[Arid_gardener] Worms?

[Carolyn Stoffel]

In the past, I've seen worms, many dead, on concrete after a heavy 
storm. Yes, I carefully picked them up and placed them in what I hoped 
were safe places.

Lately, though, I haven't seen any.

I've considered doing vermicomposting but almost everthing I've read 
questions their survival here (Phoenix) much of the year. Shipping fees 
are outrageous, too.

Are there any local species that might work while surviving our 
temperatures? I have notices some holes in damp ground recently but 
don't know if they're worms (I did dig a bit) or other critters.

I've also noticed that one of my three beets seems to be about eating 
size. The second still looks cylindrical rather than round, and the 
third sprouted some weeks later and is still quite small.

My multiplying onion has bitten the dust, but the two Egyptian Walking 
Onions are growing nicely. Very interesting, too. They're maybe 18 
inches tall and each had an "onion dome" which has now dried up and 
pulled back to reveal green "worms", the longest of which are about 
eight inches. I'm not quite sure how many are in each one, but each also 
seems to have the "onion dome". I assume these are the new plants that 
will root once they've reached the ground. Almost wish I had a time 
lapse camera on them.

I've given up on everything else I planted around November 1st and early 
January. <sigh>

I need to check my planting guide for what I can put in now. Looks just 
a bit late for spaghetti squash (and I don't have a good spot for the 
vines) but that's old seed (1991), too, so I'm not sure it will grow at 
all. Might as well plant it - it won't be any better 15 years from now.

I also have a small amount of old mixed seed that can go in as well. I 
think it was a Gurnee's child's packet.  Quite a few large flat seeds 
(possibly pumpkin or squash), maybe a cucumber (tannish, as long as the 
preceding but narrower), some peas (greenish or tannish), one that 
resembles an unpopped popcorn, quite a few dark brown round ones that I 
swear I should know (about 1/16 inch diameter), and a lot of possibly 
beets (about twice the size of the fresh seed). Sounds like the wrong 
planting time for some, but next year won't be any better, so, may as 
well. Maybe if I move one of my planter barrels to the north side of the 
house for the "cool season" seeds...

I'm sure I mentioned breaking my wrist at Thanksgiving. It's healed, of 
course, but still not "right" and we realized around February that I'd 
injured my shoulder as well. Between the two... Some things are, well, 
not a good idea.  I can barely budge a concrete block. I have what's 
left of my cedar fence. I'd been planning to spread it out so ground 
vines could be kept off the ground. Trying to move those panels by 
myself sounds like a .very. bad idea!

Carolyn Stoffel