Earthworms Build and Improve Soil

There is an individual at work in your garden who does more work for you than you would think. And if this individual isn’t in your garden, more than likely you’re having problems such as compacted soil and low yields. This garden workhorse, called “the intestines of the earth” by Aristotle, is the common earthworm.

There are very few people who don’t know what an earthworm is, yet not many know what a worm does for their soil. As worms move through the soil, they ‚”eat” large amounts of soil, extracting any organic matter they can. They will also bring fresh and partially decayed vegetable matter into their burrows, which they then eat.

Earthworms are Soil Builders

Worms can be found as deep as eight feet below the surface of your yard. From this depth, worms bring basic minerals to the topsoil. These minerals provide elements which plants need for healthy growth. They aerate the soil through their burrowing, allowing oxygen to reach the roots of plants, another important item in healthy plant growth. If that isn’t enough, there are studies showing that earthworms help to reduce the number of nematodes in the soil. Nematodes are small worm-like pests which cause stunted root growth, which leads to stunted plant growth and poor yields.

Free Fertilizer for Your Yard

Through the ‚”eating” of soil, earthworms deposit castings or droppings of almost pure fertilizer in your yard and garden. Some people kill off the earthworms in their yard because they don’t like the looks of the castings. There are companies that market poisons you can apply to your yard that will kill the worms. If you are bothered by worm castings, consider this before you buy any of these products: worms add an average of a fifth of an inch of topsoil per year to the surface of your yard through these castings. Think of the savings you can have by either leaving the castings there or going over your yard with a rake, breaking up the castings and hiding them in the grass. Not only will you save on the chemicals which kill the worms, but you will save on the amount of fertilizer you need for your yard.

Plants use the worm burrows to send roots deep into the soil. The burrows act as sort of a highway, making it easier for plant roots to move through the soil. They also act as watering tubes, channeling water deep into the soil. Some studies show that soil thoroughly worked over by earthworms is porous enough to absorb a two-inch rainfall in fifteen seconds, while a clay soil unworked by worms could take as much as two hours to absorb the same amount of rain.

Common Lawn Maintenence Harms Worms

Chemical fertilizers will cause a decrease in the number of worms in your soil. At an experimental farm in Arlington, VA., the Department of Agriculture showed that after three years of applying ammonium sulfate (a fertilizer commonly used by farmers) to sod on the farm, earthworms were eliminated from the soil. Other examples abound, showing that chemical fertilizers cause the soil to become too acid or too alkaline, and either will cause earthworms to disappear. Yet, compared to ordinary topsoil, worm castings contain almost five times more nitrogen, seven times more phosphate and eleven times more potash. And it’s all provided for free by our friend the earthworm.

Until next time, In Bocca Al Lupo!