Yesterday was a big day - my nematodes arrived and not a moment too soon. I was almost thinking about giving up wine but - no- let's be sensible. Better to apply parasitic nematodes to my worm bin than to give something up I might regret later.
What surprised me is that the nematodes do not reproduce themselves in the bin - in a way this doesn't make sense. If they are not reproducing how do they kill their prey? The box I ordered contained "Infective Juveniles" so it isn't just a few eggs in a bag. This is the real thing - juvenile nematodes. Of course the quantities are more suited to a commercial greenhouse than a single worm bin - I am now the proud owner of 50 million nematodes. I will use only part of the package and save the rest for later - in my fridge. Okay- I hope my husband didn't read that part.
Last time I ordered Steinernema feltiae I did not let them hydrate in water first. This time I read the instructions and i will let them sit in clean but chlorine free water for five minutes before watering them into the worm bin. It was my idea to use chlorine free filtered water because after reading "Teaming with Microbes" - an excellent book by the way- I realized how harmful chlorine could be to everything really but especially the little microbes and small organisms.
Okay I am off to add a new kind of worm to my worm bin
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