Keeping earthworms in your raised bed container....
 

Hello,

I just completed my raised bed containers (4' x 9' x 2')
and want to amend the new soil with earthworm castings. I know
the earthworms may leave the container if they don't stay happy
and content with what's provided. I've heard the use of corn meal
(sprinkled on top of the soil) can keep them up near the top.

Does anyone have tips on keeping them fat and happy?
Also what is the ratio of earthworms, to say, a square foot of soil.
I'm thinking of ordering a 1000 and putting 300 in each of
the 3 containers.

Cheers,
Ed

Hi Ed,
I assume you have some type of composting worm e.g red wrigglers.
These are better for creating castings rather than the standard earthworm or
ground crawler.

Composting worms like any type of vegetable peels, tea or coffee grinds,
crushed eggshells (for digestion), shredded newspaper,etc.
They are particularly partial to banana skins. They tend to steer clear of
anything too acidic e.g citrus skins.

Check out the excellent "worms eat my garbage" from the library for more
info on keeping these handy critters happy.

Cheers
Conor
http://www.gardennut.com

"Ed" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello,

I just completed my raised bed containers (4' x 9' x 2')
and want to amend the new soil with earthworm castings. I know
the earthworms may leave the container if they don't stay happy
and content with what's provided. I've heard the use of corn meal
(sprinkled on top of the soil) can keep them up near the top.

Does anyone have tips on keeping them fat and happy?
Also what is the ratio of earthworms, to say, a square foot of soil.
I'm thinking of ordering a 1000 and putting 300 in each of
the 3 containers.

Cheers,
Ed

Hey Ed,
I have a couple of raised bed containers about the same size as yours
that are several years old. They sit on gravel that overlays heavy clay
soil. They are full of happy earthworms. I amend the soil with compost
every year which seems to provide plenty of nutrition for the worms as
well as the plants. I also leave the dead plants in the soil over the
winter so their roots and such break down further. Worms are mobile
digestive tracts. They just slurp up the soil in front of their mouths
and it all runs through and out the other end, minus whatever nutrients
the worm needs. They help break down organic matter into plant-ready
nutrients.

I've never seen worms trying to escape, but that may be because of the
barbed wire & watch towers ;).

Angela

In article ,
"Conor Redmond" wrote:

Hi Ed,
I assume you have some type of composting worm e.g red wrigglers.
These are better for creating castings rather than the standard earthworm or
ground crawler.

Composting worms like any type of vegetable peels, tea or coffee grinds,
crushed eggshells (for digestion), shredded newspaper,etc.
They are particularly partial to banana skins. They tend to steer clear of
anything too acidic e.g citrus skins.

Check out the excellent "worms eat my garbage" from the library for more
info on keeping these handy critters happy.

Cheers
Conor
http://www.gardennut.com

"Ed" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello,

I just completed my raised bed containers (4' x 9' x 2')
and want to amend the new soil with earthworm castings. I know
the earthworms may leave the container if they don't stay happy
and content with what's provided. I've heard the use of corn meal
(sprinkled on top of the soil) can keep them up near the top.

Does anyone have tips on keeping them fat and happy?
Also what is the ratio of earthworms, to say, a square foot of soil.
I'm thinking of ordering a 1000 and putting 300 in each of
the 3 containers.

Cheers,
Ed