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Why on earth would you be concerned about earthworms? They all aid in breakdown. They eat organic particulate and break it down and aerate soil.
That you have them in your compost pile simply means that its a healthy compost pile.
JONOV, I am not attempting to eradicate them or other wise be concerned of their presence, I am merely attempting to avoid pressing them through my compost screen box, saving them when I can and tossing them back into the compost pile....
Quote:
Originally Posted by westsideboy
Keep as many worms as you can. If the birds get some, or a lot, don't worry. More worms, and all kinds of other bugs, will find your compost and keep breaking it down.
We have a robin's nest right next to our compost pile. We enjoy watching the birds pick through for worms, then feed their chicks. As we see it, the compost is for all the living things we try to sustain on our property; the worms, the isopods, the centipedes, the birds, the plants in the garden, and so on.
Well said westsideboy, but I like to give the robins a challenge...LOL
And now a gardening joke for those of a certain vintage....
You may have outgrown following the remnants of the Grateful Dead Band from concert to concert, but if you continually nip off the deceased blooms of your vegetable or flower garden, you are still a.......wait for it........"Deadhead".........
Yes. They're generally called red worms (there are about three different species IIRC) or manure worms, and they are the worms you should use in enclosed worm boxes......
Thanks for that information. I went online looking for more info with photos about how to identify different kinds of earthworms and discovered that there's really a lot of them. And of the 182 taxa of earthworms found in the United States and Canada, 60 (33%) are introduced species. That was in these interesting articles about invasive earthworms that have been getting introduced to Canada and USA from Europe and Asia since colonization! Just thought I'd post the links as a matter of interest to any gardeners here who live between 45° and 69° latitude in or around forested areas of North America:
I always figured, if I had plenty of worms in my compost, that I did something right! The more worms the merrier. Unfortunately, when we had ducks, they kept down the worm numbers. Now, without the ducks; my worms are again thriving.
I never worried about collecting them or damaging them when I turned over the soil. Of course it depends on the 'instrument' that you use. The 'digging fork' (like this one https://www.google.com/shopping/prod...E,gclsrc:aw.ds) does less damage to the worms and breaks up clump pretty good. Worms don't like shovels as good since it tends to slice them into pieces.
If you're in the habit of collecting the worms in a bucket; have you tried learning how to fish? If you don't like fish; have you tried worms: Earthworms - Eat The Weeds and other things, too. If neither appeal to you; then I would just leave the worms work their magic and aerate your soil.
That garden fork, digging fork, has always been one of my favorite tools.
We have a robin's nest right next to our compost pile. We enjoy watching the birds pick through for worms, then feed their chicks. .
Pretty interesting watching them move the compost edge and find the worms inside. I don't have many worms so I'm not thrilled about it. I also notice Robins don't take part in bird feed like all other birds do.
Very interesting to read about invasive earthworms, thanks Zoisite. I had encountered these many years back while looking for worms for fishing. They were in a low area (some moisture present) compost pile behind a very old brick house. My guess they found their way there during a planting over a hundred years ago. If I had known of their significance at the time I would have relocated some to other piles we were tending.
As for compost piles and fishing we used a 4-tine potato fork. Easy to pull a small pile apart and put back together with one. Example below.
Earthworms are the best thing ever for your soil. Dump them somewhere shaded and let them do their job conditioning the soil. Those “specialized” worms you mentioned are only used because they can be “farm raised” and more easily distributed/marketed. Your earthworms are the real deal! Congratulations on your achievement
I have a lot of compacted clay soil (not compost) in my yard. Would dropping a bunch of earthworms in help? or kill them?
They would have to have something to eat
I would think best to amend soil first. If you need suggestions start another thread - "How To Amend Clay Soil".
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that have been getting introduced to Canada and USA from Europe and Asia since colonization! Just thought I'd post the links as a matter of interest to any gardeners here who live between 45° and 69° latitude in or around forested areas of North America: 
