I put a few alfalfa pellets in my potted daylilies with the intention of coming back later to water and work them in. Before I could get back to that project it rained for a couple of afternoons. I went back to work the pellets in and found several small brown worms in the pots. They seem to be eating the pellets. Were they in the pellets all along and is is okay to leave them there. I heard that worms were good for the soil.

If they are worms, then they will help fertilize your plant with their poo from eating the alfalfa. Worms produce the best fertilizer!!

Great....I was afraid they would eat the plants. There were tons of them in the pots.

Pat236,
Do you have a photo of these "small brown worms" that there were "tons of them in the pots", that doesn't really sound like earth worms. Had you never noticed these little brown worms in the pots before?

I didn't notice the worms in the pots until I put the alfalfa pellets on top of the soil. There were brown, small, with lots of legs and curled up. They did not look anything like earthworms. I have now noticed them around the ground plants where I dropped a pellets as well. I will try to get a photo this afternoon.

Millipedes perhaps? They feed on decaying plant material. They don't sting or bite and will not harm plants. Here they tend to curl up if they are jostled or disturbed.

Even millipedes, if they become over populated "tons of them in pots" can become serious pests and start eating the roots and destroying very young plant leaves. A few would not be a problem, but it sounds like they might be more than the normal amount. Something to check on anyhow!

Donald, I think you are right...I googled millipedes and that is just what they look like. Larry I had never seen so many worms in one pot. I 've seen them around the alfalfa of the ground planted daylilies, but in one particular pot they were scary looking. I will do some more reading on millipedes.

I've never seen them in really large numbers. I think it's normally so dry here that it wouldn't occur. The dead plant material probably isn't very palatable when it's not moist.

I went out yesterday and I didn't see any because I haven't put down any more alfalfa pellets in a few weeks. I will put a few more down later on this month and see what happens. I never saw them until I put the pellets down. As long as they are not harmful to the plants I assume it's okay.