Our organic garden is unfortunately infested with New
Zealand flatworms.
New Zealand flatworms - summer 1999
flatworm eggs - summer 2002
How they got here is a bit of a mystery since we are 4 miles
from the nearest village.
However, neighbours have planted shrubs etc, so it's likely
they arrived as stow-aways in the pots they came in.
Our ground is a heavy clay loam up to 18 inches (45 cm) deep
and is full of several species of earthworms in its natural state despite the flatworms.
However, once the ground is initially dug for planting, eg
as when planting trees, then the more open texture of the freshly dug soil lets the
flatworms in and within a short while all the earthworms have gone from the dug area.
Our vegetable garden consists of deep beds. Due to my
careful preparation and double digging the soil texture is a lot lighter than the
surrounding uncultivated soil.
All the organic gardening books enthuse about how earthworms
will devour the organic matter incorporated in the soil to produce a rich fertile growing
medium.
But ! ... You've guessed it, I have no earthworms courtesy
of the invaders from New Zealand.
So what do I do ?
Trapping, by weighting
down a piece of black polythene onto the ground provides shelter for the flatworms so that
they can be gathered up and destroyed. I kill them by putting them in a tin and pouring
boiling water over them (they then look like anchovies !).
Quite simply, with no worms, I then have to work organic
matter into the soil myself by forking it in, ensuring I get it evenly spread through the
depth of the bed.
This seems to work OK but isn't as easy as letting
earthworms create a no-dig bed.
E-mail to Adrian
