Too much of a good thing?

Thanks guys, was hoping you'd say it meant I have good soil rather than a looming problem!! Hope my spuds come up a treat this year given all the effort I've put in to get the soil in that condition!

Several companies sell the end product of worm activity.

In nursery trials it has amazing effects when mixed with composts at about 5%, The root ball is about twice the size and the plants are about 25-50% bigger.

I shall be testing it on my brassicas this year.

One company does a Tea from fractioned wormcast, its about £100 a gallon.

Google 'wowmcast pro' you'l lsee what i mean.

Loubs - don't encourage them! 

worms are only attracted to decaying matter so as long as your plants are growing, the worms will leave them alone...........

I quite often get the ends of my sweetcorn seedlings pulled into he soil and munched by worms.

Slugs may indeed munch the ends of the leaves, but I've never heard of slugs taking leaves into the ground.


I would guess the reason it is suggested that worms 'only eat dead plant material' or 'don't eat live plant material' is that they don't have the mouthparts to deal with a stem and generally can't reach the leaves.

If the sweecorn leaf tips touch the ground they are pulled into 'worm holes' the same as you will see dead leaves pulled into the holes of 'lobworms'.  Maybe they think they are dead and nobody has told them otherwise. If you tug the leaf back out of the hole the end is ragged as if it has been chewed.

I was planning on trying to grow sweet-corn on my 'worm-infested' plot this year, should I be removing the lower leaves to prevent the worms getting a taste for my living crops?!

I think your corn will be safe, lobworms like to 'shut the front door' with something they can nibble at but are no problem compared to the nasty little keel slug.

ah i see... i keel you, slug............


first you get the money, then you get the power, then you get the weeemin,............ (puts on clint eastwood poncho and cigar and whistle theme from A Few Dollar More)