If you look back a couple weeks in my blog, you will see a small pumpkin plant.  Here is that small plant a few weeks later!    This plant grows so fast, you can almost watch it grow.  My wife is starting to get afraid of the plant, as if it would run after her…haha…..na, maybe it would crawl after her, but run, I don’t think so!

I like to refer to my pumpkin plant as “Pumpkinzilla”!  We’ve already got a dozen or so mini soccer ball sized pumpkins growing.  By next week I expect them to be beach ball size.

Keep in mind there is no trick photography here…no “Special” seeds (In fact this was just a volunteer plant that I let grow).   The most important thing to know is that I’m no great gardener.  In fact, my idea of a garden is to dig a hole, add  castings, ask my wife to water the  area every once in awhile, and walk away.  How lazy is that?

So…as the headline of  this blog says, “What’s the SECRET to GIANT Plants”? 

Nothing but WORMS and WORM CASTINGS!

Is this something out of Jurassic Park?  Considering this plant is growing over a foot every day, maybe it is!  Scroll down a bit.  This is the same plant I have pictures of just 10 days ago (below).

This is what happens when you plant in well aerated soil (Thanks Alabama Jumpers),  that is loaded with beneficial bacteria (Thanks Red Wiggler Castings).

The best part is I haven’t done ANYTHING!   The worms did and continue to do all the work.

No special camera,  no special tricks,  just good healthy soil that is feeding the plants…like nature intended.

Would you like your garden to look like this?  It could.

1)  Collect or purchase a foot or two of leaf litter mulch.

2)  Keep damp

3)  Add Alabama Jumpers.

4)  Plant your plants.

5)  Add a couple handfuls of worm castings around the base of each plant.

Read through my blog.  You will see that this is not anything extraordinary.  EVERYTHING I plant looks like this.  No bone meal, blood meal, Synthetic Junk or book reading needed.  Just pick out some plants that you would LOVE to produce for you, and you’re good to go.

Thank you gary

Hi Gary,

Without a doubt, Alabama Jumpers.

But, worms need a food source.  If I put you on an island without food, you
would perish quickly.  Same with the worms.  Jumpers food of choice is broken down leaf litter, so what I always recommend to people is that they get all the leaves in the  neighborhood, and just throw them on top of your garden bed.  As they break down, they will help amend your soil, plus they will provide a food source so your worms have a reason to stick  around.

If the leaves have all fallen in your neighborhood, just layer on a thick
layer of compost or mulch.  As it breaks down, it will provide food for the worms.

Avoid using something really strong smelling (You would not want a 2′ thick
layer  of Eucalyptus leaves to encourage worms).

That’s it….pretty simple.

Yes, they really jump!

Hi Everyone,

The large worm in the picture above is an Alabama Jumper.  It’s scientific name is Amynthas gracilus.  It is plain to see that this worm is NOT a Red Worm.  It’s color is grey. 

Who cares?

There is a high volume worm grower on the net selling what HE calls ”Super Reds” as Alabama Jumpers.  But…the worm featured in his ads as a “Super Red” is a European Nightcrawler (Eisenia Hortensis)…basically a large Red Worm!   Super Reds, European Nightcrawler, Eisenia Hortensis…all names for the same worm…and yes, they are RED. 

BUT THEY ARE NOT ALABAMA JUMPERS – GREY WORMS KNOWN FOR THEIR ABILITY TO THRIVE IN EVEN HEAVY CLAY SOIL!!!

What’s the bottom line?  Avoid getting Ripped Off!

European Nightcrawlers, Canadian Nightcrawlers, Alabama Jumpers….basically any worm can be “Called” anything.  It’s only the scientific name that cannot be easily changed.

Know the type of worm you are buying.  Make sure your seller knows it’s scientic name!  If a seller tries to get you to buy Red Worms for your garden, run, don’t walk.  Red Worms are NOT dirt Worms.

Hi Ginny,

“Nightcrawlers” is a name without a solid definition.  Basically it just means a large worm.

I need more information before I can answer your question as some nightcrawlers require refrigeration, others live in compost, others live in dirt.   Are these worms pinkish or grey?  About how large are they?

“Nightcrawler” Basics:

Canadian Nightcrawlers – HUGE worms, Great for fishing, require refrigeration.  

European Nightcrawlers/African Nightcrawlers – Both are composters.  Both are Amazing fishing worms and Great for composting!  No refrigeration needed….just keep in your garage or outside in the shade.

Alabama Jumpers – Amazingly strong worms.  Great for aerating your Soil.  Even heavy clay!

Yes, they really jump!

I had a funny comment from a customer that just bought his first batch of Jumpers.  Apparently, one of the Jumpers fell a short distance to the ground. 

His comment:

“You know how hard it is to pick a worm off of the ground?  Actually, the first time he jumped, I missed him as I was not prepared for that.  The second time, I got him”!

If you like worms, these are lotsa fun…plus, they’ll aerate your soil!

Just throw some mulch on the ground, add some moisture, and the worms will have a reason to…..PARTY!

Spring is coming!  Everyone is thinking about spring gardens.  As the economy weakens, more people are likely to start growing their own produce. 

I’m posting this in the hope that new readers have a very clear understanding that not all worms live in dirt!

The worm on the left is a Redworm.  The species happens to be Eisenia Hortensis(aka a European Nightcrawler).  The European Nightcrawler is a larger cousin of the Red Wiggler(aka Eisenia Fetida).  Redworms by nature are soft bodied worms.  Because they are extremely voracious, they are great for breaking down food waste.  They do extremely well in a worm bin, and are commonly raised in damp newspaper bedding, coir, or peat moss.

The worm on the right is a Alabama Jumper.  The species is Pheretima Hawayanus.  It does well in the dirt!  It loves clay soil!  As a composting worm in a worm bin…not so great!

Many garden centers sell worms in a package with an “Earthworm” label.  But garden centers typically know absolutely nothing about worms!

Don’t make the mistake of buying a Redworm (Even if it comes in a package labeled as Earthworms) to put in your soil.  Unless you treat your garden like a worm bin, and have a constant layer of damp mulch on top, the Redworm will not survive.

To Recap:

Compost Bin Worms:  Red Wigglers, European Nightcrawlers, African Nightcrawlers.

Dirt Worms:  Alabama Jumpers

Dirt:  Loves the worm poop in concentrated amounts from the Compost Bin Worms!  Loves the aeration from Dirt worms.

After going through almost 1,000 emails, I can cluster almost all of them into two groups:

1. I tried raising Red Wigglers before and killed them. Can you help me?
2. Please tell me how to raise the Alabama Jumpers?

This evening, let’s talk about raising Alabama Jumpers.

Alabama Jumper Characteristics:
*Clay soil dwelling (Unlike Red Wigglers)
*Thick skinned
*Navigate through thick clay soil with ease
*Extremely powerful (Allows them to leap off the ground)
*Large extruding probiscus
*Adults grow as long and as fat as a pencil

How to prepare your garden for Alabama Jumpers:
*Collect all the leaves in your neighborhood and place them on top of your soil. Yes, you can be that crazy person that rakes all your neighbors lawns! A 12 inch layer or more would not be too much! If you do not have leaves, you can use a bale of straw, or compost. Any of these organic materials makes a perfect food source for your Jumpers. If you have heavy clay soil, amending with organic material on a regular basis is a very good practice. Remember, these are strong worms, not Jackhammers!

Drop the worms in one area containing the organic material and walk away! It’s that easy. When you start seeing baby jumpers, you know you are successful. Even the babies jump like crazy. They are very distinctive.

Here is the science behind the instruction:
Worms reproduce best when they can easily find each other. Instead of initially spreading the jumpers out, keep them together so they can do what worms do….

MATE! A LOT!

As the density of your squirm (Look it up, it’s a real word), increases, your worms will naturally start to spread out. As you get congested with worms, you can introduce some to other areas.

So when people ask you how to breed Alabama Jumpers? Tell them the truth…they breed themselves.

If you are reading this blog, you probably are a worm lover, and think the pictures above are pretty cool. If you randomly found this website, you probably think you are in the middle of a NIGHTMARE.

Let’s take a look at some of the more common types of worms commercially available, and their purposes.

Only a few types of worms are recommended for composting. In my opinion, these are the three best types of worms for composting:

Red Wigglers
European Nightcrawlers
African Nightcrawlers

The reasons why these worms are great composters is because they share certain characteristics:
Top feeders
Voracious
Prolific in captivity

But, what if you want to raise worms for more than just composting?
Do you like to fish? Would you like NEVER to worry about whether or not the bait store has any worms left? Great Bait worms:

Canadian Nightcrawlers
European Nightcrawlers
Alabama Jumpers
African Nightcrawlers

The reasons why these worms are great bait worms is because they share certain characteristics:
Large size (Especially the Canadians)!

Want a great worm for your garden! Try Alabama Jumpers. I’ve never seen a stronger, more active worm. They are so distinctive, even the babies JUMP like crazy! Please understand, most commercially available worms are NOT suited to live in soil. Alabama Jumpers do well in heavy clay soil.

Always make sure you’re using the RIGHT worm for the Job!

Have a specific question? Ask the Worm Dude on my forum! Happy to help.

If I haven’t made it clear yet, I am a HORRIBLE photographer. My camera is a 5 year old Kodak, so hopefully I can place some of the blame on not having the right equipment for the job.

The fact that I will never be a professional photographer is irrelavant. What IS relavent is that I just caught a glimpse of my newly hatched Alabama Jumper babies.

I often see juvenile Alabama Jumpers in my backyard box turtle garden (Read earlier blog stories to get the backstory). I know they are Jumpers because even as little guys, they jump like crazy. But, what I never see are Alabama Jumper cocoons!

I maintain hundreds of pounds of worms and have millions of cocoons. But, in my Jumper bins, I can never find cocoons. It’s strange, and I haven’t been able to figure out why. I was starting to think they will not hatch in captivity.

I’m happy to report, I was very wrong! When I went to water the worms today, I noticed a bunch of thread sized jumpers hidden in the newspaper bedding. Cute, thread sized little guys. The picture above was my attempt at trying to capture a snapshot of the baby jumpers.

Get the right tool for the job. If you want worms for your garden, Alabama Jumpers are the worms for you!

Great worms for your garden…hatching now!