Hi Charl,

I would not exactly call myself a worm lover, I can't even find the scientific name of our local earthworm anywhere, but here I am anyway. ;-)

I would be extremely scared to import any living thing like that. If it is not the same species as ours, it might easily get out of hand - perhaps not in our generation, but somewhere down the road somethig could go terribly wrong.

I would contact the Agricultural Research Council and enquire there. (link at the bottom) I only dealt with them in connection with bio control of Opuntia, but they are extremely helpful, and supplied me with a whole big box full of wonderful cochineal! :-)
They might even breed earthworms themselves, or at least put you in touch with the right people.

If all else fails contact me, and I will dig some up in my garden and send them to the Cape!

Good luck with your search.
Maddy
Edenvale, Gauteng

Here is a link that might be useful: ARC

Hi Charl, many people here do not know what Japie means in Afrikaans.

Would you like to explain?

Dig up South African earthworms. It's not as if they don't exist.

Hi Sowth Efrikan

Japies - Term for the expat SA community in London as well as travelling/back-packing South Africans . On a par with 'Paddy' for the Irish or "Bruce' or "Sheila' for an Australian.

Why not dig them up, you ask? None in my garden as the soil is very dry, sandy and acidic, so would have to locate them, get permission and then dig. In terms of time and opportunity cost it is much simpler to buy.

I have found (via a a gardenweb member in Washington State) a local breeder who lives 20 minutes from me. I will be able to buy stock from him at $4.00 for roughly 200 worms (1 litre) and have decided to start a worm-bin as a first step.

Regards
Charl

There is a lady in Marister Small Holdings in Benoni who has a wormery. She has built up quite a large business and even exports worms. I will try to get her contact details for you later in the week Charl.

Please consider doing a little search thoroughly before you consider introducing a non native anything to SA-

Here are some of the issues Americans are facing with earthworms here in the US-

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Science/2003/07/24/144840-ap.html
http://www.innovations-report.com/html/reports/agricultural_sciences/report-12677.html
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/01/0102_030102_earthworms.html

South Africa is absolutely breathtaking. We Americans have made many mistakes that have negatively impacted our breathtaking lanscape... I can honestly say some just aren't worth repeating a second time.

LOL
Gee, I never thought of myself as a 'Japie' before!
In fact now that you ask, I never really knew the meaning of the word!

We used to call people from the farms 'Plaas Japies' so I suppose it means people who are from a certain place ie farms. Would this mean that people from the city wondering around in the rural communities are 'Dorp Japies'?

There must be a place to get earthworms in SA without having to import them from North America. We used to sink a fork into damp ground just about anywhere but especially along river banks and wiggle the fork. The worms would come up to the surface on their own. - I miss fishing for mud tasting fish on the Vaal.....

If there are no worms there naturally, then introducing them might not be a good idea because they might die in that soil type. Perhaps amending the soil, by adding organic matter might be the key.

Chris - in beautiful but cold Canada.

ps Japie is pronounced sort of 'yaapie'

Hi Chris, yes indeed, folks who live in the city (stad) are referred to as "stadsjapies" and the folks on the farm are "plaasjapies"
Delina in SW Oregon

Feedback:

I found a source of local worms and they are the same Eisenia foetida or redworm that is found in the States. I have started a wormbin for organic kitchen waste and I am already seeing a significant increase in numbers after 2 months. They consume, on average, about 1/2 a bucket of waste a week.

I am also composting dogwaste in a bin that is open to the ground in a secluded corner of the garden. This will apparently attract earthworms to the immediate area of the bin. The bin 'cooks' at quite a high temp so I doubt whether they are present in the bin. Perhaps they move in and out as the temp fluctuates? The bin is amazingly efficient and odour free and I have already got two of my neighbours using the system.

Anyway, it is very entertaining and educational keeping a worm bin. Not least is seeing the amount of food that is wasted by my (small) household. Highly recommended.

Thanks for all the feedback.

Regards
Charl