Comments on: Unraveling the Mysteries of Invasive Worms http://www.sustainablegardeningblog.com/archives/1497 Susan Harris's blog about eco-friendly and urban gardening, plus the adventures of a DC-based garden writer, coach and occasional rabble-rowser. Mon, 24 May 2010 11:12:55 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Jeanne http://www.sustainablegardeningblog.com/archives/1497/comment-page-1#comment-5116 Jeanne Tue, 19 May 2009 23:50:00 +0000 http://www.sustainablegardeningblog.com/?p=1497#comment-5116 Well, Raenee if you are asking me if your worms are of the invasive variety it would be hard to say without doing a physical on them. If you however are worried that the worms in your raised bed may be doing it some harm my opinion would be no. From the article above the invasive worms ate the "duff" and that was what was causing an upset in the ecology. In your case the worms are in the soil, in a raised bed and you have no 'duff'' therefore your worms, night crawlers or red wigglers, would not be contributing to harming the 'duff' environment. And you are right worms have been around longer than we have and I could almost guarantee they will outlive us all. If all your tests are coming back positive I would say your worms are doing a good job for you. They are somewhat of a captive audience in your raised beds and can at the very least keep your soil nicely aerated. To me it seems like a no harm situation and I would leave them be. I am in California on the central coast and believe it or not there is a shortage of red wigglers for worm composters here. Suppliers have been swamped with requests as more and more information about all the benefits of worm composting comes on the wave of the green and sustainability movement. We did a show about raised beds ( episode 1 ) and worm bins ( episode 4) and have blogged on my experiences at holeinthefence.net. We filmed a TV documentary many many years ago for PBS (they didn't buy it) called "Living off the Land". We built a log cabin and started a garden off of the Gunflint trail in Grand Marais where my husband and his family grew up. My son was 18 months old at the time. He is now 36 and we are again doing a show, he is the host, about "Living off the Land" and my grand babies are in it. I guess you can call that the circle of life. Anyway back to your worms. Count your blessings. And happy gardening. Jeanne (mom) Well, Raenee if you are asking me if your worms are of the invasive variety it would be hard to say without doing a physical on them. If you however are worried that the worms in your raised bed may be doing it some harm my opinion would be no. From the article above the invasive worms ate the “duff” and that was what was causing an upset in the ecology. In your case the worms are in the soil, in a raised bed and you have no ‘duff” therefore your worms, night crawlers or red wigglers, would not be contributing to harming the ‘duff’ environment. And you are right worms have been around longer than we have and I could almost guarantee they will outlive us all. If all your tests are coming back positive I would say your worms are doing a good job for you. They are somewhat of a captive audience in your raised beds and can at the very least keep your soil nicely aerated. To me it seems like a no harm situation and I would leave them be.

I am in California on the central coast and believe it or not there is a shortage of red wigglers for worm composters here. Suppliers have been swamped with requests as more and more information about all the benefits of worm composting comes on the wave of the green and sustainability movement. We did a show about raised beds ( episode 1 ) and worm bins ( episode 4) and have blogged on my experiences at holeinthefence.net. We filmed a TV documentary many many years ago for PBS (they didn’t buy it) called “Living off the Land”. We built a log cabin and started a garden off of the Gunflint trail in Grand Marais where my husband and his family grew up. My son was 18 months old at the time. He is now 36 and we are again doing a show, he is the host, about “Living off the Land” and my grand babies are in it. I guess you can call that the circle of life.

Anyway back to your worms. Count your blessings. And happy gardening. Jeanne (mom)

]]> By: Raenee http://www.sustainablegardeningblog.com/archives/1497/comment-page-1#comment-5115 Raenee Tue, 19 May 2009 22:36:11 +0000 http://www.sustainablegardeningblog.com/?p=1497#comment-5115 OK..I live on thirteen acres in northern Minnesota....I have open and wooded fields...lot's of oaks, birch, maple etc. My husband and I started our new garden last year..4 six by 12 feet raised beds. I have tons of worms and all soil tests came out perfectly balanced.....I am having a hard time imagining buying worms orrrrr trying to get rid of the ones I have. Are these worms invasive? They have been here longer than me! Signed....happiest outside! OK..I live on thirteen acres in northern Minnesota….I have open and wooded fields…lot’s of oaks, birch, maple etc. My husband and I started our new garden last year..4 six by 12 feet raised beds. I have tons of worms and all soil tests came out perfectly balanced…..I am having a hard time imagining buying worms orrrrr trying to get rid of the ones I have. Are these worms invasive? They have been here longer than me! Signed….happiest outside!

]]> By: Wild Flora http://www.sustainablegardeningblog.com/archives/1497/comment-page-1#comment-4772 Wild Flora Mon, 16 Feb 2009 12:45:16 +0000 http://www.sustainablegardeningblog.com/?p=1497#comment-4772 Hi Jeanne, I too found that though it is fun to have a worm bin, a single bin may not be able to absorb all the kitchen scraps you can generate. I also found that the amount of soil produced, though well worth having, was not nearly enough to meet my garden's needs. Except in cold weather, outdoor composting produces a lot more good soil and absorbs a lot more scraps. I find that the main use for my worm bin is as a source of tasty treats for my ducks, who are crazy for earthworms and don't get much variety in their diet during winter months. Incidentally, if you have ducks they will be more than happy to dispose of any nightcrawlers you find in your garden! Hi Jeanne,
I too found that though it is fun to have a worm bin, a single bin may not be able to absorb all the kitchen scraps you can generate. I also found that the amount of soil produced, though well worth having, was not nearly enough to meet my garden’s needs. Except in cold weather, outdoor composting produces a lot more good soil and absorbs a lot more scraps. I find that the main use for my worm bin is as a source of tasty treats for my ducks, who are crazy for earthworms and don’t get much variety in their diet during winter months. Incidentally, if you have ducks they will be more than happy to dispose of any nightcrawlers you find in your garden!

]]> By: Jeanne http://www.sustainablegardeningblog.com/archives/1497/comment-page-1#comment-4771 Jeanne Mon, 16 Feb 2009 08:36:56 +0000 http://www.sustainablegardeningblog.com/?p=1497#comment-4771 Thanks Wild Flora will give this a try. Since I had just a small 3 drawer bin I would sometimes have more scraps than my little guys could handle. So I found a patch of dirt outside, believe me my yard is about the side of a VW and dirt is hard to come by, and started a little impromptu compost pile. Someone had given me some red wigglers and before I could get my bin started I had to let them go. I was afraid they were going to die. So I threw them on the 'compost pile." I checked it the other day and it is very happy and lively. I am making a worm bin for a friend now and will take your suggestion and put these foot loose and fancy free guys to work in my new bin. Thanks Wild Flora will give this a try. Since I had just a small 3 drawer bin I would sometimes have more scraps than my little guys could handle. So I found a patch of dirt outside, believe me my yard is about the side of a VW and dirt is hard to come by, and started a little impromptu compost pile. Someone had given me some red wigglers and before I could get my bin started I had to let them go. I was afraid they were going to die. So I threw them on the ‘compost pile.” I checked it the other day and it is very happy and lively. I am making a worm bin for a friend now and will take your suggestion and put these foot loose and fancy free guys to work in my new bin.

]]> By: Wild Flora http://www.sustainablegardeningblog.com/archives/1497/comment-page-1#comment-4769 Wild Flora Sun, 15 Feb 2009 19:42:02 +0000 http://www.sustainablegardeningblog.com/?p=1497#comment-4769 Fascinating post! One tiny addition is that sometimes you can get away with using locally collected worms, which means that you at least can't introduce any species into the environment that weren't already present. I had very good luck with my Can O' Worms bin in the Seattle area though I stocked it with worms I dug up in my own garden. Most likely the bin did well because many of the worms I collected were red wigglers, but I had a very healthy, active population of worms, and the worms were free. Now that I garden in Maritime Canada, I'm trying the same thing using the do-it-yourself version of stacked bins and, again, worms I collected in my own garden. Fascinating post! One tiny addition is that sometimes you can get away with using locally collected worms, which means that you at least can’t introduce any species into the environment that weren’t already present. I had very good luck with my Can O’ Worms bin in the Seattle area though I stocked it with worms I dug up in my own garden. Most likely the bin did well because many of the worms I collected were red wigglers, but I had a very healthy, active population of worms, and the worms were free. Now that I garden in Maritime Canada, I’m trying the same thing using the do-it-yourself version of stacked bins and, again, worms I collected in my own garden.

]]> By: Lawrence http://www.sustainablegardeningblog.com/archives/1497/comment-page-1#comment-4750 Lawrence Tue, 10 Feb 2009 09:56:07 +0000 http://www.sustainablegardeningblog.com/?p=1497#comment-4750 An interesting and informative post. Thank you. An interesting and informative post.
Thank you.

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