Maggie Teller

Eino Kenttä wrote:I can't say I get the same reaction, except occasionally when I stumble over a very big earthworm, which sets off an alarm in my head screaming SNAKE! It just lasts for a split second, and consciously I know it's not a snake, but this has made me jump a couple of times. I guess it's hardwired into our genes to some extent.

Weirdly enough, I actually love snakes! I even considered getting one as a pet for awhile. I think its the fact that they have actual facial features and aren't a slimey/grippy/sticky texture.

I will definitely look more into no-dig gardening! However, I am gonna have to face my fear due to my plans for next season. My house has a deck with a bed wrapped around it. Its edged with bricks that I'm planning to move further out to have a bit more space to plant. But as anybody whose kicked over a log or stone knows, there will likely be a lot of worms and other bugs underneath.

I'm already at a disadvantage due to my location (low sun in a suburb), so whatever I can do to take away other barriers to gardening (like the fear of worms) is a priority for me.

I think part of the issue is that at a quick glance, roots and sticks can look similar to worms and therefore I'm always a little nervous that I accidentally picked up a worm thinking it was a root or a stick.

Alright! Time for a first post after lurking without an account for a while!

This is going to be a very novice, very city dweller post. I've only recently started gardening, and frankly my attempt over the past year has been a little halfhearted.

And one of the reasons for that halfheartedness is very silly.

I am truly disgusted and revolted by worms. I know logically they are a wonderful thing for the soil and I should be forever thankful they are there, but I haven't been able to get over my immediate negative reaction to them. I usually have to take breaks when doing any kind of digging just so I can get away from them for a moment.

Does anybody else have an issue like this? Any solutions? At least some commiseration?