One Very Happy Earthworm!

countrynaturals 2/24/2017, 4:03 pm

I know what you're thinking. "Big deal -- so you found a worm." BUT . . . I found this little guy on the deck, in a bowl full of used coffee filters and garden gadgets. Luckily the rain got in, so there was some water in the bottom. I can't imagine where he came from, since none of this stuff had ever seen dirt or been in the garden. He was very energetic for a worm, so I'm guessing he was on a caffeine high from living on used coffee grounds. Now he has been happily relocated to the base of Katie's fig tree, but deserves his 15 minutes of fame for surviving his ordeal. I think I'll name him "John McClane." rofl

(Get it? Bruce Willis's character in the Die Hard movies.)
One Very Happy Earthworm! Worm10

CitizenKate 2/24/2017, 8:35 pm

Oh no, this is a big deal! I, too, have noticed that worms seem to like used coffee grinds. I think it's one of the key ingredients that has been attracting them to my compost bins.

**sanderson** 2/25/2017, 3:51 am

countrynaturals 2/25/2017, 11:14 am

AHA! I think I figured it out! I dump used coffee filters in the compost heap, full of the grounds. Later, I pull them out, shake them off, and collect them to line the bottoms of containers. John must have been a tiny baby, munching the coffee grounds on one of the filters in the compost. I must have brought him up myself, without noticing. So, he grew up in that bowl on the deck with a diet of nothing but coffee. Anybody know how long it would take for him to grow from about a half inch to about 3"?

**Kelejan** 2/27/2017, 1:27 pm

County Naturals; this is what I found in my pile of papers recently, while trying to de-clutter all the piles that have accumulated over the years.

15 January 2016 I took part in a two-worm small container experiment. (Yoghurt tub)

I started with two worms both under 1" babies.

23 February they had both grown to 2 1/4 inches, one was sexually mature and they other had not kept up at that time.

(I have missing notes - no doubt I will find them eventually).

Sometime in June: One mature worm remained and there were dozens of tiny worms around.

24 July: Both senior worms were gone; many babies remained with some of them one to two inches long.

All worms joined my large worm bin.

Note: Worms do not actually eat any of the food we give them as they live off the bacteria and other stuff that happens when the food decomposes, so your worm will not get high on caffeine. Your worm is now mature, so you can expect babies as worms can do without another worm if they have to.

countrynaturals 2/27/2017, 7:14 pm

Kelejan wrote:Note: Worms do not actually eat any of the food we give them as they live off the bacteria and other stuff that happens when the food decomposes, so your worm will not get high on caffeine. Your worm is now mature, so you can expect babies as worms can do without another worm if they have to.

Fascinating critters. I didn't know all of this (except the part about not needing a mate).

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