If they were alive when you picked them up, then they should stay alive when
you put them back in the ground. The bait shops around here collect
nightcrawlers at night and put them in big dirt&leaf-filled boxes, and the
worms stay alive in the boxes all year.

But you might want to loosen the soil up a little where you release the
worms. That way they can get back under ground and survive.

Hope this helps,

--
Rob Smith, NY
www.allwoodwork.com
Woodworking, Home, & Garden Community
"Dave Strasz" wrote in message
...
An overnight rain forced worms on to paved surfaces. I've read where this
occurs mostly in April and November as worms seem to be near the surface.
I
collected several hundred from a parking lot and a tennis court. They
include many "night crawlers" to 6" or 8" plus many smaller worms. Can I
add these to my garden with the expectation that some will survive and
multiply? My garden is still dormant with a layer of top soil over
shredded
leaf debris over grass clippings, with each layer about 2" to 3" thick at
the time of application last fall.

Thank you.