Should I remove the earthworm from my indoor potted plant? (media.kbin.social)

submitted 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) by shininghero@kbin.social to c/gardening@lemmy.world

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It seems the compost I used was more lively than anticipated. There's an earthworm crawling around in there.
It's a decent 12 inch pot, but it's still effectively a limited environment. So I'm not sure if I should leave him in or take him out.

UPDATE: alright. I'll keep him in, cross my fingers, and hope I've pulled in enough of an ecosystem to both sustain him for his expected lifespan, and safely handle the subsequent death and decomposition.

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[-] DarkNightoftheSoul@mander.xyz 21 points 6 months ago

Leave it in, it'll eat detritus and aerate the roots and leave by the drainage hole in the night if its not satisfied with its environment.

[-] PlantJam@lemmy.world 11 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Leave to where, though? Personally I would relocate the worm to the outdoor garden where I have seen plenty of worm friends rather than risk a pet hurting him when he decides to relocate. If the potted plant was being kept outdoors I would leave the worm in.

[-] DarkNightoftheSoul@mander.xyz -1 points 6 months ago

Leave from the pot to earth. They can smell decaying plant matter, and even if it (earthworms are hermaphrodites btw) went over the side, they can easily survive a foot drop. It takes just a minute or two for one to crawl from one side of a sidewalk to another, five or ten minutes to make its way from one side of a patio to another, at a time when most animals that might prey on them (or accidentally step on them) are sleeping. The risk is minimal and no less than any other worm transiting overground to a new site, which is quite common.

[-] aasatru@kbin.earth 7 points 6 months ago

It's an indoor plant, so I guess finding it's way out of the apartment would be the challenge.

[-] DarkNightoftheSoul@mander.xyz -1 points 6 months ago

On a re-read of the post, I don't see it stated either way. While I've definitely made an unwarranted assumption of it being outdoors now you bring it up, I don't think it's definitely indoors either. The textile in the background of the picture is the only real clue I'm seeing, and even that could be the back of some patio furniture. Lighting maybe artificial...

I don't know if earthworms have some reproduction-limiting mechanism for restricted ecosystems. I doubt it, frankly. I don't think there'd be any problems for the plant, but the worms would probably eat themselves to death within a year or so.

[-] shininghero@kbin.social 5 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

It's an indoors office plant. If it ends up leaving the pot, it'll likely end up getting rolled over by some chair wheels.

Given the soil mix I used, it'll likely be very happy for the rest of its life.

[-] Lemminary@lemmy.world 14 points 6 months ago

Don't! Earth worms are great for the soil and won't harm your plants.

[-] fireweed@lemmy.world 10 points 6 months ago

To better chances of worm survival:

Don't let the pot dry out fully
Don't use artificial fertilizer
Water with filtered water or water that has sat out for at least 24hrs so the chlorine can evaporate