Hi,

My garden seems totally devoid of earthworms (nightcrawlers). I think the
previous owner killed them with insecticide or some crap. Its been 2 years
already and I've been digging and planting my flowers- but absolutely zero
sign of them.

I noticed however- in a nearby park- there seems to be quite a bit of
wormcastings, ie a collection of dark small dirt balls. I heard that the
wormcastings may contain worm eggs.

So I was wondering whether its worthwhile collecting the wormcastings and
placing them in my compost bin so as to rear earthworms? Would that work?

Cheers,

Wylie

"Wylie Wilde" <sniper968 [at] yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:447c5bd8$0$26629$afc38c87 [at] news.optusnet.com.au...

> I noticed however- in a nearby park- there seems to be quite a bit of
> wormcastings, ie a collection of dark small dirt balls. I heard that the
> wormcastings may contain worm eggs.
>
> So I was wondering whether its worthwhile collecting the wormcastings and
> placing them in my compost bin so as to rear earthworms? Would that work?


Earthworms are different from the red wiggler worms that commonly live in
the compost heap. I don't know if the worm casings contain eggs, but if you
wanted to try this, move them from one environment to a like environment.
Unless you're taking the casings from a compost heap or similar in the park,
they're unlikely to thrive in your worm box.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
http://www.bicyclemeditations.org/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

Thanks Claire,

I should have said I'll place them in my garden bed - not the compost bin-
it will be too hot for the nightcrawlers there.

But would the worm castings contain any worm eggs at all?

Thanks.

WW

"Wylie Wilde" <sniper968 [at] yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:447c6906$0$25127$afc38c87 [at] news.optusnet.com.au...
> Thanks Claire,
>
> I should have said I'll place them in my garden bed - not the compost bin-
> it will be too hot for the nightcrawlers there.
>
> But would the worm castings contain any worm eggs at all?
>

Worm castings is just worm poop. Earthworm egg cocoons are difficult to find
and see. You probably have earthworms, but they're probably hiding in deeper
soil levels.

If you really want to see if you have earthworms, here's an easy way. Buy an
18" clay water tray. The kind that go under the largest outdoor clay pot.
place it upside down in a shady area of the garden. Stuff as many grass
clippings, and leaves as you can under the tray. Periodically pour some
water on the top of the tray, just enough to moisten the tray.

Wait a few months, to a year. You'll see worm castings, parts of worm
tunnels, maybe an earthworm or two.

-S

"Wylie Wilde" <sniper968 [at] yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:447c5bd8$0$26629$afc38c87 [at] news.optusnet.com.au...
> Hi,
>
> My garden seems totally devoid of earthworms (nightcrawlers). I think the
> previous owner killed them with insecticide or some crap. Its been 2 years
> already and I've been digging and planting my flowers- but absolutely zero
> sign of them.
>
> I noticed however- in a nearby park- there seems to be quite a bit of
> wormcastings, ie a collection of dark small dirt balls. I heard that the
> wormcastings may contain worm eggs.
>
> So I was wondering whether its worthwhile collecting the wormcastings and
> placing them in my compost bin so as to rear earthworms? Would that work?
>
> Cheers,
>
> Wylie

I don't know if they castings contain worm eggs or not, but if I wanted
worms in my garden I'd go to my local bait and tackle shop and buy some
slated to be devoured by fish. I'm sure the worms and your garden would
thank you for it.

Jacqui
>
>

"axemanchris" <no [at] Idon'tthink.so> wrote in message
news:ZI_eg.787$Su3.73507 [at] news20.bellglobal.com...
>
> "Wylie Wilde" <sniper968 [at] yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:447c5bd8$0$26629$afc38c87 [at] news.optusnet.com.au...
>> Hi,
>>
>> My garden seems totally devoid of earthworms (nightcrawlers). I think the
>> previous owner killed them with insecticide or some crap. Its been 2
>> years
>> already and I've been digging and planting my flowers- but absolutely
>> zero
>> sign of them.
>>
>> I noticed however- in a nearby park- there seems to be quite a bit of
>> wormcastings, ie a collection of dark small dirt balls. I heard that the
>> wormcastings may contain worm eggs.
>>
>> So I was wondering whether its worthwhile collecting the wormcastings and
>> placing them in my compost bin so as to rear earthworms? Would that work?
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>> Wylie
>
> I don't know if they castings contain worm eggs or not, but if I wanted
> worms in my garden I'd go to my local bait and tackle shop and buy some
> slated to be devoured by fish. I'm sure the worms and your garden would
> thank you for it.
>
> Jacqui

I always thought that was a good idea, until I something interesting on TV
about introducing earthworms to places that are better off without them.
Vegetable gardens are obviously helped by worms, but nearby forest might not
be. If you're in a rush, page down to "What are the harmful effects of
nonnative earthworms?"

http://www.extension.umn.edu/yardandgarden/YGLNews/YGLN-Mar0 103.html

Since many of the worms sold in bait shops are not native to the area, this
is worth thinking about.

"JoeSpareBedroom" <dishborealis [at] yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:Xe%eg.2537$Oh1.1862 [at] news01.roc.ny...
> "axemanchris" <no [at] Idon'tthink.so> wrote in message
> news:ZI_eg.787$Su3.73507 [at] news20.bellglobal.com...
> >
> > "Wylie Wilde" <sniper968 [at] yahoo.com> wrote in message
> > news:447c5bd8$0$26629$afc38c87 [at] news.optusnet.com.au...
> >> Hi,
> >>
> >> My garden seems totally devoid of earthworms (nightcrawlers). I think
the
> >> previous owner killed them with insecticide or some crap. Its been 2
> >> years
> >> already and I've been digging and planting my flowers- but absolutely
> >> zero
> >> sign of them.
> >>
> >> I noticed however- in a nearby park- there seems to be quite a bit of
> >> wormcastings, ie a collection of dark small dirt balls. I heard that
the
> >> wormcastings may contain worm eggs.
> >>
> >> So I was wondering whether its worthwhile collecting the wormcastings
and
> >> placing them in my compost bin so as to rear earthworms? Would that
work?
> >>
> >> Cheers,
> >>
> >> Wylie
> >
> > I don't know if they castings contain worm eggs or not, but if I wanted
> > worms in my garden I'd go to my local bait and tackle shop and buy some
> > slated to be devoured by fish. I'm sure the worms and your garden would
> > thank you for it.
> >
> > Jacqui
>
> I always thought that was a good idea, until I something interesting on TV
> about introducing earthworms to places that are better off without them.
> Vegetable gardens are obviously helped by worms, but nearby forest might
not
> be. If you're in a rush, page down to "What are the harmful effects of
> nonnative earthworms?"
>
> http://www.extension.umn.edu/yardandgarden/YGLNews/YGLN-Mar0 103.html
>
> Since many of the worms sold in bait shops are not native to the area,
this
> is worth thinking about.

That is very interesting. I would never have thought of worms as an
imported, or even a harmful, creature. One really only hears about how good
they are for the soil, etc...

Jacqui

"axemanchris" <no [at] Idon'tthink.so> wrote in message
news:g50fg.1934$EF1.119815 [at] news20.bellglobal.com...
>
> "JoeSpareBedroom" <dishborealis [at] yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:Xe%eg.2537$Oh1.1862 [at] news01.roc.ny...
>> "axemanchris" <no [at] Idon'tthink.so> wrote in message
>> news:ZI_eg.787$Su3.73507 [at] news20.bellglobal.com...
>> >
>> > "Wylie Wilde" <sniper968 [at] yahoo.com> wrote in message
>> > news:447c5bd8$0$26629$afc38c87 [at] news.optusnet.com.au...
>> >> Hi,
>> >>
>> >> My garden seems totally devoid of earthworms (nightcrawlers). I think
> the
>> >> previous owner killed them with insecticide or some crap. Its been 2
>> >> years
>> >> already and I've been digging and planting my flowers- but absolutely
>> >> zero
>> >> sign of them.
>> >>
>> >> I noticed however- in a nearby park- there seems to be quite a bit of
>> >> wormcastings, ie a collection of dark small dirt balls. I heard that
> the
>> >> wormcastings may contain worm eggs.
>> >>
>> >> So I was wondering whether its worthwhile collecting the wormcastings
> and
>> >> placing them in my compost bin so as to rear earthworms? Would that
> work?
>> >>
>> >> Cheers,
>> >>
>> >> Wylie
>> >
>> > I don't know if they castings contain worm eggs or not, but if I wanted
>> > worms in my garden I'd go to my local bait and tackle shop and buy some
>> > slated to be devoured by fish. I'm sure the worms and your garden
>> > would
>> > thank you for it.
>> >
>> > Jacqui
>>
>> I always thought that was a good idea, until I something interesting on
>> TV
>> about introducing earthworms to places that are better off without them.
>> Vegetable gardens are obviously helped by worms, but nearby forest might
> not
>> be. If you're in a rush, page down to "What are the harmful effects of
>> nonnative earthworms?"
>>
>> http://www.extension.umn.edu/yardandgarden/YGLNews/YGLN-Mar0 103.html
>>
>> Since many of the worms sold in bait shops are not native to the area,
> this
>> is worth thinking about.
>
> That is very interesting. I would never have thought of worms as an
> imported, or even a harmful, creature. One really only hears about how
> good
> they are for the soil, etc...
>
> Jacqui

Yes - I was amazed to learn this, too. On the TV show (might have been
Nova), the scientist they interviewed said that even worms from nearby
places (like Canada, and I'm in NY) could be the wrong ones for our local
environment. Guess where 99% of the bait worms come from in stores here?
Canada.