If I turn it over, will they go away?

[Broke Down Ranch]

I have a place picked out that I want to plant some very special irises. Problem is there are LOADS of earthworms. So altho that is a GOOD thing, I'm afraid to just till it all up. BUT I have a pretty heavy soil so I need to till just to break it all up and work in some mulch and compost. So if I turn this area over to the depth of a shovel blade then wait a few hours will the little slimey's move on down?

 

[Sam The Yam]

I have a place picked out that I want to plant some very special irises. Problem is there are LOADS of earthworms. So altho that is a GOOD thing, I'm afraid to just till it all up. BUT I have a pretty heavy soil so I need to till just to break it all up and work in some mulch and compost. So if I turn this area over to the depth of a shovel blade then wait a few hours will the little slimey's move on down?

If there are LOADS of them, I would try to shovel some of the dirt that they are in out and set it aside, then till as you need to, then put the dirt back in. You might lose some but they multiply and you will soon have them back. You certainly need them to help keep the soil broken up.

 

[Rosalind]

If you really want to move em, here is what you do:

Get several layers of newspaper, and lay it on top of the dirt. Soak it real real good with the hose. Then wait, hmm, maybe till afternoon or so. A few hours. The worms will mostly crawl up to the surface under the newspaper, where you can scoop them up and put them elsewhere temporarily. Then you can put them back when you're done.

 

[HiDelight]

I am pretty sure once the dirt settles they will stay... the soil you turned is easier for them to move around it
if you were a worm would you not take the path of least resistance?

 

[Broke Down Ranch]

Thanks for the responses guys. I think I will try the newspaper idea. They are already pretty close to the surface. There was a fire ant bed in part of what will be my new flower bed so I used my usual soapy water and you should have SEEN all the worms that came shooting to the top! Hopefully I didn't hurt them but they all scrambled around for a few then went back down. I got pics

So I think I will try this and will let ya'll know how it goes....

 

[patandchickens]

If you could possibly dig it over with a shovel and/or garden fork, that is kinder on the worm population than a tiller. If you HAVE to till, the ideal situation would be to take off the top layer with a shovel, pile it on a tarp, till amendments into the lower layer, then replace the top stuff (ideally not tilling it).

Remember though, worms reproduce so if the soil is good and there are lots around, temporarily whacking a bunch in a small plot is really not the end of the world

Good luck, have fun,

Pat