Hello...everyone... Can worms live in pots with plants - Yes. What happens most of the time - they eventually crawl out / jump ship on you. Then you find them dead on the floor.
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I've done it several times - I found that redworms (the earthworms tiny cousin), also know as trout fishing worms, pan fishing worms or manure worms stayed the longest. Redworms, live within 10 inches of the surface and do most of their feeding on the surface.. Earthworms prefer deep burrows, 2 to 5 feet deep on average - so the confines of a 5 gallon bucket is too small for them.
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The redworms will stay provided there is some organic material - like alfalfa, bunny poop or cow manure in your soil for them to eat. If not, you must surface feed them once a week. Simply, dig down 1 inch, sprinkle in some alfalfa meal, bunny poop or liquified (left over lettuce, veggies or moistened baby ceral (oatmeal or rice). To liquify left over veggies - I use a food processor, a blender will work also. After you add the goodies for the worms, cover them with the soil you dug out - to prevent attracting flys or other pests.
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These little redworms will do a great job of loosing your soil (helping to provide oxygen to the rootzone), and leave behind some castings (which are always a plus).
You should not put more than 20 redworms to a 5 gallon bucket, as they will process half their weight daily in castings. Too many (100 or more) will turn a 5 gallon bucket of soil, into 2.75 gallons of worm castings in one month. So, it's one of those situations where more is not better.
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Hope this helps....
Keep it Real...Organic......
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P.S. I just vermicompost and add the exact amount of worm castings I want in my mix. I find it works better in the long run.
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