Expert: Greg - 4/2/2007

Question
Hi Greg,

I live in a very rocky part of the northeast, where I have a few inches of rich topsoil, followed by a gravelly mixture of sand and loam.  I'm starting up for the season, and was wondering if adding nightcrawlers directly to the soil would be beneficial. Will the worms just die, or will they actively work on creating more dynamic topsoil?

Also, I moved into an apartment that has a chicken-wire enclosure with garden debris in it, and I started using it as a compost heap.  It's in a spot where it gets little to no sun.  Is it okay where it is, or should I try to move it?  I turn it regularly, and it seems to be doing okay, but maybe not as well as I would like.

thank you,
sarah  

Answer
Hello Sarah

Adding worms to your Garden is always a good thing, you did not mention what this area is being used for. Is this a Garden Bed, Lawn, Vegetable Garden? The key here is to have some matter on the Top of the soil that the worms can eat. Grass clippings and Leaves will work just fine, they will come up and grab them, take them down, and as they work up and down in the soil, also creating holes in the soil as they go creating tunnels further giving the benefit of aeration down deep.

As far as your enclosure goes, it will work better in more direct Sunlight. The more shade, the slower it will work. Keep a constant dampness, but do NOT oversoak, and make sure you give it both Green Matter <Nitrogen> and Brown matter <Carbon> for balance.

If I have missed something here, don't hesitate to follow up with an additional question.

The best of luck
    Greg