Worm Worries

[Verinda]

Yesterday I was digging barrow loads of soil from a pile of top soil. I was filling a new raised border. The topsoil has been there for ages, its black and crumbly and organic and should be full of worms, but it isn't, in fact I only saw a few.

Last year a found a few of those horrible New Zealand wormy things lurking in our land. I've a horrible feeling they're eating all our earth worms. Does anyone else have this problem and is there a solution? Maybe the frosty weather we've had lately has sent all the worms down deep and they are in fact there after all...or is that grasping at straws?

Fiona

[chris]

The solution is to dispose of them. Make sure they're completely dead too, as apparently they can re-generate.

Re-introducing new organic matter will re-introduce/bring back worms.. but you'd need to eradicate your NZ flatworms.. I'm not sure if there is a nemotode or natural predator that you can introduce to help you do this - perhaps someone else may know?

Edit: the worms on my plot are all near the surface- within a spit anyway..

[alldigging]

How warm is it?

[vikkib]

Being down saaaaf I haven't come across any of these yet and hope not to but maybe this will be re-assuring:

New Zealand flatworms - should we worry? - Telegraph

[Verinda]

Thank you all for your interesting replies. We had a fairly mild winter here so I don't think the soil is that cold despite recent frosts. I will get some hopefully wormy compost and dig it in.

That article is reassuring, thank you.

Trouble is I have an organic garden but I'm no good at killing things. I have dropped those NZ worms into our stove but then felt horrendously guilty. My mum used to say that if you're organic then you have to be able to kill things. She used to get up early in the morning armed with her silver sugar tongs picking up slugs and dropping them into a bucket of salty water!! Then she concluded that cutting them in half with scissors was a kinder...well quicker anyway! Urgh! Not for me!

[Verinda]

I wonder what happens in New Zealand, I presume they have earth worms and NZ worms living together? Just curious.

[Aberdeenplotter]

Unforunately we have these damned things and they do totally eradicate the population of earthworms. Best way to catch them apparently is to put a shovelful or so of soil in a carrier bag and set it down. Check regularly and pick off any nzworms found. Best way to dispose of them is said to be to give them a bath in boiling water. Cutting them just multiplies the blighters. I have found a few drops of j_e_y_e_s fluid liqidises them totally. They lay black eggs about the size of the tapioca in tapioca pudding. as the natural earthworm population declines so does that of the NZ flatworms. best way to encourage repopulation of natural worms is to dig in loads of fym.

[Verinda]

Oh, that's interesting well as we seem to have so few worms perhaps the nzworms have all died of starvation. I hope so as they are just horrible.

I wonder what encourages the nzworm to find the carrier bag and then go into it? Warmth maybe.

[Aberdeenplotter]

It doesn't go into the bag, it shelters underneath.

[Verinda]

Oh, I'm going to try that and try to pursuade my husband to drop them into the stove, although he's not much good at killing things either!

Thank you for your help its much appreciated.

[Aberdeenplotter]

I don't think any of us are good at it but we have to realise it's dog eat dog or summat like that.

[Verinda]

That's what my mum used to say!

[Verinda]

I'm still digging away as I've two new raised boarders to fill. I've only seen about three or four worms but the mysterious thing is the soil...well once I've chopped through the grass and buttercups and roots etc is really good and crumbly, but isn't that supposed to be the worms job, to keep the soil in good condition, without worms shouldn't the soil be solid and horrible?

I wrote a little artice for a magazine once all about what a disaster our world would be without worms but now I'm beginning to wonder! No, Im sure it would be a disaster without worms...but then why is the soil so good? Does anyone have any clues?!