Why do you think there were no worms in our "native soil"? Perhaps they were just deeper down and now have come up higher because of more moisture.

Worms are dependent on air which is only found near the surface. Worms find food near the surface as well. Knowing answers to these questions would be particularly helpful in getting soil populated quickly as possible. In attempt to enhance my compost I experimented with placing a few worms in compost where kitchen scraps are added on a regular basis. I noticed no increase in population in a tumbler and very little in heaps compared to shredded paper and cardboard. My interest was in finding a way to start a so called nursery in a designated area of a plot undergoing an improvement program. Does a member by the name of Mendopete or something similar still frequent this forum?

klem1, I don’t know why you couldn’t get a good worm population in your compost. I had so many red worms in my compost that it was like a ”worm bin”. I didn’t add a one, but ended up with thousands.

I think if you make a hospitable home they will come. Mark, you obviously have done so.

I'm going to take some worms from where they to where they aren't and see if they get the hint. Thanks for the info

So you amended the living s**t out of the existing soil. A lot of soil amendments have worm castings... those have worm eggs. Tah Dah! Geez, they hatched! ;-)

-Babka

Thanks Babka it makes perfect sense. I might have got there if I'd continued to think it through. Maybe not.

Congratulations on the worms. Keep mulching and they will always be around.