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.