Earthworms.

[BzDave]

I threw a handful of worms into the pots of my plants. Was that stupid? Can they hurt my plants??

 

[SadBadGrower]

I threw a handful of worms into the pots of my plants. Was that stupid? Can they hurt my plants??

They can give your plants herpes...lol...just playing. I have no idea but want to see what others say.

 

[dire wolf]

no, I don't think they will hurt your plants , ive done it , but the benefit of tunneling(for root aireation) or worm casting fert wont really happen, I think they just get bored and tunnel out the drain holes, and end up somewhere else, anyway that's what they did in my 20 gal outdoor pots.....
now, throwing a cupful of worm castings in your medium , that's a whole different story , ive never seen a plant get happier than when fed worm castings..... shit is magic

 

[Homesteader]

It is fine. I use a handful of worms in every grow bag I use. They break down nutrients and crap out the castings.
Personally I like using half night crawlers and half red wrigglers. The crawlers go to the surface and back down to the bottom which creates channels for water and air.

 

[dire wolf]

If your around worms , start a little vermiculture set up .....
Worm shit = gold

 

[SkunkyDunk]

Depending on nutes used they may not make it long.

 

[Homesteader]

Depending on nutes used they may not make it long.

Good point. Worms are for organic gardening. If you use liquid nutrients, I would pass on the worms

 

[BzDave]

Good point. Worms are for organic gardening. If you use liquid nutrients, I would pass on the worms

Good point. Worms are for organic gardening. If you use liquid nutrients, I would pass on the worms

Ahhh... I do in fact use liquid. (Fox farm) oh well if they die, that’s fertilizer too I reckon. They were accumulating under the cloth pots I used, I assumed because of the juice..

 

[Happysmoke]

They are good for soil aeration, and may add some castings. If they were living under your pots chances are they like the soil conditions. Besides, if they don't like it they will just crawl out of the pot.

 

[THCMonster]

Yea foxfarm is salty so it will eventually kill them... Like happy smoke said though they will just crawl out of the pots! Just be careful because you may think dead worms= fertilizer but it could also harbor bad bacteria because their dead bodies will start to compost inside the pots.

Best of luck to you!

 

[THCMonster]

For the record too, if you ever want to keep worms in the pots you would want to use a product like ROOTS ORGANICS, there products are no added salt minerals as fertilizer, I have a customer at my store that does worm vermicompost in his pots with red wigglers, hes told me thats the only stuff liquid fertilizer wise that truly worked for him, that and adding mulch in the form of kelp meal or hay to the top surface of the soil. Just figured I would pass on the info from one vermicomposter to another!

 

[SadBadGrower]

Fox Farm already has castings in the Big Bloom bottle....

 

[shaganja]

Hey vermicomposters, do worm castings all have the same nutrient value? For example, if I give my worms, clover, and coffee, and veg growing things, will they give me a veg compost? And then have a recipe for flower also using things plants need then. For example kelp during flower Etc...any thoughts on vermicomposting recipes for veg, and flower?

 

[visajoe1]

Depending on nutes used they may not make it long.

I wondered the same, until I came across a study asking the same question. The conclusion was normal rate of fertilizers had zero negative effect on worm populations.

They did also overfeed the soil to see what happened. There was a slight dip in population, but it rebounded when fertilizing returned to normal levels.

Moreover, compared to non-fertilized soil worm population was greater in fertilized soil. They thought it suggested it was related to more organic matter available for the worms (plant growth from healthy soil).

This is not the one I read, but it appears to have similar info

http://www.ipni.net/publication/bettercrops.nsf/0/0B1F012E6EDD653F85257D31005EAB7D/$FILE/%20BC-1994-3%20p9.pdf

 

[visajoe1]

Another one

(PDF) Effect of fertilizer (NPK) on earthworm population in the Agroforestry system of Mizoram, India

PDF | The effect of inorganic fertilizer (NPK) on earthworm population was studied for two years (2002- 2004) under different plantations at... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ResearchGate

www.researchgate.net

 

[One drop]

I wondered the same, until I came across a study asking the same question. The conclusion was normal rate of fertilizers had zero negative effect on worm populations.

They did also overfeed the soil to see what happened. There was a slight dip in population, but it rebounded when fertilizing returned to normal levels.

Moreover, compared to non-fertilized soil worm population was greater in fertilized soil. They thought it suggested it was related to more organic matter available for the worms (plant growth from healthy soil).

This is not the one I read, but it appears to have similar info

http://www.ipni.net/publication/bettercrops.nsf/0/0B1F012E6EDD653F85257D31005EAB7D/$FILE/%20BC-1994-3%20p9.pdf

The only element that can damage them is copper . Od

 

[visajoe1]

The only element that can damage them is copper . Od

Good to know! Living soils is something I want to get to when I can. Have you gotten into that at all?