Good Afternoon!
Does anyone have source for bulk earthworms? I would like to add some to a couple of new beds I'm putting in this spring (to help break up our black gumbo).......but I really don't want the solid gold ones they sell at the nursery ($15.95 for a pint-size container)! I seem to remember seeing an advertisement somewhere selling them by the pound but can't find it now!
Thanks.
Mae Belle
Earthworms
Go to a fishing or sporting goods store. They sell worms much cheaper than that.
Try the bait shop. They'll have worms for cheap!
I beat you by one minute StephanieTX.
Lets see who can get the first tomato.
3, 2, 1 GO!!!!!!!!
Bait shops are not the place to get cheep worms. The type of worms that are sold by the Lb are not the ones you would want in your beds. The best way to get worms is to add compost and this will not happen overnight. If your wanting to break up clay, use gypsum, works like magic.
Where do you buy gypsum. Are there different kinds?
Lows, HD, most garden centers. We get ours at a local feed store. It really does work. I have used it for years. I also compost big time and we have lots of earthworms. My compost pile is 30' X 20' X 6'. I let it break down for one year then dump it on the ground, all around my plants. We are in red clay and people see think we had it brought in for our driveway. When we tell them that our yard is red clay also, they say, but it's black. It wasn't eight years ago. Gypsum does great to help you dig and it also helps the ground to soak in the rain faster, but it will not do much for the plants, that takes compost and lots of it.
We've had the biggest worms this year that we've seen since moving into this house in 2005. We've not really done anything special to the whole yard EXCEPT not used chemical fertilizers or pest controls. We do have a compost pile and we do use our own compost in our veggie beds and some flower beds. In the past, we've just seen loads of small worms, about as big around as a piece of string. This year, however, we've got huge earthworms! They're about as big around as my pinkie!
I saw a gray jay last week with what I thought was a huge earthworm in its beak.. as I looked closer I saw it was a small snake!...lol... that jay slurpped it up like a piece of spagitti..took him a while to get it down but he did.. it was cool to watch...
Thank you for all of your suggestions.......I live on the coast and the only "bait" in the bait shops is shrimp!!!!!
Kenboy, I will try the gypsum......I have a dump truck load of composted gin trash that will get tilled in and I will add the gypsum when I add the compost. Why are the "by the pound" worms not what I want in my beds? I thought an earthworm was an earthworm was an earthworm!!!!
Thanks.
check out Decker Worm Sales
http://www.deckerwormsales.com/
Stephanie, I've had the same experience with worms. Adding compost and not using chemicals makes the difference, I think. I also put down lots and lots of used Starbucks coffee grounds. It seemed like overnight I went from having no earthworms to having those giant earthworms. They're beauties. :-)
Carla
I stand corrected, the link that drm0469 posted has Red worms which work very well in beds.
kenboy, i took your advice and put down some gypsum, i just wish i could find it in bulk locally.. Nobody sells the big bags out here~ Hope it works as well for me as it did for you.
it will work but it takes time. I used it in Fort Worth and knew it worked. Then I moved to east Texas and met Maggi and she suggested we use it on the south side of the house. I said we would need to work it in and she said no just spread it on the ground and the rain would do it's thing. She treated it twice in about three months and I waited another three months and to my surprise, the shovel went into the red clay like it was sand. It really does work but may not have time to fully do it's job before you are ready to get started.
ratfood.. Ive read where you can use drywall... you might be able to get a contractor to let you have the scrap stuff free.. you peel away the paper and let it break down on its own.. check freecycle someone might be giving it away
KENBOY, the local Lowes started carrying gypsum for the spring! I have put down a few hundred pounds of it so far and each time I go there I buy another bag or two. Thanks for getting me onto this~
Raven, thanks for the info, next time I come across a build site I will take the drywall scrap and have the kids bust it up.
You are welcome Ratfood, glad to help and hope it does what you need. Just don't forget to back that up with compost and lots of it.
I would stay away from sheetrock, it has lots of stuff you do not want in you garden, glue, fiberglass etc.
Noted Kenboy,
That being said, I have a place down the road with a truckload of nice compost for ~$35. I pick up a load at least once a month. The maters absolutely love it, I can't cage them fast enough... However, to get back on topic, it has rained for four days in a row here. It let up today and I decided to drop some peppers in the ground, everywhere I dug I was hitting worms... It had to be the rain because I never had worms before in this hot town... I have a good feeling this year...
If I can just get pollengarden to tell me how to prune my tree then i'll be set....
If you've ever added earthworm castings to your garden as fertilizer, that often will help the earthworm population. Many times there are earthworm eggs in the castings.
can I buy earth worm castings?
C
Yes! Try at Redenta's. I know they have them there.
I went there for the first time on Sunday and it is a very nice store with a good variety of native and interesting plants. Some non-plant items are very expensive though.
C
Yes, they can be pricey, but if you sign up for their newsletter, you get coupons! I like their fertilizers, too. Isn't there a feed store located on Arkansas Ln near Bowen Rd? You might check there as well. I know you can find them at Marshall Grain. I always sprinkle earthworm castings in the hole and mix in with some dirt before transplanting.