Adding Worms To Bad Soil Won't Fix It...Here's Why

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[melissaskaggs]

It is nice to get an in depth response that actually explains why instead of just telling you not to do something.

[ihopeugrow]

I started gardening last spring. I tore off the sod and poured a whole bag of garden soil and compost in a 3x5 mound. My soil is really bad clay. Mud and puddles when wet and hard like cement when dry. I had “garden burnout” as the weather got colder so I left some plants to rot in its place. Last week I started tidying up to get ready for the season and as I was pulling out old dead plants I was so surprised to see earthworms!!!! I didn’t put it there I promise. Nature is so amazing. They find a way!

[GardeningInCanada]

As a soil scientist I approve of this message 🤓❤️👩‍🔬

[johngault]

I absolutely agree with this video. When I started growing a garden, I had zero worms in my gardening area, which was totally inert sand (I live in NE Florida). I started with throwing yard waste I gathered from around my neighborhood. Eventually the worms made it in my soil, but I never added them.

[jessicarendon]

This video did 2 things for me as a first time grower. It gave me hope that I'm starting with good soil because I already have worms! 2, it bolstered my desire to compost 😁

[ohio_gardener]

Build It, And They Will Come! My raised beds are filled with rich organic material, including lots of home make compost, and the worms came to feast on it. Each year the beds get a little richer in organic material, and the worms help break it down into rich black soil.

[cecilleflowerfarm]

One thing I’ve learned this year is if you lay cardboard and put any soil worms will be crazy with it! Just turned my cardboard this morning to put my bulbs and to my surprise worms are so many and they are huge too.

[anneboyd]

Another point which I think it's important to make - worms don't belong in the soil of container plants. Some people think it's a good idea to drop them in, or leave them there if they find their way in, because "worms are good for soil." But worms living in a plant pot or grow bag have to keep digging and digging through a very limited amount of soil just to try and get enough nutrients to survive, so the fine roots of the plant are constantly being severed as they try to grow. I've had a lot of problems with worm eggs from my homemade worm compost getting into plant pots with the compost, and then later I'm wondering why the plant just isn't growing. After months, when the roots should have filled the pot, I'll knock the plant out of the pot and find the roots are only in the top 1/3 or 1/4 of the soil, and the rest of the pot is filled with a totally loose, soggy pile of worm castings. (In addition to the constant severing of the root hairs, the constant worm pooping in the pot is way too much of a good thing - all that worm mucus retains tons of water and you've got a soggy swamp in your pot.)

[abyssal_phoenix]

I would add worms to bad soil. But only in combination with compost, fresh green material, and other food for the worms.
Combined with a good amount of water

[SpicyMoustache]

Great Video Kevin! It would be interesting to add an extra video about worms varieties and their different use in the garden =)

[paulgaras]

I’m glad you mentioned worms because I forgot about my worm bin again...

[melissabailey]

Hi Kevin I’m 13 and you and mark from self sufficient me really inspired me to start gardening 👍

[sayalhamdulillah]

One of my favourite gardener is back!Another great educational video from you!Thanks for making my life easier!I'll cultivate that like button for you!

[richards]

I would never recommend adding worms of any kind to gardens. They will add themselves if they are present in the surrounding area. There are many species that are invasive to different places that, if added, can have bad consequences for the environment. The Jumping Worms introduced from Asia to North America are a prime example: destructively mobile and overly efficient at changing the soil structure in ways the native ecosystems is not designed to handle!

[FioreCiliegia]

Would love to see you cover isopod use in soil! They are wonderful for dealing with breaking down compost and i credit them for saving my potted orange tree from root rot

[let_uslunch]

Wow great episode. I would automatically think about adding compost before adding live earthworms. When I make the garden of my dreams I plan on using lots of tilled under cover crops to feed my "soil" but I know it takes a long time to break down.

[charliemcgriff]

Good afternoon freind am in zone 10 port st luice Florida we have sandy soil so what i use is oak leaves after been broken down along with food scrap

[kellsmd]

I have clay underneath, sandy dirt on top, and tons of alkaline. No idea how to get it better to grown grass. Only grows nothing but weeds 😬

[wildlifegardenssydney]

Thank you, very comprehensive. In areas of my garden that need extra nutrition, I find a number of (shaded) open bottomed worm farms are the perfect answer for us. Super simple. I site them as high as possible so that the worm castings and wee move slowly through the soil with gravity. Soil improvement and creation really is the foundation. On my soil paths (small site) I do “everywhere” composting, with added coir for moisture and chop and drop leaves and cardboard and wood chips. My previous super thin, bare rocks and barren hydrophobic soil is as luscious as chocolate cake. Key are layers and layers or organic material to attract the worms, no organic material ever leaves my site. It is all incorporated.

[inbloom]

Love your explanations to understand WHY instead of just telling people what to do or not do. You mentioned fallen leaf layering on garden beds - can I just throw them straight on active beds as a mulch? I've thought about it for my garlic or some of the brassica seeds I just planted but I wondered if they would block too much sunlight.