Worms in the desert?

desertlzbn · April 15, 2010

I see a lot of people posting about when they amend their soil, the get a lot of worms, I have 5 beds, all almost black in compost rich soil, but I don't think we have worms here in the desert. Does anyone have any input? I actually added worms to my compost pile, but I only then saw one after that, when I turned my pile (it was cold at the time, I could not get it to heat up, I thought the worms would work better at composting it).
Should I get worms and add them? I really don't know if they would live, I would like to think that they would.

mmcd75 · April 15, 2010

We do have worms here in the desert, at least in my yard we do. I think it depends on the bed they are in, in my beds that are in partial shade they are very easy to find, but in my beds that are in the direct sunlight I really have to dig deep for them. During the summer they will stay down where the soil is moist and cooler and in the winter they are very slow, sometimes I think mine are dead. You are probably just missing them.

azgirl · April 15, 2010

We definitely have worms in the desert. I am in the Phoenix area and see them all the time when I dig. I've never had to add them. They are just there. I typically direct compost in my beds (versus having a compost bin) and I see them when I cover everything up or plant something. Give them something to do...and you will start seeing them more.

desertlzbn · April 15, 2010

I think the problem may be, is that I am located on old farm land, and where I live was agro farmed until about 20 years ago, it seems like the soil is just sandy/clayee (a real word?) for the most part. It seems almost like all the "good" stuff is out of the native soil. Most of my beds are all new garden topsoil/compost/manure/vermiculte mixtures. I have been amending my beds with compost and manure for the last year, and I am composting in bins. I have one bed that the soil is almost black, and another that is more native soil, and the tomatoes in the bed that is mostly black are about 1 ft bigger than the tomatoes in the other bed. It really is a big difference to how your plants grow when your soil is amended properly.

mmcd75 · April 15, 2010

I bet you will start seeing worms in your "black" bed soon.

harleysilo · April 16, 2010

Build it and they will come....or start fishing and through the left over worms in the garden.....like I do. I didn't have alot of worms in my garden area, but this year when I turned it over I found a lot...been improving this spot for three years. Mixing the clay in with the compost I added over time.

April 15, 2010	#1
desertlzbn Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Tucson Posts: 659	Worms in the desert? I see a lot of people posting about when they amend their soil, the get a lot of worms, I have 5 beds, all almost black in compost rich soil, but I don't think we have worms here in the desert. Does anyone have any input? I actually added worms to my compost pile, but I only then saw one after that, when I turned my pile (it was cold at the time, I could not get it to heat up, I thought the worms would work better at composting it). Should I get worms and add them? I really don't know if they would live, I would like to think that they would.

April 15, 2010	#3
azgirl Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Arizona Posts: 113	We definitely have worms in the desert. I am in the Phoenix area and see them all the time when I dig. I've never had to add them. They are just there. I typically direct compost in my beds (versus having a compost bin) and I see them when I cover everything up or plant something. Give them something to do...and you will start seeing them more. __________________ Melissa in AZ

April 15, 2010	#2
mmcd75 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Arizona Posts: 41	We do have worms here in the desert, at least in my yard we do. I think it depends on the bed they are in, in my beds that are in partial shade they are very easy to find, but in my beds that are in the direct sunlight I really have to dig deep for them. During the summer they will stay down where the soil is moist and cooler and in the winter they are very slow, sometimes I think mine are dead. You are probably just missing them.

April 16, 2010	#6
harleysilo Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2007 Location: Woodstock GA Posts: 418	Build it and they will come....or start fishing and through the left over worms in the garden.....like I do. I didn't have alot of worms in my garden area, but this year when I turned it over I found a lot...been improving this spot for three years. Mixing the clay in with the compost I added over time.