Earthworm dilema

[Baker]

I just went thru a number of my plots looking for worms and was disappointed to find very few. My soils are historically poor and though I have been notill for several years now double cover cropping with diverse mixes I had hope for better results. I can see where om is improving and frankly the crops are producing well but still few worms???

My soils range from very sandy to something resembling red brick.Also lots of white chalky soil.PH is ok. The most worms I found were in the clover fields [ still very few ]. Beyond that it didn't seem to matter what the crop rotation has been nor wether I had amended...chicken litter for past few years...or not. Some of the fields have been flooded several times over the past couple of years. All of the double cropped fields get sprayed with gly twice a year. Surely this can't destroy all worms?

Any thoughts?

 

[Jason Broom]

Earthworms do not ambulate with dazzling speed; you may need to introduce them into the improved environment you have provided and allow them to propagate for some time. Certain areas of the country do not have "night-crawlers", as they are not native to all regions or soils. Sandy soils, in particular, are often short on worms...dry soils that are low in OM just aren't favorable for them. Now that you've created better soils, try introducing them to see what obtains.

 

[Baker]

Earthworms do not ambulate with dazzling speed; you may need to introduce them into the improved environment you have provided and allow them to propagate for some time. Certain areas of the country do not have "night-crawlers", as they are not native to all regions or soils. Sandy soils, in particular, are often short on worms...dry soils that are low in OM just aren't favorable for them. Now that you've created better soils, try introducing them to see what obtains.

Thanks. Introduction is challenging due to scale. I have a couple hundred acres in plots. Interestingly my vegetable garden in my yard has so many worms it resembles a sic fi horror flick. This in close proximity to my plots as I live on the farm. Of course the garden is intensively organically managed with a far superior soil profile than the farm at large.

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

I'm dealing with the same thing. No earthworms in my improved plot yet I can find them in the woods right next to it. I'm thinking maybe you just have to get the OM high enough for them to thrive in and we haven't reached that point yet. .

 

[Turkish]

I have plenty of earthworms, and my plots would be scoffed at by most of y'all. I kill 3-4 with every little hole I dig for a baby tree seedling.

 

[dogghr]

I've had discussion of such on the old forum without much closure. When tree planting, or taking soil samples, I always take note of not just the earthworm numbers, but numbers of any of the invertebrates living in the soil. By far, certain areas have a better population than others. And the lesser populations typically occur where I have used yearly a gly spray and for that matter fertilizers.

I can't give an exact correlation, but I think one exists even if it be insignificant. There are constant debates and studies in the published literature that support and also deny that gly type killers and even fert reduce the number of earthworm present. It is typically indecisive in the good studies as to whether the worms die, or simply migrate away from the treated areas. Some studies show that gly spray affects the water percolation in the soil at least temporarily.
I am not anti chemical and use such at least on a limited basis, but I argue if you affect the structure of plant life beneath the soil, you disrupt the community of micro and macro organisms. Thus to oversimplify, the earthworm has less food supply or maybe just less oxygenated soil. Now this may be temporary, but in borderline soils with low OM, then perhaps it does have an affect. So Crimsons plots are devoid of worms, yet his natural growth/woods has decent population.

I know I typically see more worms and other soil bugs in my perennial plots such as clovers and alfalfas which obviously see less chemical manipulation by me. Coincidence, possibly, but I have observed it for years now. Wouldn't base my life on what I just said, but its worth consideration and worth limiting anything that is not inherently natural.
I guess what shocked me of Bakers example, is he uses chicken litter and I would think OM in his sandy soil would be greater than the typical sand base and would show decent numbers. But then chicken litter does function as a fertilizer of sorts, and may have the same affect as fert that reduce worm numbers. Interesting discussion.

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

I think soil type and subsoil conditions may have a lot to do with it. My property is considered to be a “complex” so I’ve got several different soil types across a short distance. I’ve actually got some heavy clays right around where my house is built but it transitions from heavy clay to pure sand all within a 50-100 yard transition zone. The worms are more easily found where the soil gets better clay content. I imagine moisture is a big component. A worm is definitely gonna have to stay good and moist. In my field, even though I’ve got a good layer of OM across the top of the soil now….my subsoil is still sandy and harsh with a pH of 4.9-5…..I wonder if the worms just don’t like those conditions or something. I'm still hoping that the activity pics up more over time.

 

[dgallow]

What do earth worms eat? Ponder that! Test your soil for that!

A comment above was spot on....take a look at your native worm status.....do you have a Louisanna mud worm?
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=native+earthworms+louisanna&spf=1496355109138