Join us for a Talk on Jumping Worms in Connecticut with Gale Ridge PhD
For a visual comparison of worms here is a useful guide found on the Brunswick-Topsham Landtrust website here
Meeting Date: Wednesday, May 8th at the Cheshire Senior Center. Doors open at 6:30pm for socializing and the meeting starts at 7pm.
The Cheshire Senior Center is located at: 240 Maple Ave, Cheshire, CT 06410
Presentation: Jumping Worms in Connecticut
For the May meeting we are venturing slightly off the orchid theme with a talk by Gale Ridge, PhD from the CT Agricultural Experiment Station on the topic of Jumping Worms in Connecticut. This is relevant for those of us that move plants outdoors in the summer or are interested in cultivating native terrestrial orchids.
The gardener in me certainly fears seeing these critters appear in my garden or local woodland. When you observe firsthand the work of a population of Jumping Worms it’s devastating to the soil ecology and plants growing there. Thankfully the name is a bit of misnomer, since they can’t actually jump, but they are fast moving and voracious consumers of organic matter which can quickly turn the soil into a crumbly mass of castings.
Potted plants can be equally at risk and a pot filled with moisture retentive potting mix high in organic matter can quickly become infested with worms that disturb plant roots and reduce plant vigor. Thankfully most of our orchids should be growing in fresh mixes that drain quickly and don’t provide a home for these critters, but pots with older mix that is breaking down or more ‘soil like’ mixes could become a buffet if left in ground contact where these guys are present.
Interested in learning something new, come on out and join us at the May meeting, we will be recapping from the Show last month and discussing how it went, and as always, we encourage you to bring your blooming plants for the Show Table! It’s always exciting to see what’s coming into bloom, looking forward to an awesome show table! See you there!
Please print and fill out the ID card for the show table here