Mazway
1342561306
Posted 1362326884
Reply with quote #1
Does anyone put red worms in with cups or newly potted baby figs; the kind you get from the bait shop?
ForeverFigs
1351425467
Posted 1362328573
Reply with quote #2
I had thought about it...and I know that worms are good for the soil conditions...but I felt that worms introduced into the soil at that early stage of growth might do more harm than good to those tender roots. Maybe after the first year in a larger pot I might still do it.
bullet08
1284496248
Posted 1362329469
Reply with quote #3
after coming back from a cub scout camping, my sons put all the left over worms in few 1 gal containers. not sure if they helped or not, but i'm sure they all dried up within a month since i let my soil go rather dry before watering them.
oldvt
1323471395
Posted 1362329728
Reply with quote #4
Red worms in bigger pots are fine, if the pot is too small the worms will die and smell bad.
Boris
1296846336
Posted 1362329766
Reply with quote #5
I always have worms in my pots and think that they help with aeration and produce castings. These are natural red worms from manure compost or other earth worms that get into the pot through the bottom hole. However, with cups it is problematical because there is not much space for them and I doubt there is much food for them. Red worms are heavily dependent on semi-decomposed manure or vegetable material, and earth worms need semi-decomposed leaves. Do you put that staff in your cups? I doubt it. It is mostly mature compost, moss, perlite, and vermiculite which is not a good medium for worms to thrive.
Boris
1296846336
Posted 1362330097
Reply with quote #6
Vince,
Mazway
1342561306
Posted 1362330360
Reply with quote #7
Thanks for all the feedback. I think they can wait till they get out of doors for the worms. I,m just looking for ways feed the new plants.
DWD2
1331116011
Posted 1362330770
Reply with quote #8
Instead of worms, you really want to use worm castings. You should be able to get them at any hydroponics store in your area. Make sure to get ones labelled as "100% worm castings." Magical stuff. After rooting, I grow all my cuttings in cups with 10% by volume worm castings, 20% perlite (screened to remove dust) & 70% Gardner & Bloome Blue Ribbon Potting Mix. Since I have added the worm castings, I have not lost a single rooted cutting. VERY happy about that. There is a very big, rapidly growing horticultural science literature on the benefits of worm castings. It is kind of cool because you can watch the opinions of the experts change as they experiment with vermicompost. The group at NC State University went from skeptics to having a staff member whose job is to promote and research vermicomposting in North Carolina.http://www.bae.ncsu.edu/topic/vermicomposting/
jazzbass
1225037936
Posted 1362330837
Reply with quote #9
I always use worm casting as part of my fertilizer mixture. This is done in early spring.
Mazway
1342561306
Posted 1362333234
Reply with quote #10
Alright, sounds like worm castings are something I could use. I had some cuttings that were rooted; sprout leaves and then wilted and dried. Others are still going strong.
jazzbass
1225037936
Posted 1362333501
Reply with quote #11
Here is some good reading. Even though you may not want to worm farm. Look at the advantages of using worm castings.http://www.WormFarmingSecrets.com
rcantor
1309799312
Posted 1362351142
Reply with quote #12
I use worm castings in all my mixes and plant worms outside. I have tons of oak leaf mulch from 4 trees.
twobrothersgarden
1355136466
Posted 1362352763
Reply with quote #13
In my experience worms seem to help roots. I have rooted avocado and mango trees using my worms.
Henry, Brawley, California, 9B http://www.youtube.com/user/thetwobrothersgarden/videos?view=0 http://www.ebay.com/usr/two-brothers-2013
Mazway
1342561306
Posted 1362368576
Reply with quote #14
Today, I got some gas at a nearby quickymart and was going get some worms. All they had was night crawlers. A little too big for the cups.
afigfan
1290133866
Posted 1362369848
Reply with quote #15
The other reason that red worms work well for gardening is that they do not tend to pack up and leave. Most worms will try to move on and you'll find them dried out all over the place.
Tonycm
1314411773
Posted 1362372664
Reply with quote #16
I've have seen worms in the pots but only a few times and when it was rainy. i don't think they will stay in the pots because the soil gets too hot in summer. They probably crawl in through the drain holes, do their thing and crawl back out when things heat up. I'm sure it would benefit the trees if the worms stayed, but even if they stayed for the summer the dryness of the soil in winter would kill them.
