Worms in lawn, soil, rocks, raised beds, compost pile

10 years ago

I recently bought a house in a suburb of CA called El Dorado Hills. The houses are built on the rocky, infertile hills.

Here is what the ground looks like before topsoil and sod are added. As you can see it is not the greatest for growing anything since there are so many huge rocks and dry infertile dirt.

I am fairly sure the builders just even out the existing rocky ground after it's tilled, put minimal top soil over that, then add the sod. My question is with this type of ground, will the worms come naturally into my lawn and soil? Or is there something I need to do to attract or add worms?

I also have a raised garden bed and compost pile in the backyard. Is there any hope of worms coming into the raised bed or compost pile naturally?

I'm not lucky enough to live on fertile and worm-populated ground like some of you.

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Comments (5)

Kimmsr
10 years ago
What that clay soil needs is organic matter, even more so then something called "topsoil". "Topsoil" is defined as the top 4 to 6 inches of soil and your predominant soil type around you is just what you have so why add more of what you already have? Even if you could find someone with a soil of 45 percent sand, 25 percent silt, 25 percent clay, and 5 percent organic matter (loam type) 4 inches of that on your clay will do little long ter.m
uscjusto
Original Author
10 years ago
I have no control of what the builder does to the ground and what they add to the rocky clay before they add the sod.

I was just wondering what I can do now after I purchased the house, given what kind of soil conditions I'm working with underneath.
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luckygal
10 years ago
Well, IMO "luck" doesn't play a part in creating fertile soil. Many of us have spent years and a lot of work to have healthy soil with lots of worms. I've never seen an earthworm in my compost tho, even when it's not very hot.

I started with heavy clay soil with only a very thin layer of topsoil and by amending it with cattle/horse manure, mushroom manure, sawdust, and even 'topsoil' I then grew cover crops which can greatly improve the soil. We didn't have large rocks in our garden area but I've handpicked a ton of smaller ones.

The best way I've found to increase the population of earthworms is to bury raw kitchen trimmings between plants. The worms find them, enjoy their banquet, and reproduce.

I think one might have worms in a raised bed unless you have used landscape cloth under it for weed control. However in a hot climate it may be too warm for worms depending on the depth of the raised bed.

If I had a yard with all those rocks I'd hire someone with a skid steer and scarifier and rockhound attachments to remove those rocks. Otherwise they'll be a continuous problem.
nil13
10 years ago
I wouldn't obsess about worms. You will probably never have the amount of worms that some of the people out east talk about. That's fine. You are in a completely different biome. I have increased my OM and added tons of worms from a vermicompost bin and I still don't see many worms when digging, but the soil is in good shape.

Since you have subsoil exposed, you should take a clean soil sample and have it tested. you should also perform a soil structure test where you put sifted soil in a jar with water, shake it, and let it settle for 24hrs. Then measure the layers and divide by the total height to get the percentage of sand, silt, and clay. There will be so little organic matter that you won't be able to measure it accurately.

I don't try to fix our native soil unless I'm planting a vegetable garden. I just plant plants that like it.
toxcrusadr
10 years ago
I agree with nil. Improve your soil with organic matter and any other amendments needed by whatever you're trying to grow. The important thing is how your plants do, not whether you have worms or not.

Use a mulching mower to return the clippings back to the soil. If you haven't composted before, now's a good time to start. You might be surprised how much compostable food waste comes out of the average kitchen, if you haven't tried it. That will do wonders for your soil over time.

Worms in lawn, soil, rocks, raised beds, compost pile

Comments (5)

Kimmsr

uscjusto
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nil13

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Worms in lawn, soil, rocks, raised beds, compost pile

Comments (5)

Kimmsr

uscjustoOriginal Author

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luckygal

nil13

toxcrusadr

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uscjusto
Original Author