Author Topic: Adding garden/manure worms to the soil in the greenhouse?  (Read 604 times)

Plantinyum

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1418
    • Bulgaria , near Sofia city , planting zone 7
    • View Profile
Adding garden/manure worms to the soil in the greenhouse?
« on: August 30, 2022, 03:28:51 PM »
Two weeks ago i collected guite alot of manure worms to my soil in the greenhouse, i collected them from my compost pile located in the near forest. I wonder if i should collect some more.
I also added some compost on the top of the soil and now when i dig a bit i find a few worms at each spot, both  the manure ones and the standard garden ones. Before i added the compost i could hardly find any garden worms in the soil, seems that it is attracting them .
Is there a risk to overpopulate the soil with them, i have alot of mulch on top of the soil so they should have enough to eat?

Jaboticaba45

  • Check out TN Tropical Fruits!
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2355
  • Tropical Fruit Tree Connoisseur
    • Chattanooga TN 7b
    • View Profile
Re: Adding garden/manure worms to the soil in the greenhouse?
« Reply #1 on: August 30, 2022, 05:05:19 PM »
Worms, while they are good for the garden, if the get in pots, it can be a nightmare. They end up turning the bottom of the soil to basically mush. Not good for plants. I understand that it should be fine in a greenhouse, but if the pots are on the ground the worms will go into them. Here the majority that I find are actually invasive and should be killed. They do more harm than good.

pineislander

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2199
    • Bokeelia, FL
    • View Profile
Re: Adding garden/manure worms to the soil in the greenhouse?
« Reply #2 on: August 30, 2022, 06:36:40 PM »
Worms, while they are good for the garden, if the get in pots, it can be a nightmare. They end up turning the bottom of the soil to basically mush. Not good for plants. I understand that it should be fine in a greenhouse, but if the pots are on the ground the worms will go into them. Here the majority that I find are actually invasive and should be killed. They do more harm than good.

I find "wild" worms even getting into plants raised up on wire racks well above the ground.
They may be coming in as juveniles in the potting mix or climbed up.

I have a large vermiculture system holding 5 cubic yards(~4 cubic meters) and some worms migrate out of that system and get into pots. However, most of my potted plants and trees are only temporary in pots for propagation and are transplanted to ground by year 2. I do notice the worms break down potting soil and this wouldn't be a good practice for trees to remain in pots. I expect they do add fertility when they are active in the potting soil.
 


pagnr

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 941
    • View Profile
Re: Adding garden/manure worms to the soil in the greenhouse?
« Reply #3 on: August 30, 2022, 06:58:40 PM »
In Far North Queensland, worms are a problem in pots because they attract Bandicoots.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandicoot
Basically they will rip open planter bags and dig out pots to get the worms.
Not sure if rats could cause those problems elsewhere, or other small mammals (shrews ) ??
For a correctly structured pot mix, with particles of various sizes, there is no advantage to worms.
You are better to add worm egg free worm castings or liquid worm castings.
This is beneficial to plants and soil, rather than having the worms do the work in the pots.

Plantinyum

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1418
    • Bulgaria , near Sofia city , planting zone 7
    • View Profile
Re: Adding garden/manure worms to the soil in the greenhouse?
« Reply #4 on: August 31, 2022, 01:14:20 AM »
Ive seen what worms do to soil in pots , their poop once produced holds alot of water when wattering ,the soil moisture becomes hard to control. Against the popular believe i dont think ive had plant roots getting eaten by them , they do like to pull on leaves that are toching the ground though.
I wanted to add them since they will help to brake down the mulch on top, theres no way of removing them now, i only can add more...
I dont have potted plants in the gh, just a few pots which wont be there for long, so everithing is planted right into the soil.
« Last Edit: August 31, 2022, 01:18:00 AM by Plantinyum »

Plantinyum

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1418
    • Bulgaria , near Sofia city , planting zone 7
    • View Profile
Re: Adding garden/manure worms to the soil in the greenhouse?
« Reply #5 on: August 31, 2022, 01:16:13 AM »
Worms, while they are good for the garden, if the get in pots, it can be a nightmare. They end up turning the bottom of the soil to basically mush. Not good for plants. I understand that it should be fine in a greenhouse, but if the pots are on the ground the worms will go into them. Here the majority that I find are actually invasive and should be killed. They do more harm than good.

I find "wild" worms even getting into plants raised up on wire racks well above the ground.
They may be coming in as juveniles in the potting mix or climbed up.

I have a large vermiculture system holding 5 cubic yards(~4 cubic meters) and some worms migrate out of that system and get into pots. However, most of my potted plants and trees are only temporary in pots for propagation and are transplanted to ground by year 2. I do notice the worms break down potting soil and this wouldn't be a good practice for trees to remain in pots. I expect they do add fertility when they are active in the potting soil.
 

By the way that looks like a nice greenhouse, will the outside part be a pond ?

Aiptasia904

  • Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 70
    • Orange Park
    • View Profile
Re: Adding garden/manure worms to the soil in the greenhouse?
« Reply #6 on: August 31, 2022, 08:17:34 AM »
Not really necessary. It's more beneficial for you to add worm castings/compost from a vermicomposter to your container and greenhouse gardening than the worms themselves. I have a hard time keeping armadillos out of my vermicomposter and have to use a tightening ratchet strap over the lid and the base to keep those worm scavenging buggers out of my worm bin.

Plantinyum

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1418
    • Bulgaria , near Sofia city , planting zone 7
    • View Profile
Re: Adding garden/manure worms to the soil in the greenhouse?
« Reply #7 on: September 01, 2022, 12:26:27 AM »

I do want to start a worm bin , i will set one but in spring since were getting cold for this now, end of september marks the start of the frosts and low temps, do such worm bins operate in winters in cold climates?
Also from where are u folks getting the worms to start it, fish store?