biological catalyst. The addition of part B
to part A sets the biology of part A into a state
of proliferation. The tests for this product have
yielded even better results than from Worm Wee.
Apart from in Peter's gardens, I have had
excellent results in hydroponic cut flowers and
vegies; viticulture; avocado growing; bamboo;
industrial hemp; bowling greens; pasture;
established gardens; garlic and orchards. Worm
Wee and Biocast/+ have so far proved beneficial
to all plants.
and creates biological competition on the leaf
surface keeping diseases at bay.
All this is made possible by the biology
suspended in the liquid Worm Wee. This ‘biology’
includes:
• Bacteria: the basis of the soil food web. They
enable the decomposition of organic matter while
retaining nutrients and minerals in their bodies
which stops these leaching away. These nutrients
become available again when the bacteria dies or
is ingested and excreted by other biology (such as
protozoa, nematodes and earth worms).
• Protozoa: critical to nutrient cycling. They
ingest bacteria and fungi, releasing retained
minerals and nutrients. 80% of plant-available
nitrogen comes from the excretion by protozoa of
consumed bacteria and fungi.
• Fungi: these attach to roots enabling them to
obtain minerals and nutrients for the plant from
beyond the reach of the roots and creates a
mycorrhizal symbiosis.
Along with the biology, Worm Wee also
contains a broad range of enzymes, with
unpronounceable names, and natural acids
which also stimulate plant growth. These
concepts cannot be explained simply, so for
more detail and clarity I recommend Teaming
with Microbes by Lowenfels and Lewis, Timber
Press Inc, 2010.
Peter put ‘operation Worm Wee’ into action
on both his projects, and now has an ecosystem
in the soil that is looking after itself. Despite both
copping a 300mm downpour and some not so
nice weather in their first couple of months of
establishment, neither Peter's own garden nor
his job at McMasters Beach will need more than
minimal attention as long as the organic matter is
kept up to them.
He has told me that the native earthworm
activity has gone from nil to very prolific. This
Client designs and my own
garden 'Sea-Changer’ have
surged this past summer now that
nutrient is freely available to new
root systems in the presence of
Worm Wee’s live microbes. It’s the
single best top soil improver
I’ve ever used. Peter Nixon
further information
W. islandsinthestream.com.au or
contact Lee at lee@islandsinthestream.
com.au or phone 0429 197596.