Earthworms, Agents of the Soil, They Are the Organic Way to Great Soil

When soil is not capable of providing a good environment for plant growth. This is where earthworms come into the picture. Earthworms, they are the best tools for correcting soil deficiencies. Organic soil is made this way, the little dark brown granules is worm castings. You use this top layer of granules to your organic garden and you will have the WOW effect you want in your garden.

Soil is the best medium for growing plants. Soil receives moisture from the sky and mineral nutrients (earthworms castings can help provide) from organic matter. Parent rock, air spaces (earthworms tunnels provide this) because of rock particles and that mixture from soil aggregate crumb structure (also created by earthworms).

Some soils have too much organic matter to hold moisture (earthworm heaven), some have too little airspace for root development and then some have too little organic matter to supply needed nutrients needed for plant growth (earthworm castings help this).

Earthworms increase the number of entrances for water, but their castings (worm poop) are vitally important in developing water stability. That is, the property, which enables it to remain, loose and accept and retain moisture. Poor soil even after tilling or plugging will lose it water stability after a few rains. When wet poor soil will clump together like clay, when this same soil dries, will form hard lumps antagonistic to root development and growth.

While rabbit and chicken manure are an excellent source of soil rich nutrients, earthworms have the amazing ability to increase soil enrichment by nearly 50%. Vermicomposting or compost made mostly by earthworms is seven times richer in nutrients compared to compost made mainly by fungi and bacteria.

Use you hobby chickens to help till the soil in your garden area, this winter. Letting them scratch and poop and hopefully finding a few bad bugs along the way, will help encourage your soil to grow some nice worm areas. They love poop. Don't leave your chickens out there too long. After you let them feast on the garden grubs and leftovers. Take them back and add worms to your garden area.

While we may still water our gardens and till our soil and add nutrients to the soil, the earthworms will do all of this for us, on a continuing basis. While earthworms may take too long to do it for us initially, the encouragement of earthworms will ease our burden later. They dig into the subsoil loosening it and bring up minerals to the top surface layer in castings. Earthworms create channels in earth for water passage. Letting the earth absorb rainwater, and develop water stability remaining loose with nutrients.

Frequent tilling is unnecessary once you encourage with worms and introduce them to your soil . Reaping the benefits of earthworms does not have to take years or months. Earthworms start to work immediately when introduced to the soil. Soil leaching is counteracted by earthworms, which will, especially if the nutrients are in organic form-consume them and return them to the upper levels of the soil layer, where they deposit them in the form of castings.

Earthworms function to consume unavailable nutrients from the soil and in its digestive tract, make them water-soluble. In soluble form the nutrients can be absorbed by roots and carried to every cell of the plant. Adding as much mulch as possible to your garden, they (earthworms) will come.

Add worms to your compost pile and watch the work or take the next bag of potting soil, top soil or bag of compost cut the top of the bag off, add some worms, throw a bale of hay or straw on top and leave it a week and see what happens. It will be the best bag of soil you ever bought.