I've Got Worms...YEAH!

16 years ago

Dug up plot for Butterfly Garden today and there were actually WORMS in the soil. Yippee! Quality of soil not as bad as I imagined if there are worms in there, correct?

Still going to add some compost (purchased...don't have time to wait months or years!) and organic garden soil to top it all off.

Just read on another thread about problems with groundhogs. At first I told myself that should only be a problem in spring when things are "tender" but quickly realized one of the keys to a successful Butterfly Garden is planting for a continuous nectar source from early spring right on through fall which means there'll always be something "tender" for the little buggers! Maybe they'll try out the Milkweed first and find out it's not nice to fool with Mother Nature.

That's one critter with whom I hadn't counted on having to do battle with...just deer and rabbits so I thought.

Naively, I thought there was "just one" cute little guy living under the shed. Puffalump. Learned there's never "just one" of anything. My father keeps saying the entire shed is going to implode someday because the hole keeps getting bigger and bigger! Since I saw 3 prancing down the driveway a month or so ago I must assume they had to put on an "addition" in the burrow to accomodate their growing family.

Sigh...this nature thing isn't easy to deal with when you're not used to "going with the flow" and all that!

The deer were trying to get the cracked corn I put out for the White Throated Sparrows who just returned from Canada for the winter. That's pretty pathetic on their part and I chased them off but the males stomp one hoof at me. "The Noive" Know it's rutting season but they don't even move out of the street when you drive into the neighborhood.

Well, I've got worms (Yeah) and like Scarlett said, "Tomorrow's another day and I just can't worry about it now..." or something like that!

Thank you to Steve and Tree for their encouragement and shared experience as I started this project. I know it's not a big deal for experienced gardeners but it's exciting. I'm even looking forward to spring and summer to see what works and what doesn't as far as plantings go and I'm not crazed about it. Not like me at all...nothing like digging for a day to give you a little perspective I guess.

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Comments (2)

classytchr64
16 years ago
Congrats on your worms!!! I enjoyed your post - I'm a newbie, too. I've got clay, which I've found out is not unusual in NJ. I dug new beds last spring, amended them with my own compost, and was thrilled to find worms in the soil a few weeks ago when I was planting bulbs.

So keep digging, amending and having fun. Good luck!
MissMyGardens
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks, classytchr. Did you plant tulips? Don't know if southern Jersey has many rabbits as we do here in central/coastal part of state. People who have cats say they don't have much of a rabbit problem but not going to get a cat just for that. I could put some catmint into the butterfly garden to do double duty hoping to attract one big cat who wanders the neighborhood even though I go after him with a broom when he shows up while my groundfeeding avian friends are eating. Saw him grab a mole or baby possum once and shooed him away as birds were eating nearby. He took the prey but my birds were warned off.

I'm wondering how I'm going to protect all the bulbs I've planted while they're still tender. Know everything I read says rabbits and deer don't eat much aside from tulips but I'll believe that when and if I see it next spring...LOL. There are plenty of daffodils and other narcissus, alliums, crocus, muscari, hyacinths and others I can't remember. It was a veritable bulb binge. I went so far as to put some in bulb cages and layered others in stretched steel wool to keep squirrels, moles, voles, chipmunks and anything else that web sites said could go after bulbs once they were in the ground. If there was a warning option out there I used it. Sufferin' succotash...now to get past those "pesky wabbits"!

Most of the bulbs have to go in containers since there isn't much ground not invaded by tree/shrub roots and/or miles of underground vines that remind me of some old horror movie. I've hacked away with an ax and hatchet as much as I can to plant two small beds with bulbs but the rest are going into containers. I've got bubble wrap and "plankets" to cover yet not smother them to try and keep bulbs from heaving in containers as we go through winter/spring. After first really hard freeze I'll put piles of leaves between containers and "plankets" for added insulation until worst of season is over and then uncover them once last freeze passes. Heck, there's over 150 bulbs so something should bloom!

Good luck to you too. We'll compare blooming notes come spring!
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