Earthworms in soil?

[NorthernCosmos]

That’s what I was talking about Northern...

I know, 013 - there's just way more journal reading I'd like to do than there there are hours in the day... Been reading there now

If you have a hydroponics store near you, get to know the owner or one of the employees.

No such stores around here. I have to do all my grow gear and supplies shopping online, except for some of the most common generic gardening stuff. However, I have the 420 forums "near me", so I'm not lacking access to expert advice

 

[SEO Parasite]

Hi all
Your on the right track
Adding worms is vital
*The worms from the worm farm don't go to well in pots or gardens, WHY ??? I'm not sure, maybe the farm is better ?? I found they escaped.
*Worms from your compost bin love pots and gardens.

This is my personal experience with worms.

 

[NorthernCosmos]

*Worms from your compost bin love pots and gardens.

What kind of nutrients, if any, are you using?

I just added 8-10 worms from the compost in each of two new pots a couple of days ago. Some have already escaped and died, and I found a couple of dead ones on top of the soil. It's kind of heartbreaking - hopefully the remaining worms work the soil and have fulfilling little lives for a while...

 

[Nunyabiz]

What kind of nutrients, if any, are you using?

I just added 8-10 worms from the compost in each of two new pots a couple of days ago. Some have already escaped and died, and I found a couple of dead ones on top of the soil. It's kind of heartbreaking - hopefully the remaining worms work the soil and have fulfilling little lives for a while...

If soil is either too wet or too dry and if synthetic salt based nutrients are used then they are likely to bail.
A little cover crop and a thick mulch layer usually work wonders.
They like a little food also, I feed mine Bokashi and the occasional organic banana peel, also I don't strain my Sprouted Seed Teas like corn or alfalfa, just add that right to soil.

 

[BeanTownFan420]

Worms will feed off bread if you put some bread on top of the soil they should eat it.

 

[Enr0n]

Dad used to use coffee grounds to feed worms if we were keeping them for while between fishing trips.

 

[SEO Parasite]

What kind of nutrients, if any, are you using?

I just added 8-10 worms from the compost in each of two new pots a couple of days ago. Some have already escaped and died, and I found a couple of dead ones on top of the soil. It's kind of heartbreaking - hopefully the remaining worms work the soil and have fulfilling little lives for a while...

I make my own worm tea

Here my mix ratio for dirt
Garden dirt 40%
Castings 40%
Compost 20%
Mulch on top of your dirt as the casting will dry up hard.

Are you putting food scraps in your pots to keep them there.
Watermelon is worms favourite

 

[NorthernCosmos]

Are you putting food scraps in your pots to keep them there.

No, but I'll try to give them a little bread and fruit.

Somwehere I have a bag of bark chips that I can cover the soil with. Maybe a little inconvenient during watering, but if the worms like it, It may be worth it. Of course the salt based nutes are still there, not helping the worms...

 

[SEO Parasite]

Worms will feed off bread if you put some bread on top of the soil they should eat it.

breads ok
watermelon is a worms dream food or cucumbers, those sorts in the dirt will keep them in the pot

 

[NorthernCosmos]

Here's the buckets with a little mulch/bark and some bits of apple on top. To celebrate I had a dozen new worms move in, so there so be twenty-something in each bucket now. Tomorrow they'll get a little bread. If you look carefully at the pics, you can make out a couple of worms in each of them

I'm a little worried about the watering - is there a chance of rotten fruit and moldy bark? Should that perhaps be removed when watering?

 

[SEO Parasite]

Place fruit under soil or it will attract all the bugs and pests. Don't use bread, use veggies and fruit scraps.
Normal water I don't move the bark
Worm tea I scrap the bark to the side and water the place bark on top.

 

[NorthernCosmos]

I'm happy to report that I found a live escapee after more than 2 months!

That's promising. The difference from previous grows is that I push little bits of apple into the soil now. Could just be what they needed

 

[Nunyabiz]

If you eat avocados take the shell, leave a little avocado attached and turn that upside down on top of soil.
There will be a worm orgy going down and you will get a lot more worms shortly

 

[NorthernCosmos]

Noted, Nunyabiz - thanks for the tip!

 

[SEO Parasite]

If you want your worms to stay
Watermelon, and lettuce.
My worms will eat your fingers off if you bring some melon anywhere near them
I hear them as I walk past

Daddy daddy we want melon

Every morning I tell them to shut up and get to work.

 

[NorthernCosmos]

Sometimes I find little piles of "earth threads" in the runoff trays. Is this by any chance that fabled worm poo?

 

[NorthernCosmos]

I've watched some videos and looked at some pics now, and it does indeed look like worm poo.

That would be black gold for a grower then...

 

[NorthernCosmos]

I have full-grow survivor worms!

After more than 3 months, there are still live worms in my buckets

The difference from previous runs is that they got some food. A few bits of apple pushed just beneath the soil surface. Stands to reason too - I mean, it's not exactly unreasonable to need food for survival...

The worms have moved into the next buckets. It'll be interesting to see how they continue to fare.

 

[Emilya Green]

That is a very valuable observation! Of course! Apples! Everyone knows that worms like apples, it's almost iconic. But you took it to the next level with this experiment and I will definitely now need to try this in order to feed my container worms instead of the lettuce and other things I have tried. I am planning on getting a LOS container going over the winter months, and this is good and timely information to know. Thank you!