Let's amend the phrase "in maritime NW gardens" to "in *some* maritime NW gardens."

In other words, he gardened where the things were rampant no matter what one did.

For the most part, the suggestion to mix in at least 2 inches of compost each season works well with the majority of us here in the NW.

You might call your county's Extension Service office to ask the Master Gardener Hotline if symphylans will be any sort of challenge for you. I seriously doubt they are, or will be.

Do you know for sure if you have them? There are ways to bait-trap them to see if you have them, and even if you do, it doesn't mean they'll build up to plague levels in your garden. Do a google on them and you'll learn lots more. Always a good idea to check with local gardeners/a reputable nursery/your friendly extension agent and see what they have to say, too. If you aren't seeing damage or symphylans themselves, I don't know that you need to worry about them. Oh, and you might want to try the pests forum, too... good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: pests and diseases

Not much showed up searching gardenweb. My concern is mainly trying to prevent them, since it doesnt look like there is much that can be done if they occur.

One article suggests shrinp shell meal. May not be worth the trouble, if these creatures are not a problem.

Here is a link that might be useful: Symphylans

Where do you live?

Are symphylans a problem in your area? (Frankly, I doubt they are.)

Ask questions of local knowledgeable people who can give you facts about your region.

As is said in the link you posted: "They prefer loamy clay soils like those in the Willamette Valley because tunnels stay intact. In sandier soil, small tunnels collapse and are no use to symphylans."

If nothing else, follow the suggestion in the link you posted.

To wit:
"If you suspect you have symphylans, sprinkle about a quart of garden soil into a bucket of water. The symphylans should float on the surface. Don't mistake symphylans for the larger centipedes, which are often beneficial predators. Symphylans are white and much smaller - only a quarter inch long. They have six to 12 pairs of legs, depending on their level of maturity, and relatively long antennae."

If you are a reasonably new gardener trying to learn all you can, understand that local authorities are always more accurate for your region than a book written about a totally different region, with different soil, and that has different pest problems.

And enjoy your garden!
:>)

Yes! Yes! Yes! Symphylans do matter! I used to live in Bellevue, outside of Seattle. Typical suburban lot, formerly farmland (truck farming), glacial till sandy loam. I had a compost pile and added organics regularly to my soil. After 20 years, there were many things I could no longer grow because of the symphylans. For example Corn, beans ,peas would be eaten by the critters before they could sprout. Interestingly enough, daffodill bulbs were eaten. Not everything was attacked. I guess it depends on if a plant has tasty roots or if the root system is vigorous enough to outgrow being eaten by the symphylans. Most established plants did OK.
The way to tell if you have symphylans is to bury a piece of potato. After a day or so, dig it up and look for symphylans. A few is nothing to worry about, but you should beware of adding too much organics to the soil. If you see a lot, you've got them bad and there is nothing you can do about it.

Everyrose,

Did it take 20 years for your veges to decline? The book (yes I am reading it too), seemed to indicate that it occured within 3-5 years. I live in Newcastle (5 miles south of Bellevue) so your advice is really relavent!

I've only notices a few Symphylans in my veggie garden and I've been raising crops in the same beds for over 10 years.

However, I would strongly recommend you rotate crops for other reasons. Soil borne disease is a big factor. Tomatoes, squash, and root veggies are the worst offenders for me, I try to not plant them in the same bed for 4 years. Then you have things like corn (that can also be reinfected by diseases in the soil) that are such heavy feeders, it's hard to amend the soil enough over the winter to support another healthy crop. I like to grown the corn in last years legume patch (peas and beans for me), because the leguems naturally add nitrogen to the soil (heavily amended with compost and my corn always goes crazy). Legumes also like their soil lean, so I don't add any amendments to the pea patch either.

I also have a small space to garden in, but I believe that by rotating crops, I have a much better harvest and I am chemical free.

The comments have been much appreciated.

I will need to try the potato trick.

When I moved here the soil was rock-hard clay. I have been adding a LOT of organic matter, and the soil is really nice now. Tomatoes and allium plants grew very well this year. But if adding organic matter is going to backfire and result in buildup of a menace, I will stop.

There was one site that recommended adding shrimp shells to the soil. Apparently, microorganisms that digest the shrimp shells might also digest the symphylan shells. I dont know if that is proven or where to get the shells.

Thanks again for the comments, & I'll keep watching for more.

I live and garden on the east side of Vancouver Island (in a climate zone 8a), and have been here for 40 years. Symphlans became a problem for me more than ten years ago, but for the longest time I could not figure out what the problem was (they're amazingly mobile in the soil, able to move vertically through the soil layers very quickly when there are lots of worm tunnels and no compaction.) And the mystery is that not every plant type or even all the plants of one type will be attacked, even within the same bed. The potato test is the most reliable way to determine if they're present (and only then if there's enough soil moisture that they are feeding in the uppermost soil layer). If you find only a few on the potato slice after 24-48 hours, it doesn't necessarily follow that your problem isn't serious. They can also move horizontally through soil tunnels, and they can reproduce (ie. multiply) several times in a garden season. Amendment with lots of compost is not effective, and recent research shows that it actually increases the problem. Garden sand added to loose soil may help a bit, but it doesn't eliminate symphlans. Flooding for several days is said to be an effective treatment, but for the home gardener (esp if on municipal or metered water supply) it may not be practical. Even fallowing the soil for a year or two is not a reliable way to get rid of them. Symphlans are, in my garden, the single most challenging pest.

Chemicals (pesticides) are the only proven way to control them--and application of these can assure reduction of populations sufficient for plants to thrive for only one to three years. I notice that many of my neighbours over the past two decades have given up vegetable (and even some ornamental) growing. At first they don't believe that a little critter like a symphlan could so much damage, until I show them the potato test and they see the effects on seedlngs, as well as established plants. It's very discouraging.