It happens that earthworms start-up in flower pots, the presence of which scares flower growers. I have one such “comrade” who came with the land from the dacha. But we noticed him in time and carried him out into the street. But sometimes there are eggs of worms in the ground, which you will not even notice as you bring home and put them in indoor plants or flower pots along with the soil.
What to do in this case: are earthworms good for indoor plants? Will worms benefit or harm?
are earthworms good for indoor plants?
Invertebrates live by eating non-living organic matter in the soil. As a result of their vital activity, worms:
- They loosen the soil by making long strokes.
- Waste is isolated containing a significant amount of biologically active substances, including amino acids, antibiotics and others, which successfully suppress pathogenic infections in the soil.
- Thanks to the presence of special glands that produce lime, worms help reduce the acidity of the soil.
- Feeding on organic matter, worms together with it swallow pieces of land, which contain harmful bacteria, microorganisms, fungal spores.
In addition, after the earthworms, secretions remain in the form of small glued lumps of earth, the so-called coprolites, which contain many useful substances that are easily absorbed by the roots of plants. These same coprolites are valuable because they are used for the preparation of biological products that increase the defenses of plants in the fight against stressful situations, pests, and diseases.
However, all these advantages of having worms in the soil are valid only for a large volume of soil, for example, in a vegetable garden. In the case of indoor plants, the situation is slightly different.
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are worms bad for indoor plants?
In flower pots, guests settle with soil that may contain their eggs. You may not even understand at first that you have brought new pets to the house.
Despite the fact that these invertebrates are considered useful for houseplants benefit from them is not , given the small volume of soil where the food for the worms are very few. Therefore, in an effort to find organic matter, they can make many moves in the soil, as a result of which the root system of plants is exposed. And from this plants can grow and develop poorly, or even die altogether.
I read on the forums that worms can also gnaw the roots of plants. But I myself doubt this “accusation”: as far as I know, worms have no gnawing organs. And the maximum number of roots he can eat are rotten and semi-decomposed. Therefore, in this case, worms from some side can even be beneficial – to prevent the development of rot.
But, based on my personal observations, the dracaena, after such a settling, began to wither, wither, the leaves began to turn yellow. And to be honest, I myself did not really like the idea that worms would live in flower pots. At the dacha – very happy, at home – no!
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Therefore, my opinion is that worms in flower pots should be disposed of. In such conditions, they only harm, benefits – the very minimum!
How do I get rid of worms in my potted plants?
Getting rid of them is easy enough. It is necessary to place the pot with the plant in the water to the very edges, the worms will come to the surface, it remains only to collect them and take them out to the garden or to the flower bed, where there will be more benefit from them.
After such a procedure, I left the pot for another 3 hours in the bathroom to drain the remaining water. And for several days the plant was not watered so that the earth would dry out.
There are, of course, purchased preparations for worms: Aktara, Confidor. But it’s still chemistry, I prefer not to use it. You can spill the earth with potassium permanganate. But the first method helped me, and I stopped at it.
