Subject: Re: Not very many earth worms in the soil...
From: wtmorgan@pilot.msu.edu (Bill Morgan)
Organization: Michigan State University
Date: Mon, 13 Oct 1997 22:45:13 -0400
Message-ID: <MOD$971013.26179@rec.gardens.ecosystems>
References: <MOD$971011.21440@rec.gardens.ecosystems>


In article <MOD$971011.21440@rec.gardens.ecosystems>, "dhs" wrote:

> I had several beds for roses and other plants dug up and filled with a
> mixture of compost and the original soil. A lot of earth worms were killed
> in the process, and the compost does not have any (I bought it from a
> compost dealer, it was warm when it arrived). As a result of this, there
> are very few earth worms in the beds, I see almost none. What should I do
> about this? Buy some and put them in? The soil has a tendency to get too
> compact already...
>

If you build it, they will come...

Once you start adding good arganic matter to the soil and creating the
conditions the Earthworms like, they will show up. First, any wandering in
from adjacent areas will stay because they like the nice loose, food-rich
soil. Second, they will raise their families there, giving you many more
worms. It may take a couple of reproductive cylces for them to come up to a
high population.

Depending on what the "compost" is, you may/may not have created a problem
for the worms. If it was warm, that could mean that it was sitting out in
the sun all day, or that it was still working. In the latter instance, it
could be still too hot for the worms. In that case, they will wait until it
cools down. If it is high in nitrogen, (common in warm compost), they may
need to wait until that is used up a bit more. (BTW, high-nitrogen
materials whether organic or synthetic can also 'burn' your plants.)

As long as there is nothing highly toxic to them included in the compost,
they won't be long in colonizing the new mixture. Start adding your own
kitchen and yard compostings, and you'll soon have plenty of worms.

The heavy clay of my garden plot always had a few worms: the portion of it
I have improved by adding organic matter boasts a great number of them.

Regards,
Bill

--
Bill Morgan
wtmorgan@pilot.msu.edu
Center for Room Temperature Confusion