(NWalch) wrote in
om:

What are you going to use the worms for. If its composting then I
thought that bradling worms (from a fishing bait shop) were better
than the lob worms usually dug up in a garden (the brandling worms
live deeper in the ground AFAIK and are therefore harder to dig up).

Well.....I will wait and try out a couple of the ideas for charming them up
first before I give in and buy some...

Does anyone know how to charm these worms out?

A couple of the other messages have ideas that I may try....

I have had a compost heap for getting on a year now and there is very
little in the way of worms in there....Quite a few woodlice (Not sure if
thats good or not) but precious few wormies....

I'll take a couple of hours tomorrow while I am puttering about and see
what I bring up....And see how I go....

Thanks for teh suggestions people!

(NWalch) wrote in
om:

What are you going to use the worms for. If its composting then I
thought that bradling worms (from a fishing bait shop) were better
than the lob worms usually dug up in a garden (the brandling worms
live deeper in the ground AFAIK and are therefore harder to dig up).

Well.....I will wait and try out a couple of the ideas for charming them up
first before I give in and buy some...

Does anyone know how to charm these worms out?

A couple of the other messages have ideas that I may try....

I have had a compost heap for getting on a year now and there is very
little in the way of worms in there....Quite a few woodlice (Not sure if
thats good or not) but precious few wormies....

I'll take a couple of hours tomorrow while I am puttering about and see
what I bring up....And see how I go....

Thanks for teh suggestions people!

"Rick McGreal" wrote in message
...
(NWalch) wrote in
om:

What are you going to use the worms for. If its composting then I
thought that bradling worms (from a fishing bait shop) were better
than the lob worms usually dug up in a garden (the brandling worms
live deeper in the ground AFAIK and are therefore harder to dig up).

Better in what way?
I've got compost heap and added a load of horse manure from a friend's
stable. It's full of worms but would they be the brandling or the ordinary
variety?

"Thes" wrote in message
...


Hmmm - Interesting.

When I was a kid, I had to raise a pair of chicks to adulthood as a
school project. So I was always gathering worms for them, just for fun.

IIRC - we sprinkled a little soap powder onto a patch of grass, and
watered lots with the hose (on spray) until it frothed up then soaked
in. Little buggers all came out within minutes. (Yes, we did rinse them
after - oh they were clean!)

Never seemed to damage the grass, but I wouldn't imagine it's a good
thing to do all the time... I was kid - I wasn't concerned with THAT!

But definitely YMMV.

Thes.

My own children had to do this for school this year to see how many worms
they could collect. First make up a basin of sudsey water, ie...exactly what
you'd use to wash the dishes in, luke warm is good. Pour it on a grassy area
and cover with some sacking, old carpet, the back door mat (as was our
case!) Do this in the evening and look underneath early next morning, there
*should* be lots of wormies for you to collect Oh.btw..this wont harm
your grass providing you don't forget to remove the mat, sacking etc
afterwards

Shan

On 1 Jul 2003 08:04:44 GMT, Rick McGreal wrote:

~Tim wrote in
~newsprrme9qx2wxhha1@localhost:
~
~ Does this really work?
~ I've heard it does, Not tried it myself.
~
~I seem to remember a TV show having worm charming championships....So
~something about it must work!

I was at Tintagel in Cornwall in Oct 2001 and they had a worm-charming
competition. It was hilarious to watch - a whole load of people jumping up
and down on their respective square yards of turf for five or so minutes...
I was extremely sceptical along with the friends I was with, but we all
stood there astonished when they counted the worms - hundreds!

So yes, it does indeed work. At least on Cornish fields by car parks...
What they rpobably don't say is now you've compacted the soil and squeezed
out the poor things, you have a heck of a job digging it over again 8-)

~ And what kind of ground should I pick?
~ One with worms in it (sorry :-) )
~
~Hmmm...Doesn't give me much room for choice!
~
~ Am I really going to look a prat for half an hour?! B-)

You won't need that long. 5-10 minutes I reckon.

~ Almost certainly.
~
~Oh well.....B-)


--
jane

Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone,
you may still exist but you have ceased to live.
Mark Twain

Please remove onmaps from replies, thanks!

"shannie" wrote in
:

My own children had to do this for school this year to see how many
worms they could collect. First make up a basin of sudsey water,
ie...exactly what you'd use to wash the dishes in, luke warm is good.

Erm.....I use fairy liquid....
I wouldn't have thought this would have ben a good idea!

Pour it on a grassy area and cover with some sacking, old carpet, the
back door mat (as was our case!) Do this in the evening and look
underneath early next morning, there *should* be lots of wormies for
you to collect

I'll derfinatly give this one a go.....

Oh.btw..this wont harm your grass providing you don't forget to remove
the mat, sacking etc afterwards

knowing my luck I'll forget and have the cleanest dead grass this side of
the moon!

In article , Rick McGreal
writes

I have had a compost heap for getting on a year now and there is very
little in the way of worms in there....Quite a few woodlice (Not sure if
thats good or not) but precious few wormies....

Too dry. If you make it damper, you will rid yourself of the woodlice
and you'll start getting worms.

I'll take a couple of hours tomorrow while I am puttering about and see
what I bring up....And see how I go....

Thanks for teh suggestions people!

--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

In article , Pickle
writes

"Rick McGreal" wrote in message
...
(NWalch) wrote in
om:

What are you going to use the worms for. If its composting then I
thought that bradling worms (from a fishing bait shop) were better
than the lob worms usually dug up in a garden (the brandling worms
live deeper in the ground AFAIK and are therefore harder to dig up).

Better in what way?

Better in that they prefer the conditions and will breed more and
therefore there will be more worm activity.

I've got compost heap and added a load of horse manure from a friend's
stable. It's full of worms but would they be the brandling or the ordinary
variety?

Probably the brandling. Smaller, thinner, and striped compared to the
ordinary Lumbricus earthworm.



--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

"Kay Easton" wrote in message
...
In article , Pickle
writes
I've got compost heap and added a load of horse manure from a friend's
stable. It's full of worms but would they be the brandling or the
ordinary
variety?

Probably the brandling. Smaller, thinner, and striped compared to the
ordinary Lumbricus earthworm.

Yes, they are small thin ones.

Thanks for that info Kay!



--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

Kay Easton wrote in
:

I have had a compost heap for getting on a year now and there is very
little in the way of worms in there....Quite a few woodlice (Not sure if
thats good or not) but precious few wormies....

Too dry. If you make it damper, you will rid yourself of the woodlice
and you'll start getting worms.

Now this is a complete turnaround.....Not 4 months ago It was too wet..(It
simply stank!)
Now its too dry!
Sheesh!
Talk about swings and roundabouts!! B-)

In article , Rick McGreal
writes
Kay Easton wrote in
:

I have had a compost heap for getting on a year now and there is very
little in the way of worms in there....Quite a few woodlice (Not sure if
thats good or not) but precious few wormies....

Too dry. If you make it damper, you will rid yourself of the woodlice
and you'll start getting worms.

Now this is a complete turnaround.....Not 4 months ago It was too wet..(It
simply stank!)
Now its too dry!
Sheesh!
Talk about swings and roundabouts!! B-)

Are you in Wakefield? I'll give you a handful of our worms if you like.


--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

Kay Easton wrote in
news
Are you in Wakefield? I'll give you a handful of our worms if you like.

Yup.....Just off J31 of the M62....

email me if you want better details....
return address is legit

Rick McGreal wrote:

Someone mentioned a way to gather worms....

Something about a plastic sheet after rain?

I have been searching through the news archive...But not found anything
right....But I think it doesn't go back far enough...
All I can find is stuff on using worms in composting....

All I want to do is gather a few....

Tea!

Years ago, my mother used to empty the tea pot on to a patch of bare
soil in a corner of a flower bed, rather than pour them down the sink,
in order to avoid blocking the sink.

By accident, I discovered this wet tea-soaked patch was full of worms,
especially brandlings (small ones). I don't think it was just that this
patch was damp but the tea was having a definite effect.

The other very effective method is to have a look at the lawn at night,
especially when the ground is damp. The large 'lumbricus' earth worms
come out to feed, pulling leaves down into their burrows. You do need to
be quick - they keep their tail in the burrow and can retract very
quickly. They are also sensitive to vibrations. However, some really
large ones come to the surface - up to 18" long at full stretch.
However, this method does require crawling around on the lawn late at
night with a torch, so could cause some problems with neighbours and
police ;-))
--
Larry Stoter

The message
from Rick McGreal contains these words:

Kay Easton wrote in
:

I have had a compost heap for getting on a year now and there is very
little in the way of worms in there....Quite a few woodlice (Not sure if
thats good or not) but precious few wormies....

Too dry. If you make it damper, you will rid yourself of the woodlice
and you'll start getting worms.

Now this is a complete turnaround.....Not 4 months ago It was too wet..(It
simply stank!)
Now its too dry!
Sheesh!
Talk about swings and roundabouts!! B-)

Well, you have to manage your compost heaps a little bit. Covering
them (old corrugated iron will do) stops the rain leaching the compost
and making it over soggy. A heap in the making will get enough moisture
from green material added to it. A full, cooled heap (the stage when you
add worms for speed) needs a look at now and then; if it's too dry (ant
nest activity; material not breaking down, worms all gone to the bottom
) it needs damping with some water or urine or comfrey tea.

Janet.

Janet Baraclough wrote in
:

Well, you have to manage your compost heaps a little bit. Covering
them (old corrugated iron will do) stops the rain leaching the compost
and making it over soggy. A heap in the making will get enough
moisture from green material added to it. A full, cooled heap (the
stage when you add worms for speed) needs a look at now and then; if
it's too dry (ant nest activity; material not breaking down, worms all
gone to the bottom ) it needs damping with some water or urine or
comfrey tea.

I have soaked it down a little....Not much....
And so we will see.....I also turned it over to get some air in there