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Is there such a thing as a bad worm?

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  • Is there such a thing as a bad worm?

    Hi There - newbie to most things here

    My raised beds are full of worms which I know is good, but lots of them are pale, not red wrigglers. They are a similar size and thickness to normal earth worms, but a bit shorter and whitish. If they are good I'll ferry them into the PT where there doesn't seem to be as many. (the ones in the PT look like normal earthworms but not very many of them) Apart from the worms the soil in my beds looks and feels lovely.

    Any advice?
    "Life shrinks or expands according to one's courage" Anais Nin.

    "Or according to the size of your polytunnell" Judy Elliott

  • #2
    Originally posted by judy2shoes View Post
    Hi There - newbie to most things here

    My raised beds are full of worms which I know is good, but lots of them are pale, not red wrigglers. They are a similar size and thickness to normal earth worms, but a bit shorter and whitish. If they are good I'll ferry them into the PT where there doesn't seem to be as many. (the ones in the PT look like normal earthworms but not very many of them) Apart from the worms the soil in my beds looks and feels lovely.
    To answer the thread title; no, not really, they are all beneficial.

    By Red wrigglers I assume you mean Eisenia fetida, which are really compost-dwellers. Leave them where they are as they won't do well in the soil
    What is PT?

    One can;t really ID a worm from a description but the soil environment will give pointers.
    Where did you see these... on the surface of your raised beds or when digging/making planting holes?
    At night / during the day?
    What colour is the saddle(if developed)? If the saddle is not developed it is not a mature worm.
    What is your soil surface like eg lots of leaf mould?

    Not sure what you mean by normal earthworms.
    Out of the compost and in the garden there are surface dwellers (epigeic) that eat humic materials eg leaf mould and other decaying material) on the surface , vertical burrowers (anecic) that tunnel up to take food down to eat eg lob worm Lumbricus terrestris and horizontal burrowers (endogeic) eg green worm, Allolobophora chlorotica that eat and refine soil.

    Originally posted by judy2shoes View Post

    Any advice?
    Leave them where they are whatever species they are but use their absence or abundance as indicators to help your growing. Low counts can indicate low mineral content, low humus contect or that the soil is too acidic, (though some species are more acid tolerant than others. They will provide aeration for the soil, help break up any compaction, allow water percolation, refine the soil, neutralise the soil (pH) act as a nutrient transport.

    If there are very low worm counts in PT (whatever that is) add humus or minerals if deficient, reduce acidity. That advice of course depends what a PT is.

    Read up on the fasinating field of worms? There are only a couple of dozen species of earthworm (all in Lumbricidae family) common in the UK.
    Much of gardening is from kingdoms other than plants.

    Earthworm guide | OPAL
    Last edited by JustPotteringAbout; 21-06-2013, 11:21 AM. Reason: quotes

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    • #3
      NZ Flatworms are the baddies.

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      • #4
        Originally posted by chris View Post
        NZ Flatworms are the baddies.
        Are they the ones that almost look like leaches??
        In the following link you can follow my recent progress on the plot

        https://www.youtube.com/user/darcyvuqua?feature=watch

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        • #5
          Indeedy!

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          • #6
            Someone said you gert white worms in acidic soil, could be worth checking the ph.s
            Last edited by Veggielot; 17-06-2013, 09:30 PM.

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            • #7
              The white ones in acidic soil tend to be very thin in comparison to red earthworms (my own experience here).
              When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it.
              If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant.

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              • #8
                I assumed that PT was a polytunnel but could be wrong (I often am......).

                I don't think that there is much point in moving the worms as they'll go where they want, if the conditions aren't right then they'll move anyway, the best thing to do is make the conditions hospitable by adding well rotted compost etc. Also, if the soil is good them you've probably got a lot more worms than you realise, they may just be deeper, just a thought.

                Some of us live in the past, always talking about back then. Some of us live in the future, always planning what we are going to do. And, then there are those, who neither look behind or ahead, but just enjoy the moment of right now.

                Which one are you and is it how you want to be?

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by KittyColdNose View Post
                  The white ones in acidic soil tend to be very thin in comparison to red earthworms (my own experience here).
                  If they don;t have developed saddles then those are immature worms. If they are mature then possibly A. calliginosa

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Alison View Post
                    I assumed that PT was a polytunnel but could be wrong

                    Thanks for that. In that case if the soil isn't too acidic for worm communities adding surface partially decomposed leaves as a mulch would initially encourage both vertical tunnelers to come up for a feed and surface dwellers, as well as retaining soil moisture, buffering the soil temperature and inhibiting weeds and in the slightly longer term providing organic matter for the horizontal burrowers.
                    Originally posted by Alison View Post
                    I don't think that there is much point in moving the worms as they'll go where they want, if the conditions aren't right then they'll move anyway, the best thing to do is make the conditions hospitable by adding well rotted compost etc.
                    +1

                    Originally posted by Alison View Post
                    Also, if the soil is good them you've probably got a lot more worms than you realise, they may just be deeper, just a thought.
                    And one probably wont see the nightcrawlers L terretris which are vertical burrowers, unless out at night.

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                    • #11
                      Thanks - I didn't realise there was so much to know about worms! PT is polytunnel.............. I am loving this forum!
                      "Life shrinks or expands according to one's courage" Anais Nin.

                      "Or according to the size of your polytunnell" Judy Elliott

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