Thanks for the facts about earthworms. Reading more about them has been on the to-do list for years, I just saw with my eyes that it was a net benefit so I kept going.
I do put them in pots that are one gallon (mine are 1-3 gallons). However, I am in a cooler, wetter climate than you. I also keep them out of full sun and when I start a pot, I fill the bottom 25% with leaves and twigs to help with moisture retention. So far, I don't think I'm a worm serial killer! In fact, when I clean up the pots in the fall, I always do it next to the garden so I can dump the worm mix back into the ground for winter. At this point, I'm surprised when I have a pot without worms so I think my kill rate is pretty low.
I haven't given them food scraps - but I should! I figure they are there for a few months so they were just eating the leaves.
I started all this when I littlePG was a baby and I had gardening ambitions but no time.I popped some potatoes in a recycled plastic shopping bag from TJMaxx and forgot to poke holes in the bottom. There must have been some worms in the potting mix that I didn't see. Then I forgot about it for 4 months. In the fall I had a bunch of rotten new potatoes but the best compost/soil I have ever seen and a huge new worm colony. The worms thrived on total neglect so I didn't think to feed them going forward but I will now.
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branchandroot
Re: Transplanting Worms
Date: 2024-06-04 03:40 pm (UTC)Thanks for the facts about earthworms. Reading more about them has been on the to-do list for years, I just saw with my eyes that it was a net benefit so I kept going.
I do put them in pots that are one gallon (mine are 1-3 gallons). However, I am in a cooler, wetter climate than you. I also keep them out of full sun and when I start a pot, I fill the bottom 25% with leaves and twigs to help with moisture retention. So far, I don't think I'm a worm serial killer! In fact, when I clean up the pots in the fall, I always do it next to the garden so I can dump the worm mix back into the ground for winter. At this point, I'm surprised when I have a pot without worms so I think my kill rate is pretty low.
I haven't given them food scraps - but I should! I figure they are there for a few months so they were just eating the leaves.
I started all this when I littlePG was a baby and I had gardening ambitions but no time.I popped some potatoes in a recycled plastic shopping bag from TJMaxx and forgot to poke holes in the bottom. There must have been some worms in the potting mix that I didn't see. Then I forgot about it for 4 months. In the fall I had a bunch of rotten new potatoes but the best compost/soil I have ever seen and a huge new worm colony. The worms thrived on total neglect so I didn't think to feed them going forward but I will now.