Where do the worms go?

[Digeroo]

Now that they soil is beginning to moisten up the worms are starting to come back.  But where have they been?   The soil is still very dry below the top few inches.  Can they work their way up through bone dry soil and reach the surface?

Beginning to realise that I know very little about our wriggley friends.

[Digeroo]

[saddad]

Basically yes... if you do any deep digging you often find them curled up in a "stasis" state waiting for the moisture to return and the soil to soften...  :-\

[Digeroo]

It is very surprising especially in my garden where it is currently bone dry down to the gravel layer apart from the top four inches.     I had no idea they kind of hibernated.   Not sure what the word is for riding out the dry presume dormant would be a better word.  It happens in desert areas some species of fish and frogs can cacoon themselves for years. 

[goodlife]

ahh..but how does worms get into blocked up guttering high up on the roof ???

[tonybloke]

ahh..but how does worms get into blocked up guttering high up on the roof ???

worms are very mobile creatures, and young (small) worms are transported by birds

[Dandytown]

Thinking about the dry soil though which I have found suprising when digging mine recently, what would be the best ammendments to make the soil more water retentive?

[Alex133]

What an interesting thread - never given a moments thought to where worms go in the past  :)

[goodlife]

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Thinking about the dry soil though which I have found suprising when digging mine recently, what would be the best ammendments to make the soil more water retentive?
Plant matter..composted or half way there is good..and using same stuff as mulch over moist soil will 'lock' the moiture in and slow evaporation from the soil.. ;) Mulch, mulch, mulch..and worms will distribute lot of the goodness into rootzone.

[claybasket]

another worm mystery,how do they pull manure down into the soil ,have they got teeth! or wee wheel barrows?

[elvis2003]

another worm mystery,how do they pull manure down into the soil ,have they got teeth! or wee wheel barrows?

i think they eat it and poop it out?

[claybasket]

I feel really silly Elvis,alwas hard about worms pulling manure down into soil below,never thought they ate and pooped it out amazing !Ilove nature.

[Robert_Brenchley]

They use their mouths to hold bits of debris while they pull them under. That's why you see rolled-up autumn leaves sticking halfway out of recently dug ground.

[goodlife]

Yes..I've seen many times a piece of grass of leaf slowly been pulled into soil...like a scene from zombie film.. ;D
First time I saw it I though I was seing things..then I had moment of panic thinking we have moles..when I pulled the leaf back there was a worm's head poking out of the tiny hole!
No wonder I don't always get much done ..I just sit down and watch world go by or playing with little creatures..perharps I'm not truly grown up yet.. ;D
It is amazing how worms do get out and about..even if your pots are on top of the staging in GH..after while they've taken residence.  ::)

[queenbee]

Next time I pick a worm up I will look for its mouth, I suppose they have one, I never know which end is which unless I see them moving. I must Google worms and get their anatomy and life style. Very Interesting.

[Digeroo]

They seem to like leaves a lot.  I buried quite a lot the autumn before last and when I dug the soil through at the end of last summer I was amazed at how many worms were there and not much sign of theoriginal leaves.  Grew great beans.  Did it again last autumn.  I also put quite a lot of leaves on my raspberry bed and then covered with straw, and when I finally looked again under the straw there was not a single sign of a leaf.

I feel I know so little about what goes on in the soil.

[Robert_Brenchley]

If anyone wants to learn more about worms I can recommend this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Earth-Moved-Remarkable-Achievements-Earthworms/dp/0711224501/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1315940740&sr=1-2 . Darwin wrote the Victorian equivalent of a bestseller on worms; that's another I want to read.