All About Earthworms: Organic Gardening Buddies |
Posted: December 6, 2021 |
When you think of gardening, many times people don’t consider how important worms are in the health of their plants. Worms are extremely crucial, recycling nutrients in the soil and ensuring that there is enough airflow underground. While these little creatures aren’t seen often, they could be one of the key ways you ensure a healthy crop this year. Soil Aeration Worms move around through the dirt, tunneling throughout soil and eating any organic matter they come into contact with. This makes it easier for water to permeate the soil and move around, so your plants get all the water they need. They also loosen the soil, which encourages root growth and encourages bigger plants that are also much healthier. Worm Castings When worms excrete the organic matter they ingest, it is what is known as worm castings. These castings act as fertilizer when you are organic gardening and want to avoid chemicals wherever possible. Castings are an earthworm’s way of composting, which has benefits for your plants, who enjoy the extra nutrients. How to Encourage Earthworms Earthworms like warm soil and will typically thrive in soils with temperatures around 70 degrees. They also enjoy moist soil, so make sure that you are watering your garden regularly. Another way to encourage earthworms is to avoid tilling too deeply, as this will damage any burrows that earthworms have made. Feeding earthworms is also recommended, which can be done by providing them with plenty of organic matter to eat. Organic matter can include things like grass clippings or fallen leaves from nearby trees. Use of pesticides can discourage earthworms and kill them, leaving your garden free of these helpful organic gardeningbuddies. Worm Composting If you’re interested in vermicomposting, you can start your own worm farm by shoveling some worms and soil into a bin or purchasing worm eggs. You’ll want to avoid earthworms, as they will try to escape the bin so that they can dig; redworms or red wigglers are a better choice. When you’ve gotten a bin for your farm, line it with organic matter like newspaper and then a layer of compost. Add in some food for the worms, the worms themselves, a bit more soil, and keep them warm and moist. Now that you’ve gotten more information on worms, you may consider adding them to your garden if you want to get the most out of organic gardening.
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