Have your soil tested. If the pH is too low it will not be a hospitable environment. There could be other reasons but that's what immediately comes to mind.

Hi Rich!
I (my family) is originally from SE MA (Somerset/Swansea) - (I went to Cranston HS, Swansea HS & PC - going to a family wedding @ the Venus de Milo next weekend) where are you?

I started w/the composting & this Soil Forum last year & got my soil tested (which came back very good - to my surprise b/c it looked & felt horrible) & learned some things about worms from reading/posting last year & from experimenting this year:

1. If the soil is not moist enough, the worms won't come/stay. They really really like it very moist.

2. They really like living right under my bark mulch - about an inch under the bark in the compost that's top-dressing the soil, and then about a few more inches down.

3. Even though I did all that - the worms still didn't come. Some say it takes time. Not to be deterred, I went and spent a few dollars @ the local bait shop for some worms (a few diff kinds).

4. I can tell you that those worms are very very very happy in my garden - and in all the soil around my garden. I was planting in a mulch bed yesterday - about 4 yards from the flower bed & under the mulch was lots of worms - along with baby worms too. As you can probably tell, I was very happy. So, the worms are staying & multiplying.

5. (except in my containers) I don't use any chem ferts - I've read recently here that chem ferts might not agree w/the worms.

6. I've also read here that usually worms don't hang out too much in the hot compost piles - or at least near the hot center - b/c it's too hot for them.

Hope this helps, and wishing you,
All the Best, Tree

In process as I just took samples this weekend to send out for testing. I know conditions can change but last years test reported pH levels were okay, still doesn't explain the compost piles being nearly worm less. Thanks...

How many earthworms were there before you started adding organic matter?
How long have you been adding organic matter to your soil?
What is the level of organic matter in your soil?

Is your soil sandy? Worms do not do as well in sands.

Kimmsr
Worm population was higher a few years back than now.
In past years I've always added manure for om, along with chemical fertilizers, but only the past two years have I gone all organic with compost and oak leaves, and some bagged manure.
Last years test indicated om was 12% with a desirable range of 4-10%.
Fert/tree
Soil is not sandy has good moisture.

I have often wondered if manure from animals that have been given deworming agents would effect earthworms.

Zeuspaul

Rich Manure asked:

"Any ideas why worms may not be attracted to this type of environment and what else I should do?"

In my experience performance of the garden is more important than how many worms are in the soil. In my area worms are so rare, when I sell/give compost to folks if they find worms in the compost they bring them back thinking I need the worms to make compost. Since you state you have been putting down compost I really doubt your ph has anything to do with it, since compost sends the soil towards neutral in most cases.

What I found is that when I was using horse/cow manure there were not many worms found in the soil/compost. The moment I switched to goat/rabbit manure the worm population has gotten out of control (not that I want said control). Keeping the soil/compost moist, along with using a good layer (3 inches or more) of mulch has provided the worms with an environment they love. I am not sure if you can acquire different manure, but as I said, this is what changed my worm count. I trust this helps in some wayÂ

Blutranes

I add a lot of compost and leaves to my soil, and my beds are crawling with worms in spring when moisture is high. In the hot, dry, summer months, those worms bolt down deep, leaving only a network of empty tunnels. My soil is basically clay.

In summer my compost is hot, and never has any worms. The compost is too hot for them. In winter I let a full bin just sit and passively cold compost, and it doesn't get tended to at all, no one touches it. It has worms in spring.

I don't understand why you don't see worms, Rich.

Karen

I have no good explanation about lack of worms in your compost pile. But I'm convinced by personal experience/experiment
that their absence in the garden was due to the chemical fert you applied previously. They'll come back. It took 2-3 seasons
of no chemical fert use for me.
Good luck

I agree with Tree, "They really really like it very moist."

When my compost piles cool down I find clusters of worms surrounding things like a wet wad of partially shredded newspaper. Other parts of the compost pile, although moist have very few worms.

Try keeping a trial spot of the mulch very wet. I am guessing that worms will make a beeline for that spot in a very short amount of time.

UCG's really seem to attract worms, too. My beds are straw mulched and topped with UGC's year round & there is a lot of worm activity - tons of castings and there are many worms in each shovel of soil.

One thought - is there any chance you don't have enough fresh OM for the worms? Maybe your compost is toooo finished to entice them...

You could try a test spot of UCG's under some of your mulch.

Cheers,
Michelle

Adequate levels of organic matter in the soil, good, soil moisture levels, but no earthworms. Could be the residual from the synthetic fertilizers, could be the residual from the wormers given the cattle the manure came from, could be the soil pH is off. What was the soil pH and nutrient load from your last good, reliable soil test?

We moved to our present house 8 years ago. The previous owners won the beautiful garden award every year and the shed was FULL of chemical fertilizer. I didn't see a worm for a couple of years, but now I think I see 5 or 10 even in a small trowel full. I add tons of organic matter every year, and no chems. Be patient, they will come.