Worm shortage

Posts

• nutcutlet Posts: 27,445

  September 2016

  if you add organic matter, muck, compost, the worms will turn up on their own.You'll get a better lawn as well

  
  
  In the sticks near Peterborough

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• Clarington Posts: 4,949

  September 2016

  Don't add worms if there is nothing to tempt them there in the first place. There will be good reasons as to why your worm count was so low. 

  1. Water logged. Worms need to breath. If you have a heavy compacted clay that is saturated they will have retreated to safer ground. Adding more worms at this point just creates a worm graveyard and a hole in your wallet.

  2. Its too hot. Worms of course don't like to bake. If you dug over on a hot day they will have retreated deeper for some where cooler.

  3. Too dry. Although they don't like wet feet they don't like it too dry either.

  4. There is nothing there to tempt the worms. Like us we don't hang around an empty shop or closed restaurant. Dig in some well rotted compost, some mature rotted horse manure, (to both the lawn area and planting area). Make it a place the worms will WANT to come. And they WILL come. Eventually. Little worms travel at 27 feet per hour and bigger ones can hit 240 feet an hour but the best bit of all is that you don't need to keep digging the soil to check for them. The worms will create a balance that best suits your environment.

  Your rural location makes little difference to a worm, neither will the wall (since they travel underground). What you need to do is transform the area to tempt them in.

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• madpenguin Posts: 2,543

  September 2016

  I had a piece of old lawn dug up and the chap who did it said he didn't see a single worm!

  The area is now a shrub border and after lots of digging and adding of compost etc now has plenty of worms.

  If the conditions are right the worms will turn up!

  Last edited: 28 September 2016 15:02:34

  “Every day is ordinary, until it isn't.” - Bernard Cornwell-Death of Kings

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• pbff Posts: 433

  September 2016

  Hi,

  Earthworms eat organic matter.

  If the ground has been covered by membrane and gravel no organic matter will have been present e.g. where leaves would normally fall onto the soil and be dragged down by the worms, the leaves fall onto the gravel/membrane where the worms can't access them, so the worms will have disappeared in search of somewhere where they can find food.

  This is an important signal for you, the gardener, showing you that there is insufficient organic matter in the soil. Organic matter is very important in maintaining good soil structure, which promotes a better air/water balance in the soil, which is essential for healthy, productive plant growth.

  Without organic matter, the soil loses structure and becomes compacted and then beneficial soil organisms, such as earthworms will leave anyway, because the air/water balance is lost and they wouldn't have enough oxygen to live on.

  So, what you need to do is incorporate plenty of organic matter into your soil. Well-rotted farmyard manure is great (you can use fresh manure, but if you do, make sure that you don't plant anything in it for a few months as it will scorch their roots), as is garden compost, spent mushroom compost (this is alkaline in nature, which may help if you have acidic soil, which is another thing that earthworms don't like) and composted municipal waste (available from your local authority and also alkaline).

  Work the organic matter in to a spade's depth and leave the bacteria, fungi and earthworms to it.

  It also helps to mulch your soil at least once every year, in spring or autumn (preferably once in spring and then once in autumn). A nice deep mulch keeps the soil organic matter level topped up nicely, giving our little friends the earthworms

  🐌🐌🐌🐌🐌🐌🐌🐌🐌🐌🐌🐌

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• jmr.boyes Posts: 4

  September 2016

  Thanks for all your replies & very interesting earthworm facts.  I will go with the consensus and add some compost and let nature do the rest.

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