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Too many earthworm mounds

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  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Agree about the soil test.   The RHS has this advice and info - https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=239

    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    If your soil really had a pH of 4, I don't think you would have many worms.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • Stiff bristle broom works wonders if you're  really bothered by the worm casts.  Otherwise  leave well alone, earthworms  are our friends and allies in the garden.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    pH4 is a very acid soil (as others have already pointed out).  It's an exponential scale, so pH4 is 10 times more acidic than pH5, etc. Apparently grass prefers pH 5.5 to 7 depending on variety  https://www.lawnsmith.co.uk/topic/soil-lawn-top-dressing/soil-lawn-ph .
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • I took 3 readings from the bottom the garden to the top and I've just been out to photograph the casts. 
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    That's still quite acid, if the meter is accurate. It looks like your worms are doing a great job aerating your lawn, which will help with drainage.  I would leave them to it and do nothing while the grass is wet. The worm activity should slow down when the weather turns cold, and the casts will most likely be washed in by winter rain.  Just keep off the lawn when it's wet so you don't squash and compact the muddy casts, and sweep/spread out the casts if you get a dry spell and they turn crumbly (free lawn top-dressing!).
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • So the more acid the less hospitable to grass growth? I have treated for those chafer grubs but still see a few areas of pale grass and patches of mud. I wonder if its too acidic and hindering growth?

    I won't be killing any worms just to clarify for the folks here upset by the thought. I'll use a stiff brush and keep the kids off the lawn.. 
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    Your grass looks fine in the pictures (much better than mine, which is still recovering from the summer drought). Growth is slowing down naturally now that we're well into autumn.  If your grass usually grows well during spring and summer (except in droughts!) then there's nothing to worry about.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
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