Worms haven't always been around

Just read an article today by Deborah Campbell  in "The Tyee" dated Feb 25, 2014 from an excerpt from a talk given by J.B. MacKinnon.

quote below:

"We can't turn back the clock to some specific version of nature from the past. For example, consider the fact that Vancouver didn't have earthworms until the colonial era, and now it has more than 20 introduced worm species. Are we somehow going to eliminate them all? So while the past has much to teach us about what a healthy ecological world looks like, I'm not talking about recreating the past, I'm talking about rewilding the future. We can use our growing knowledge of what nature used to look like to raise the bar on what we consider to be the 'normal' state of nature."
unquote

I wonder how widespread worms are in the world and if it is a good thing to spread them around even more to assist growing things? I believe we now have disagreement on introducing composting worms where there were only earthworms previously.

I must admit that I always thought at that earthworms were everywhere since I played with worms when I was a very young child.

Not all species of earthworm are invasive species. Beware the red wigglers, though they do not seem to survive northern winter temperatures.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthworms_as_invasive_species

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasive_earthworms_of_North_America

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1916/whats-the-story-on-north-american-earthworms

https://www.naturewatch.ca/english/wormwatch/facts.html

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/invasives/terrestrialanimals/earthworms/index.html

My compost worms are red wigglers and they are confined to their Wiggler Hiltons.
If outside, I think they will only survive in a special invironment, if they wiggle out of there, then I think they will be toast. I mean frozen blocks of worm.

I want to make a worm tube like I have seen on this site. I don't want to order a bunch of worms online, I really can't go to that expense right now.

My question is: Can I buy the African or Canadian night-crawlers that bait dealer sell? I went to get some today and they keep them in the fridge. Does that mean this variety needs cold temperatures to survive? I just want to do this small scale right now.

Thanks in advance for the advise.

You know, if you have a moist compost pile on the ground, even a small one, the worms will come to the pile. It doesn't have to be there long, a few days and the worms will come.

So the night crawlers in the coolers want work? I don't have a compost pile yet. Also I read where you shouldn't use normal earthworms, because they are use to living deeper in the ground.

Cajunsmoke14 wrote:So the night crawlers in the coolers want work? I don't have a compost pile yet. Also I read where you shouldn't use normal earthworms, because they are use to living deeper in the ground.

Are you garden beds on the ground? The worms will find a way and the native worms are fine in the garden.

Yeah my beds are on the ground. Thanks for the info

Kelejan wrote:Just read an article today by Deborah Campbell  in "The Tyee" dated Feb 25, 2014 from an excerpt from a talk given by J.B. MacKinnon.

quote below:

"We can't turn back the clock to some specific version of nature from the past. For example, consider the fact that Vancouver didn't have earthworms until the colonial era, and now it has more than 20 introduced worm species. Are we somehow going to eliminate them all? So while the past has much to teach us about what a healthy ecological world looks like, I'm not talking about recreating the past, I'm talking about rewilding the future. We can use our growing knowledge of what nature used to look like to raise the bar on what we consider to be the 'normal' state of nature."
unquote

I wonder how widespread worms are in the world and if it is a good thing to spread them around even more to assist growing things? I believe we now have disagreement on introducing composting worms where there were only earthworms previously.

I must admit that I always thought at that earthworms were everywhere since I played with worms when I was a very young child.

bump

camprn wrote:

Cajunsmoke14 wrote:So the night crawlers in the coolers want work? I don't have a compost pile yet. Also I read where you shouldn't use normal earthworms, because they are use to living deeper in the ground.

Are you garden beds on the ground? The worms will find a way and the native worms are fine in the garden.

Are you saying that worms will migrate from another area?

I would be willing to bet that you will NOT find any natural earth worms of ANY variety here in Golden Valley Arizona. I have had a compost pile for over two years now, and there is no way any worms are residing here.  Everything around me is clay, clay and then you get to the REALLY HARD stuff (more clay).

I would be VERY interested in knowing what variety of worms to import to my new SFG.  Right now everything is nice and lush and moist (rain for the past 48 hours, off and on) but should/could I buy worms for my garden?

How about the pots where I planted potatoes yesterday, would/could they benefit from worms?

Skip

Phottoman wrote:

camprn wrote:

Cajunsmoke14 wrote:So the night crawlers in the coolers want work? I don't have a compost pile yet. Also I read where you shouldn't use normal earthworms, because they are use to living deeper in the ground.

Are you garden beds on the ground? The worms will find a way and the native worms are fine in the garden.

Are you saying that worms will migrate from another area?

I would be willing to bet that you will NOT find any natural earth worms of ANY variety here in Golden Valley Arizona. I have had a compost pile for over two years now, and there is no way any worms are residing here.  Everything around me is clay, clay and then you get to the REALLY HARD stuff (more clay).

I would be VERY interested in knowing what variety of worms to import to my new SFG.  Right now everything is nice and lush and moist (rain for the past 48 hours, off and on) but should/could I buy worms for my garden?

How about the pots where I planted potatoes yesterday, would/could they benefit from worms?

Skip

I was responding specifically to cajunsmoke14 who is located in LA regarding her earthworm question. Gardening is region specific. In general the earthworms are beneficial in the cold or aging compost pile and the vegetable garden. Regarding worms that will tolerate the southwest desert, I recommend contacting you local Extension Service agriculture agent for the best information.

Cajunsmoke14, here is a thread I started about 2 yrs. ago.  You might like this idea for free worms:


https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t10588-corral-earthworms-for-your-garden?highlight=worm+corral