Earthworms

I added cornmeal yesterday and when I checked them this morning I could see where they had gotten into it so I guess theyre gonna make it. Also, Ive noticed the purple tint on my stems has faded to a faint deep red color since I added the castings.

worms are supose to be really good for the soil.
i guess they also eat the stuf you dont what that can harm your plants.

I'm bumping and subscribing to this thread. Someone previously asked a question about the different species of worms that could be used, and I think it's a good question I'd like to see answered.

DryGrain said:

I went to the bait shop last week and got 200 redworms to add to my outdoor. I also threw a few into my compost pile. It cost about $1.50 for a container of 50 redworms.

Does anyone know if nightcrawlers, earthworms, or redworms are more or less beneficial than each other?

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Yep, that's it! We've got lots of bait shops around here, don't get earthworms til winter when it's raining, otherwise they're buried quite deep.

According to OhSoGreen, they all consume about half their body weight a day in organic matter. Another question:

Are live worms bothered by soil amendments such as fertilizer, mychorrizal fungi, molasses, or pre-made earthworm castings?

DryGrain said:

According to OhSoGreen, they all consume about half their body weight a day in organic matter. Another question:

Are live worms bothered by soil amendments such as fertilizer, mychorrizal fungi, molasses, or pre-made earthworm castings?

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Worms (red & earth) are not bothered by mycho fungi, molasses or worm casting (provided their not in a bed completely filled with castings). When mixing WC in soil, stick to only using 10-20 percent castings in your soil mix. If watering these things in (in tea form) stick to the old rule - one quart of tea to one gallon of soil. It prevents overfeeding & overwatering.
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Worms do not like very acidic or very alkaline fertilizers - worms like living in a pH of 5-7.5. So, the key is water in fertilizers in lower doses, spread out over time. Large heavy hits of any fertilizer upsets them.
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Hope this helps...
Glad to see more people getting on the Organic Growing Train.....
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ive heard great results with herb, but bong water thats a new one. Think you could post some comparison pics? I couldn't see why it wouldn't help the plants, all the ash caught in the water was once the plant itself, would seem like perfect nurtients for them afterwards. On that note I've also been puffing around the plants and that seems to help, I think along the same principles

I also use cornmeal sprinkled on topsoil - homegrown earthworms from my compost pile. To deter ants and bugs trying to eat the cornmeal - I put down DE - diatomaceous earth - don't know if that's spelled right.

Not really sure if the green would react to it like my other plants I've grown but if you use worms I suggest a ground up mix of egg shells, animal bones, used coffee grounds, and the plants own trimmings be sprinkled around the pot and lightly swept into the soil for food. That in combonation with blackstrap molasses has made some of the greatest tasting and highest yeilding veggie plants I've ever grown. I will be using this mix in my upcoming grow journal to see if it increases green as well as it does veggies and fruit.

NaturalLiving said:

Not really sure if the green would react to it like my other plants I've grown but if you use worms I suggest a ground up mix of egg shells, animal bones, used coffee grounds, and the plants own trimmings be sprinkled around the pot and lightly swept into the soil for food. That in combonation with blackstrap molasses has made some of the greatest tasting and highest yeilding veggie plants I've ever grown. I will be using this mix in my upcoming grow journal to see if it increases green as well as it does veggies and fruit.

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*yay for coffee grounds~
http://www.sustainableenterprises.com/Business/coffeefert.htm

Yup coffee beans are win, is there a large community of sustainable organic growers here? If so I would be interested in if any had a grow journal whom are a bit more experienced at growing than myself.

NaturalLiving said:

Yup coffee beans are win, is there a large community of sustainable organic growers here? If so I would be interested in if any had a grow journal whom are a bit more experienced at growing than myself.

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*not sure, but feel free to roam around the RIU forums.. you might find what you are looking for

I use Canadian nightcrawlers in both of my house plants. I have a poinsettia and a pothos. I have a very standard plastic container for the poinsettia which came with it when bought. It has two nightcrawlers in it. All I use in this plant are the original leaves that fell of the plant, eggshells that I ran a little water over after use, and used coffee grounds. Coffee grounds I spread around the pot to keep in moisture. Only use eggshells if you are really looking forward to reproduction. I have quite a few of tiny worms embedded in the soil. At the very beginning I did cut tiny pieces of banana peels into the soil and mixed it around. Since then I've added nothing. My leaves are thriving wonderfully that are come in and it's winter at that. On top of that, it still hasn't lost all of it's original leaves. Still hanging on to about 5, lol. Far as my pothos go, it has only 3 nightcrawlers in it. It's in a 10 gallon plastic container. Which leaves these nightcrawlers a lot of room to burrow. Haven't seen them since I put them in. To say the least since doing that I have not did any of things I did with the poinsettia. As I am seeing what works best for each one. My pothos is growing fabulous. It has become longer, healthier, fuller, and plenty of new leaves sprouting all the time. One more thing, when I received the poinsettia it was barely making it. To each it's own. Nightcrawlers would be the best route to take. They do not destroy roots only things that are decaying.

mastershake said:

anyone know if you need to feed the worms some like organic waste or something or will they be in soil alone.

Jr.

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coffe grounds if you drink coffie or corn meal is good to feed your worms...ky........ps worms help 100 percent to fed the plant and they help the roots get air..

some one dun beat me to it...ky

I use bagged rabbit manure fresh in my no till soil..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermicompost#Benefits

Vermicompost has been shown to be richer in many nutrients than compost produced by other composting methods.[33] It has also outperformed a commercial plant medium with nutrients added, but levels of magnesium required adjustment, as did pH.[34]

However, in one study it has been found that homemade backyard vermicompost was lower in microbial biomass, soil microbial activity, and yield of a species of ryegrass[35] than municipal compost,[35]

It is rich in microbial life which converts nutrients already present in the soil into plant-available forms.

Unlike other compost, worm castings also contain worm mucus which helps prevent nutrients from washing away with the first watering and holds moisture better than plain soil.[36]

Increases in the total nitrogen content in vermicompost, an increase in available nitrogen and phosphorus, as well as the increased removal of heavy metals from sludge and soil have been reported.[37] The reduction in the bioavailability of heavy metals has been observed in a number of studies.[38][39]

Benefits
Soil

• Improves soil aeration
• Enriches soil with micro-organisms (adding enzymes such as phosphatase and cellulase)
• Microbial activity in worm castings is 10 to 20 times higher than in the soil and organic matter that the worm ingests [40]
• Attracts deep-burrowing earthworms already present in the soil
• Improves water holding capacity[41]

Plant growth

• Enhances germination, plant growth, and crop yield
• Improves root growth and structure
• Enriches soil with micro-organisms (adding plant hormones such as auxins and gibberellic acid)[citation needed]

Economic

• Biowastes conversion reduces waste flow to landfills
• Elimination of biowastes from the waste stream reduces contamination of other recyclables collected in a single bin (a common problem in communities practicing single-stream recycling)
• Creates low-skill jobs at local level
• Low capital investment and relatively simple technologies make vermicomposting practical for less-developed agricultural regions

Environmental

• Helps to close the "metabolic gap" through recycling waste on-site
• Large systems often use temperature control and mechanized harvesting, however other equipment is relatively simple and does not wear out quickly[citation needed]
• Production reduces greenhouse gas emissions such as methane and nitric oxide (produced in landfills or incinerators when not composted or through methane harvest)[42]

cocobitzz said:

I put worms in one of my young plants soil a few months back. It is slightly bushier than the rest. I also poured bong water on it once a week. Not only is it not dead or showing signs of damage but it is my most promising plant of the crop. And the worms didn't die from it haha. I bet they were slightly stoopid from it though.

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bump. Interesting about the bong water... potash maybe?

Seamaiden said:

I'm bumping and subscribing to this thread. Someone previously asked a question about the different species of worms that could be used, and I think it's a good question I'd like to see answered.

Yep, that's it! We've got lots of bait shops around here, don't get earthworms til winter when it's raining, otherwise they're buried quite deep.

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If you're watering on the reg, would that maybe push the deeper burrowing earthworms to the surface? I don't have easy access to red wigglers... but earthworms are friggin everywhere around here. Any thoughts on tossing earth worms/night crawlers into the pots instead of red wigs?

I have a worm habitat called a "worm inn". It is a clever device that both grows worms and provides castings from veggie waste, coffee grounds, shredded paper and cardboard, just about anything organic that is not an animal byproduct.

I use red wigglers because they were cheap and I could order them online.

One of the advantages is you are supposed to water the bin until there is a slight runoff. That runoff is a killer base for a tea. The plants absolutely love it. They also love the castings themselves.

Good stuff, and completely free once you get past the initial set up costs. The worms eat your garbage and turn it into black gold. What could be better?

greg nr said:

I have a worm habitat called a "worm inn". It is a clever device that both grows worms and provides castings from veggie waste, coffee grounds, shredded paper and cardboard, just about anything organic that is not an animal byproduct.

I use red wigglers because they were cheap and I could order them online.

One of the advantages is you are supposed to water the bin until there is a slight runoff. That runoff is a killer base for a tea. The plants absolutely love it. They also love the castings themselves.

Good stuff, and completely free once you get past the initial set up costs. The worms eat your garbage and turn it into black gold. What could be better?

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Back to my question... "anybody have any info on using earthworms?" Always used red wigs in the past myself, as well. Just seeing a ton of fat daddy earthworms EVERYWHERE where I live, was thinking about using them as I've used the red wigs - just right in the pot with the plant Iv just never used earthworms before & am wanting to make sure there isn't some reason I'm not aware of, that earthworms would be inadvisable to use inside the pots, as the red wiggles can be used.