Worms

[Bill HH]

Today I put on my sunglasses and braved the intense sunshine to make a raised bed for my strawberries, I had 20 odd plants from last years suckers which have been in the cold frame all winter. The first layer was cardboard and whole newspapers then a layer of compost. Finaly a mix of MPC, top soil and chicken manure pellets. I cracked open a dalek to find gorgeous yummu compost and millions of worms, whole handfulls of them.
My question is, as these are compost worms (brandling) and not regular earth worms, will they die or move out once put into a raised bed? Will they somehow find there way back to the dalek? Also where did they come from in the first place obviously not from the earth in the garden. To get to my garden from the nearest neighbours compost heap would in volve crossing roads and climing 6 ft high walls.

[Bigmallly]

Start a wormery Bill. Worm juice is supposed to be good fertilizer.

[Potstubsdustbins]

Bill I would like to know how you tell them apart.

My composters are sat on concrete but I still find worms in there that have come through the cracks in the base. With 25 odd different species of earthworm in this country of ours I find identification difficult to say the least.

Potty

[Penellype]

If they have managed to find your dalek once they will probably do so again. I'm sure they will be fine in the raised bed along with their compost.

[Veggielot]

You could save some of the compost with the most worms in and put it back into your compost bin. You'll have worms in your bin straight away and the compost gives the worms somewhere to live whilst they start workbon the new material.

[Two_Sheds]

I would like to know how you tell them apart.... I find identification difficult

These are the main two that I come across in the garden.

Compost / brandling / tiger worms (quite red, with stripes). They breed rapidly in compost heaps when conditions are right, dying off or moving out when the food runs out



Earthworm (fatter, browny pink colour). These don't live in the compost heap, they stay in the soil.

[Bill HH]

No one seems to have answered my original question, if the brandlings dont live in the garden soil then where do they come from to populate the compost heap. A small percentage must live in the ordinary soil for this to happen.Also when the compost is used on the garden what happens to brandlings? do they die or desperately look for their old home (the compost heap).

[KittyColdNose]

Can't answer your question Bill. All I can say is that the worms in my compost bin go onto the raised beds and there are still more than ever in the dalek. I opened a year old tub of coffee grind this morning when having a tidy up and there were worms in it. How they got there is beyond me but they are now on the garden.

[Penellype]

I think some must live in the soil. I found some of the tiger worms in my hotbin the other day - it sits on a paving slab on soil, and since the only things that have gone in there have been shredded plants, paper and food waste, they must have crawled in from the bottom up the air vent. I don't think they really like it when the bin gets hot - the temperature has been fluctuating a bit over the winter because I haven't had any grass to go in it, but the worms seem to get uncomfortable and head for the lid at about 40 degrees. I don't blame them - I would too!

[Snadger]

I reckon they will eventually die in the raised beds, but hopefully not before copulating and sending millions of little worms heading towards there parents ancestral home in the dalek with lickle bin bags of dirty washing on there backs!
Just like little spermacoa..........one or two might make it!

[Bill HH]

So where were they during the ten years I didnt make compost? I remember we used to find brandlings in the cow maure heap and used them for trout fishing in the stream on the farm, they worked much better than regular worms.

[Two_Sheds]

So where were they during the ten years I didnt make compost?

I find them (Eisenia fetida) all over the place, even in my cell trays which are 3ft off the floor on wire shelves. The eggs lie dormant in the potting compost, and hatch when conditions are favourable (warm & damp).

The average life span of worms is two to five years.

When conditions aren't optimal, eg. the heap is too cold or too dry, the worms will not breed and may move out, or die. If conditions are great (warm, moist with plenty of rotting food) they will breed fast. As conditions in the compost heap become crowded, the adult worms will leave to look for another home.

[Bill HH]

When conditions aren't optimal, eg. the heap is too cold or too dry, the worms will not breed and may move out, or die. If conditions are great (warm, moist with plenty of rotting food) they will breed fast. As conditions in the compost heap become crowded, the adult worms will leave to look for another home.

Oh dear now I have this mental image of all those baby worms crying please dont leave us mom and dad.

[marchogaeth]

You might find this interesting .

Worms are like so many things, in one environment they cling on in small numbers. Improve their environment/remove a predator etc and their population can explode. How many stay in your raised bed depends on how much food they can find there. If they can't find food they will migrate out.

I would guess that someone like TS who uses green mulches could have more in her soil than other gardens if the mulch means there is more decaying matter around. For all I know though, it could mean she has more of another sort of worm which takes all the green mulch at an earlier stage in it's decay.

[Madasafish]

I breed worms in my daleks - for the robins...:-)

Or so it seems..

And slugs..

And a rat one year..