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| No, no, not worms as a soil additive...that would be on the odd side even for rose fanatics like us. I mean when you're digging your rose hole, how many worms on average do you find in the soil you uncover? I thought about this as someone in a recent post (perhaps Michael) mentioned that once your soil is healthy you will be turning up tons of wiggly worms in all that organic material. Our soil in Nebraska starts out a reasonably good loamy clay, and I've improved my soil to the point where if I dig up a spring bulb by mistake I can either scratch with my fingers or just plunge the bulb back in the soil without any digging just about anywhere. I mulch with shredded leaves everywhere and fertilize with alfalfa in the spring and again in mid-July if I remember and feel like it.
However, I tend not to uncover all that many earthworms when I plant my roses, and I've had plenty of chances to check different parts of the yard as I plant this year. My guess is that I see more of the worms when there's more raw organic material to break down, or if I hit a "nest" like I did in one bed, but in the average bed it's notable to see more than one or two when I plant an average rose hole. I'd be curious what the rest of you find when planting, particularly in your established beds with whatever "good soil" looks like in your zone. Since I suppose things vary by time of year, weather, size of hole, etc. let's assume the following conditions: - a 5-gallon sized hole
Question - how many worms would you turn up in filling a 5-gallon bucket to plant a rose there?
Just curious and wondering if I should be doing more for my soil and their resident worms. Cynthia |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Even in my heavy red clay soil here in Tennessee I have a good amount of earth worms. Most of the area that I'm adding beds to this year hasn't been ammended at all, until I start digging. I'd estimate that in the amount of soil it takes to fill a 5g nursery container I'd find about 20 earth worms. Happy to see them, just not sure why they love hard, heavy clay so much :) Tammy |
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| A hole one foot across and one foot deep should contain at least 10 worms or more. |
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- Posted by grandmothers_rose z6b VA (My Page) on Wed, Jun 20, 12 at 5:44
| I don't find many worms, either. However, after a couple of rainy days I'll find 6 or so if I dig a 5 gallon bucket of dirt, but only 1 or 2 when it's dry. I do see way more Robins in my garden than peruse the grass, so I take that as a good sign. I started spraying Bayer Advanced Disease Control and Mancozeb this year (no insecticides for at least 10 years) and I have not seen a change in the number of worms, so I don't think that affects them. I have been adding 2" of compost to the garden for about three years and have seen only a small increase in the number of worms. I would like to know how to increase their numbers, also. |
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| I'm with my Nebraska neighbor--maybe a couple worms--though I must confess I never really noticed much one way or another, but I'm sure if I had lots of them, I would have noticed that. Since over the years I have amended my gardens (I've been gardening over 30 years), I assume the soil is reasonably good. I'm wondering if--like the previous poster--if the worms are more noticeable and in increased numbers after a rain. Kate |
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