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Lettuces and watering can in home garden

Worm juice and soil fungi: why compost alone isn’t enough for juicy lettuce

03 Aug 26/in Farming and Horticulture, Gardening, Magazine Articles

If your lettuce beds already get compost and still look a bit thin by midsummer, new research suggests the missing partners may be sitting in your worm farm and in the fine white threads of soil fungi. A trial published in the New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science found that worm-farm liquid (vermiwash) plus arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, used together with compost, grew better head lettuce than compost alone.

The rest of this Research News article is for Soil & Health members. Join us for full access.

Tags: AMF, biochar, compost, gardening, lettuce, mycorrhizae, mycorrhizal fungi, organic gardening, research-news, soil, soil microbes, vermiwash, worm farming, worm juice, worm tea
https://organicnz.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Rosrath_Germany_Gardening-with-planting-box-01.jpg 640 960 david.mcneill https://organicnz.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/OrganicNZ-2024-Masthead.png david.mcneill2026-08-03 15:00:232026-09-14 09:05:52Worm juice and soil fungi: why compost alone isn’t enough for juicy lettuce
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3 replies

Trackbacks & Pingbacks

  1. The soil improver: transforming forestry slash with biochar – Organic NZ says:
    03 Aug 26 at 3:03 pm

    […] an ideal amendment for increasing aeration and water retention of soils. See also Research News on living soil partners for lettuce, including how biochar and compost can influence mycorrhizal […]

  2. Life Underground – A Guide To Aotearoa’s Soil Food Web – Organic NZ says:
    03 Aug 26 at 3:03 pm

    […] Research News follow-up on pairing mycorrhizae with worm juice and compost for organic lettuce, see Worm juice and soil fungi. Nearly 80-90 percent of all land plants depend on these mycorrhizae and could not thrive without […]

  3. Loving soil, but also learning soil – Organic NZ says:
    03 Aug 26 at 3:02 pm

    […] lot more to growing, and to soil, than most of us really, truly understand. Related Research News: why compost alone isn’t enough for juicy lettuce (worm juice + mycorrhizae). My curiosity burns and I want to know which levers to pull to achieve […]

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