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Alabama Jumper worms for aerating clay?

Melissa77754

Melissa77754

Been doing a lot of research on worms for aerating soil. Has anyone ever used Alabama Jumper worms to help aerate their clay soil? They are much pricier than the standard red wiggler worms, but if they will help my clay soil I may just bite the bullet and buy some! :)
 
wayright said:
Not sure why you would ammend clay?
But , I would love to hear your results if you try em!

Kevin
Click to expand...

Why would you ammend clay? Because it is rock hard! lol. I have already tilled my ground and added organic amendments to fluff it up, looking for a way to aerate it more. And from what I have been reading about these worms they are great for clay, red wigglers are good for compost but don't do well in the garden. I have a layer of compost/mulch over my beds, perfect food for these worms. Clay is great if you can get it to fluff up and not compact again. Last year I didn't till and added few amendments, once the plants hit the rock hard clay beneath they didn't do so well.

I think I may just have to invest in these worms so I can report back. Do you grow in clay? Always like to hear from other growers that have soil similar to mine.

Thanks
Melissa
 
I personally have never had success growing in the ground because it's just to hard to control the soil, ferts, moisture etc to the exact specifications that peppers need. I know some have had a lot of luck with raised beds where they essentially add 2-3' of good soil on top of the grown and some do grow in the ground with great success, but my suggestion would be to just get some 5-10 gallon containers and good soil and go that route.

Even if the worms do help airate the clay your still growing in clay and probably won't have much success.
 
LGHT said:
I personally have never had success growing in the ground because it's just to hard to control the soil, ferts, moisture etc to the exact specifications that peppers need. I know some have had a lot of luck with raised beds where they essentially add 2-3' of good soil on top of the grown and some do grow in the ground with great success, but my suggestion would be to just get some 5-10 gallon containers and good soil and go that route.

Even if the worms do help airate the clay your still growing in clay and probably won't have much success.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the comment LGHT! I get what you are saying, which is why I have maybe 80-100 potted peppers in #15 pots and 5gal and that number will grow more. Just in case the plants decide to take a turn for the worse later in the season. I added a couple yards of compost plus another 1 1/2 yards of compost/mulch to the top. My plants are doing great right now, you can see them in my grow log. :) What I am trying to do is avoid another situation like last year where the plants start doing poorly once they hit a certain point in the ground. I have a good amount of land and it makes no sense to me not to try and turn it in to "usable" land. I have one area where I did amend and till PLUS add some redwood timbers to turn it in to a raised bed as well.

I know clay has a lot of great stuff in it for plants, but like Pepper Guru said before to me. The tuff part is getting it to fluff up and stay that way. Work in progress, I am sure as the years progress and I add more to the ground it will eventually get to the level I want it at!

These worms will eat the organic material I add as well as help aerate the soil, apparently they like clay and it's their natural habitat. Fresh worm castings would be great for my yard! :)

Thanks
Melissa
 
Yes I grow in clay, GRC to be exact!
So I dont know about Cali clay, nor can I comment on container gardening.

I do disagree that you can only control your soil in containers!

I have been growing the same plot for 20 years without ever rotating!

But if the experts tell ya to fluff it up! Then I cant argue that!

My clay gets so hard a pickaxe may not get an inch deep!

Good luck with whatever you decide!
Still would love to see how the Bama worms work for ya!


Kevin
 
wayright said:
Yes I grow in clay, GRC to be exact!
So I dont know about Cali clay, nor can I comment on container gardening.

I do disagree that you can only control your soil in containers!

I have been growing the same plot for 20 years without ever rotating!

But if the experts tell ya to fluff it up! Then I cant argue that!

My clay gets so hard a pickaxe may not get an inch deep!

Good luck with whatever you decide!
Still would love to see how the Bama worms work for ya!


Kevin
Click to expand...

Well I remember seeing your pictures last year when I was just learning about peppers, amazing to know you grew in clay! :) Can I ask what types of fertilizer you use? And the plot you use, didn't amend the dirt at all or till? I knew it was possible! lol. My brother showed me a youtube video of someone that grew in clay, in the south of course. His plants were huge, but he did use miracle grow for fertilizer. I grew tomato, tomatillo, squash, cucumber and a couple peppers last year, in the ground with hardly any amendments. First year growing and I harvested more than my own little family could eat so I would consider it a success, but there was a time when they just started to die off no matter what I did. Mostly in the really hard areas of my plot.

Will let you know how they do, I just have to try them now!

Melissa
 
Wow that's a lot of
Melissa77754 said:
Thanks for the comment LGHT! I get what you are saying, which is why I have maybe 80-100 potted peppers in #15 pots and 5gal and that number will grow more. Just in case the plants decide to take a turn for the worse later in the season. I added a couple yards of compost plus another 1 1/2 yards of compost/mulch to the top. My plants are doing great right now, you can see them in my grow log. :) What I am trying to do is avoid another situation like last year where the plants start doing poorly once they hit a certain point in the ground.

Thanks
Melissa
Click to expand...

Wow that's a lot of plants. So from your experience last year your saying they do good until they hit the clay layer? I'm sure plants can grow and do well in any medium, but for me it's about the maximum yield and in my few years of growing peppers I found containers have given me the most control and have been the most productive so I stick with that. I did yield a few lbs of peppers from the plants in the ground, but the ones in containers gave me 10-15 lbs of peppers per plant so it was a no brainer to continue with the containers.
 
Mulch or ground cover is going to be your ticket to keeping the worms in the area Melissa. The spot my garden is in has only been worked for two years (adding compost and loam to the holes when transplanting). Went from red Georgia clay to airy, brown soil in two years. This is the third year. Its only getting better :)
 
LGHT said:
Wow that's a lot of


Wow that's a lot of plants. So from your experience last year your saying they do good until they hit the clay layer? I'm sure plants can grow and do well in any medium, but for me it's about the maximum yield and in my few years of growing peppers I found containers have given me the most control and have been the most productive so I stick with that. I did yield a few lbs of peppers from the plants in the ground, but the ones in containers gave me 10-15 lbs of peppers per plant so it was a no brainer to continue with the containers.
Click to expand...

Well actually last year I didn't really amend much, added a little compost, not yards like this year. So I pretty much grew directly in my clay, after breaking it up with tools of course. I didn't have a tiller yet. They did pretty good, but my assumption is when the roots hit the very hard part of my clay their health diminished until they died. Either that or my growing skills weren't up to par back then. I have always grown organic, but not to the level I do now. Compost teas and foliar sprays are all my plants get. I do enjoy container gardening as well, and have had great luck with it. But I would like to grow trees like some of the in ground growers do here! :)

Melissa


Pepper-Guru said:
Mulch or ground cover is going to be your ticket to keeping the worms in the area Melissa. The spot my garden is in has only been worked for two years (adding compost and loam to the holes when transplanting). Went from red Georgia clay to airy, brown soil in two years. This is the third year. Its only getting better :)
Click to expand...

Guru my friend, I was hoping you would chime in! ;) Exactly what I wanted to hear! I ordered them this afternoon, pricey little suckers but the castings will be well worth it! My ground is covered in a good 3" layer of compost/mulch. I can't wait to get them next week so they can get to work. Let's hope I can keep them happy so they turn my land in to brown soil too! :)
 
I wish I hadn't seen this thread. Now I'm convinced I need to get my hands on some Alabama Jumpers; thanks a lot Melissa! :P

I've been burying red worms with newspaper and coffee grounds around my garden, but these Alabama Jumpers might be a better ticket for clay. I'm interested to see how these work out for you.
 
Sorry Pash! This pepper growing habit of mine tends to get pricey, but as long as I can keep them happy it should be just what the clay needs!

I should have them by Wednesday, will report back after they start doing some magic! :P
 
Hi Mellisa,
I can relate.
My first garden was in yellow clay. My current garden is in 'Carolina Gumbo' a type of black clay.
In both cases the soil was actually nutrient dense, the plant roots just couldn't get to them. My gardens got better each year as I worked the soil.

You are on the right track...keep digging in organic matter. Shredded leaves, grass clippings, straw all work well. Best time to till or dig it in is late Fall/Early Winter so it has time to decompose before you plant again in the spring.
I also bury kitchen scraps into the soil in the winter (instead of the compost pile) and also bury a bunch of fish heads.
The best way to break up clay soil?? COARSE sand. NOT fine sand....it makes cement. :P
But a good coarse sand dug in real well prevents the clay soil from 'clumping' together.
Mulching is great too...because you can till it under in the early Winter. Just make sure you don't apply it until you soil is very heated up for the summer...if you jump the gun the clay will stay 'cool' under the mulch, causing very late crops.

Back to those worms. Red wrigglers work fine...you may want to save your money.
To 'box in the bet' I've also added worm eggs that I purchased. Nightcrawlers also are quick to digest the organic matter and leave their fertile castings behind.
Here's that black clay gumbo soil in my garden a few weeks ago...
Fiery REgards, Pepper Joe
:dance: :P :dance: :P :dance: :P

5I85Ga5K43G93K13Mac5c1db16fcc385c1785.jpg
 
pepperjoe said:
Hi Mellisa,
I can relate.
My first garden was in yellow clay. My current garden is in 'Carolina Gumbo' a type of black clay.
In both cases the soil was actually nutrient dense, the plant roots just couldn't get to them. My gardens got better each year as I worked the soil.

You are on the right track...keep digging in organic matter. Shredded leaves, grass clippings, straw all work well. Best time to till or dig it in is late Fall/Early Winter so it has time to decompose before you plant again in the spring.
I also bury kitchen scraps into the soil in the winter (instead of the compost pile) and also bury a bunch of fish heads.
The best way to break up clay soil?? COARSE sand. NOT fine sand....it makes cement. :P
But a good coarse sand dug in real well prevents the clay soil from 'clumping' together.
Mulching is great too...because you can till it under in the early Winter. Just make sure you don't apply it until you soil is very heated up for the summer...if you jump the gun the clay will stay 'cool' under the mulch, causing very late crops.

Back to those worms. Red wrigglers work fine...you may want to save your money.
To 'box in the bet' I've also added worm eggs that I purchased. Nightcrawlers also are quick to digest the organic matter and leave their fertile castings behind.
Here's that black clay gumbo soil in my garden a few weeks ago...
Fiery REgards, Pepper Joe
:dance: :P :dance: :P :dance: :P

5I85Ga5K43G93K13Mac5c1db16fcc385c1785.jpg
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info Joe! I tried Red wigglers, they do perfectly fine in my compost pile and do some work in the ground. But they don't get near the clay layer, so I am hoping these Alabama jumpers do the trick! Anytime I have turned the dirt I find worms, but only at the very top layer. I want them to get deep in to my clay, so by the time the plant roots reach that point it isn't rock hard and dense.

Worms came today, will release them tonight since they are in the night crawler family. Will report back in a few weeks! :)

IMG_3058.jpg
 
WOW sounds like a good plan Melissa... i know that clay can be a pain. Im always looking for new ideas... Sometimes the only true way to know... is to try :D . Good luck with the worms.!!! :dance:
 
Melissa, I have the same soil as well and I have been wondering about putting in crops in the off season that have deep roots to help break up the clay? Maybe Rye grass or something?

I used to operate one of these and wished I could get one in the back yard. :lol:

excavator2.jpg
 
you may find the clay layer is only a few inches thick and under it is stuff that may drain better

it also may pay to do a "double digging" experiment on your native ground to see if that will

provide the proper conditions to allow for your 'trees'
 
Looks like these worms are considered invasive in the US. They're actually from Asia, not Alabama, originally. I'd check with your county extension office before putting them into your soil.
 
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