On Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:08:14 -0400, Bill
wrote:
Penelope Periwinkle wrote:
"Steve Young"bowtieATbrightdslDOTnet wrote:

Not to mention the feast it would provide red worms.
http://www.unclejimswormfarm.com/ind...how_aux_page=3
Wouldn't be long before a pound turns into 10 pounds

So, aren't you concerned about spreading what is considered to be an
invasive species?

Brought over in about 1650. I note the forest has changed due to red
worms and the way the forest recycles leaves. Still 400 years ago? I'd
worry about great lake bilges from world wide shipping traffic.

The forests have not all changed. There was an article in a National
Geographic about a fern whose numbers are dropping in Minnisota, I
think. It's a "canary in the coal mine" for the spread of _Lumbricus
rubellus_.

The recommendations I've found suggest freezing all earthworm castings
for several days to a week to kill the worms and cocoons. I've been
trying to find out more information on native earthworms here in South
Carolina and see if I can adapt some sort of vermiculture to their
use. Other than, you know, the compost piled on the ground.


Penelope
--
"Maybe you'd like to ask the Wizard for a heart."
"ElissaAnn"