Earthworms - too much of a good thing?

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barbgers Pound Ridge, NY Aug 19, 2008

I've always thought all worms were good worms until I saw a few articles on how they're changing the face of the "urban forest" - i.e., seed germination problems and no more leaf mold. I have a different, but related problem. In a rock garden on a fairly steep slope I've been using shredded leaves for mulch which has made the earthworms multiply like crazy and the soil has become very porous and granular - sort of like ground nuts - all worm castings. Now when it rains, the soil just slides down the hill and the roots don't hold it. (When the deer come nibbling, they can pull out some plants with just a taste.) Any suggestions? Do they like acid or alkaline? Any plants distasteful to worms? Should I keep it wetter?

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ecrane3 Dublin, CA(Zone 9a) Aug 19, 2008

If it's a rock garden, you might consider using gravel or river rocks for mulch instead of the leaves. Or plant some other groundcover in there that'll spread more through the area and its roots can help hold things together.

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barbgers Pound Ridge, NY Aug 19, 2008

Thanks, ecrane. I'm hoping to save some of my existing plantings, and the slope is steep enough that it's roots that are going to need to do the job, not rocks. Apparently, CA has its own native earthworms, but my part of the country was covered by the glaciers back in the day, so our problem is similar to that of the Great Lakes area - see the link from the U of Minn:

http://www.nrri.umn.edu/worms/

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