No worms

[Chic Rustler]

I been at this for a few months now, almost a year. With all the stuff I tilled in the soil before I started, all the manure and mulch I added while growing and all the wood chips, leaves and grass clippings I added on top a few months ago I would expect to see some worms. There are none. No worms in the garden. I don't even find worms in my old compost pile, just a bunch of bugs.

Is it possible worms just don't hang out in Sandy areas? Because it seems there are none to be had.

Can I just buy a few thousand red wigglers and put in the garden? Would they survive?

 

[Mini Horses]

Uhhh...just don't let the chickens into a newly worm seeded area.

 

[Joel_BC]

Today I dug a hole u dear the rabbit butches. ... I was very surprised to find a solid 2 inches of black dirt before the sand. But still no worms.

Here's what I think, by analogy: if you've just got bees, but no flowers, you've got no honey. If you've just got flowers, but no bees, again you've got no honey.

I've got a basically sandy mineral soil. The organic layers are essentially atop this sand underlayer, but because there've been organic gardens here for many years, organic particles do seep down into the sandy. A good organic soil needs the mineral soil, the organic material, and moisture. You work at building it up each year.

Worms don't thrive in (or get much in the way of nutrition from) sand particles, even fine-sand particles. Chic Rustler, you've got a very recent upper layer of good, rich organic material from the rabbits, etc. You don't have the other part: earth worms. And possibly you don't even have worm eggs in what you now have on your ground. They need to be there to get the game started.

It's like lock & key, snow & skis, table & chairs, spaghetti & meatballs, soap & water, grins & giggles.

 

[CrealCritter]

I went to tractor supply and got gopher traps. 2 for $10 so I bought 4 last weekend. So far I have gotten 5. I kicked the hills down and every time I see a new one I set on it. We have less hills already

It's fun-er with a 16 ga

 

[milkmansdaughter]

Sooo, this got me wondering and I started reading more on worms. For whatever reason, it's easy to find a lot of information from the UK. I use my phone to post and haven't figured out how to post links but I read that worms don't like to be disturbed and working in the area a lot can chase them away. Also when introducing them to a plot, you want to add colonies, preferably still in their colony plot to give them time to adjust. If you spread them out on top, most will get eaten by birds or killed by the sun. They are hesitant to immediately start burrowing into new territory. It also said, if you introduce worms, you want to introduce a lot of them, and then not disturb the area for a while (preferably a year! ) apparently, covering with black plastic will encourage worms to come. (That's what I've read so far...)
I'm thinking that if there aren't any in other places, you'd have to introduce them. At least with the layering, you would disturb them less than you would tilling. Good luck!

 

[Joel_BC]

Can't say for certain, but I'm not sure the black-plastic method would work if you've never seen any earthworms in the vicinity.

But, Chic Rustler, I do think your layering of mulch (which will rot-in), and additions of manure, etc will result in a living soil. It'll get deeper and deeper with time. Because it's very clear that the three previous owners of our formerly-woodland, sandy-soil place did this... and so have we done so.

Here's a Google search that could be of some usefulness if you want to "seed in" some earthworms. If I were living in your situation and working-up a sandy soil, I'd give this a try as a way to speed the process...

https://www.google.ca/search?source...131k1j0i3k1j0i22i30k1j0i13i30k1.0.2Mpavo06Cpk

 

[sumi]

This is very interesting! We have a shipload of earthworms here. Big ones, huge ones, small ones, they are everywhere it seems. In my previous house I often found them crawling into the house even! Wish I could send you a bucketful @Chic Rustler I think it's because our soil is so rich and well, wet. It's hard to find completely dry soil here, unless it's been under cover for awhile.

 

[baymule]

I really don't have any worms either. I have added humus like crazy, but still no worms. I guess I'll have to buy some. I guess worms don't like sand.

At our old house, I put horse manure in the garden that came from black clay land and it had loads of worms.

 

[sumi]

Mushrooms must grow well there!

They do!

 

[Chic Rustler]

Bingo! @crealbilly I think you hit it on the nail head. Gopher mounds everywhere. The dogs dig caverns trying to get the durn gophers or moles or whatever they are.

I went to tractor supply and got gopher traps. 2 for $10 so I bought 4 last weekend. So far I have gotten 5. I kicked the hills down and every time I see a new one I set on it. We have less hills already