Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["David Inglis" <mhcsa@verizon.net>]

Dean,
There are lots of good reasons for vermiculture but seeding soil with worms
is not one of them. Usually worm bin and soil worms are a different kind of
worm unless you have very high organic matter like a muck soil and even then
the type you get in a bin wont persist in the soil. Once earthworms have
established at all in the soil the usual limiting factors on population are,
a food source  and consistent moisture. Best to keep the 'red wrigglers' in
the worm bin or feed them to chickens and feed the 'real' earthworms in the
soil with lots of fibrous root systems. Areas of glaciation have low numbers
of worm species [ie the UK with < than 10 ], areas not glaciated much higher
[S.France with over 60] but the numbers of worms in your soil if you have
any are dependent on your management.

Does anyone know why worms appear to like the root area beneath Leeks and
Onions [Alliums]?
Dave
Mahaiwe Harvest CSA
Massachusetts 


> -----Original Message-----
> From: livingontheland-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:livingontheland-
> bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Dean
> Sent: Friday, March 07, 2008 12:43 AM
> To: Healthy soil and sustainable growing
> Subject: [Livingontheland] vermicomposting in place
> 
> Right now we are vermic0mposting (just got started) to build up compost
over
> the winter.  I would like to eventually move all the worms into the garden
> and let them aerate as they fertilize.  I would think, being the
intelligent
> critters they are, they would stay where it is the most comfortable for
> them, i.e. not crawl out of the garden area.  My biggest concern would be
> with them goiing or needing to go so deep in the winter to aviod the cold
> that they surface in places other than the garden.  Any ideas on this or
> other things i am not thinking of would be appreciated.  Dean
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Livingontheland mailing list
> Livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/livingontheland