To Worms and Beyond

[Jane23]

My husband and I got into a debate this morning.

He is digging 1000+ miles of trench right now, just up the road from us, and has yet to see a worm.

Well, last year, I went to collect some cow cookies after the rain, and worms were popping out of them.

He says it is too cold out here normally for them to survive. I saw they are around but probably go deep during the cold season.

I know I don't and don't think my garden beds currently have any worms, as I have never seen them. Do you think they are down there?

From what I have been reading, I am already doing everything possible to encourage them to play in my garden.

Should I buy some worms in the spring to add and see if they survive the experience?

 

[flowerbug]

if you already find red wrigglers in the cow patties then those are around, they lay cocoons and those will hatch out when conditions return to more favorable again in the warmer weather.

if your area does not have any other earthworm species i would not reintroduce them. the woodlands may be adapted to life without them so reintroduction is not a good thing. also if your area is more mineral soils and not much cover they may not survive anyways.

 

[Jane23]

if you already find red wrigglers in the cow patties then those are around, they lay cocoons and those will hatch out when conditions return to more favorable again in the warmer weather.

if your area does not have any other earthworm species i would not reintroduce them. the woodlands may be adapted to life without them so reintroduction is not a good thing. also if your area is more mineral soils and not much cover they may not survive anyways.

That is sound advice. Come spring, I will go find more cow cookies and hope for the best after a rain storm. I know they are there, it is just finding them.

 

[flowerbug]

That is sound advice. Come spring, I will go find more cow cookies and hope for the best after a rain storm. I know they are there, it is just finding them.

i keep worms in buckets, here in my room, it's been a fun hobby for over 12 years now.

 

[Jane23]

i keep worms in buckets, here in my room, it's been a fun hobby for over 12 years now.

It’s finding them out here that’s the challenge. Most if the soil is clay, so they just never come up.

 

[Alasgun]

Don’t underestimate the worms and don’t be too hung up on where tou may or may not find them. We have LOTS of worms (all native) and over the years i’ve found the very biggest ones in the most unlikely places, places i’d think were totally unfriendly to them, like this lawn python that was uncovered while digging in the left overs from a pile of D-1 driveway gravel. Ive found them under big rocks in brown clay and several ft deep in rocky clay soil when chopping in a post hole. I’ve mentioned previously; you can encourage them by enhancing they’re environment, give them a nice place to live. Planting clover thru out the yard and garden area is easy, dont spray anything on the ground either.
Robins are a good indicator of your worm population. If none are working the yard in the spring, you either don’t have any or very many.

 

[Jane23]

Don’t underestimate the worms and don’t be too hung up on where tou may or may not find them. We have LOTS of worms (all native) and over the years i’ve found the very biggest ones in the most unlikely places, places i’d think were totally unfriendly to them, like this lawn python that was uncovered while digging in the left overs from a pile of D-1 driveway gravel. Ive found them under big rocks in brown clay and several ft deep in rocky clay soil when chopping in a post hole. I’ve mentioned previously; you can encourage them by enhancing they’re environment, give them a nice place to live. Planting clover thru out the yard and garden area is easy, dont spray anything on the ground either.
Robins are a good indicator of your worm population. If none are working the yard in the spring, you either don’t have any or very many.

Mostly, I just find centipedes. The worms in the cow pies were a surprise. Are centipedes good for gardens?

 

[flowerbug]

centepedes are carnivores (they eat other bugs).

 

[Jane23]

centepedes are carnivores (they eat other bugs).

That’s what I read. I can usually keep them out of the garden. There are just a lot of them. It hasn’t stopped the last bugs, hornets, and bees from visiting. Or the evil Grasshoppers.