"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
"axemanchris" wrote in message
...

"Wylie Wilde" wrote in message
u...
Hi,

My garden seems totally devoid of earthworms (nightcrawlers). I think
the
previous owner killed them with insecticide or some crap. Its been 2
years
already and I've been digging and planting my flowers- but absolutely
zero
sign of them.

I noticed however- in a nearby park- there seems to be quite a bit of
wormcastings, ie a collection of dark small dirt balls. I heard that
the
wormcastings may contain worm eggs.

So I was wondering whether its worthwhile collecting the wormcastings
and
placing them in my compost bin so as to rear earthworms? Would that
work?

Cheers,

Wylie

I don't know if they castings contain worm eggs or not, but if I wanted
worms in my garden I'd go to my local bait and tackle shop and buy some
slated to be devoured by fish. I'm sure the worms and your garden would
thank you for it.

Jacqui

I always thought that was a good idea, until I something interesting on TV
about introducing earthworms to places that are better off without them.
Vegetable gardens are obviously helped by worms, but nearby forest might
not
be. If you're in a rush, page down to "What are the harmful effects of
nonnative earthworms?"

http://www.extension.umn.edu/yardand...N-Mar0103.html

Since many of the worms sold in bait shops are not native to the area,
this
is worth thinking about.

That is very interesting. I would never have thought of worms as an
imported, or even a harmful, creature. One really only hears about how good
they are for the soil, etc...

Jacqui