I’ve read about a dozen gardening books in the past 10 days as part of a vegetable growing crash course. As part of building and preparing our raised beds, I’ve been working the soil and learning about worms.
Part of the learning process is understanding which worms are good and which ones are bad.
I have had my eyes peeled for wireworms which are supposed to be a threat when planting vegetables on grassland or land that has not been cultivated for a long time. We should be prime candidates for wireworms.
Today I came across three of these guys.
After consulting some knowledgeable people on gardening forums I’ve been informed that this is not a wireworm, but in fact a moth caterpillar. Interestingly, it’s also not a huge threat to our veg despite its somewhat ominous, chunky appearance.
We are also adamant about not using pesticides so we will counter pests with companion gardening and the use of nematodes to counter pests in the ground.
I have a lot to learn.
As I’ve worked the beds I’ve saved and transplanted about 100 earthworms which are going to be vital to the health and success of our vegetable patch. I really, really like earthworms.
I’ll share more photos of worms and creepy crawlies as I discover them.