Say hello to Jim - the earthworm, that is, all in a day's work for this tiny creature. You may think I've just gone out of my rocker, but these creatures actually serve a valuable purpose for every garden. You may not know that earthworms are the original gardeners, not Pithecanthropus Erectus or Cro-Magnon Man. They don't exist just for kids to eat and fishermen to use as bait.
While earthworms can be found crawling underneath just every type soil, they thrive in extremely healthy soil - betcha didn't know that. When soil is healthy, it gets a lot of air and moisture, which both help the earthworm thrive in these conditions. Earthworms have no lungs but instead breathe through their skin. That's right - their skin is capable of ingesting oxygen and letting out carbon dioxide. Too much of a good thing is never good, and that being said, too much moisture would harm, rather than help the earthworm's respiration.
To tell you frankly, a garden without earthworms is like a farm without any farmers. As earthworms tunnel through the soil they are actually tilling it. And these tunnels are responsible for letting in more air and moisture to pass through the soil, thus ensuring healthier plants that can thrive in the process. Tunnels retain water that the plants can take up and also hold air to help bacteria break down organic matter within the soil.
Once earthworms digest their food, it's time for them to do their business. Commonly referred to as "vermicompost" or "castings", this excrement fertilizes soil and helps in its conditioning. Thanks to earthworm dung, plants can enjoy a better growth rate, stay clear from diseases and pests, and in addition to that, soil becomes more porous and able to retain moisture.
You may now be asking this - how do I lure these earthworms and give my soil a gardener from Mother Nature's employ? Elementary, my dear Watson - all you
To tell you frankly, a garden without earthworms is like a farm without any farmers. As earthworms tunnel through the soil they are actually tilling it. And these tunnels are responsible for letting in more air and moisture to pass through the soil, thus ensuring healthier plants that can thrive in the process. Tunnels retain water that the plants can take up and also hold air to help bacteria break down organic matter within the soil.
Once earthworms digest their food, it's time for them to do their business. Commonly referred to as "vermicompost" or "castings", this excrement fertilizes soil and helps in its conditioning. Thanks to earthworm dung, plants can enjoy a better growth rate, stay clear from diseases and pests, and in addition to that, soil becomes more porous and able to retain moisture.
You may now be asking this - how do I lure these earthworms and give my soil a gardener from Mother Nature's employ? Elementary, my dear Watson - all you
Once earthworms digest their food, it's time for them to do their business. Commonly referred to as "vermicompost" or "castings", this excrement fertilizes soil and helps in its conditioning. Thanks to earthworm dung, plants can enjoy a better growth rate, stay clear from diseases and pests, and in addition to that, soil becomes more porous and able to retain moisture.
You may now be asking this - how do I lure these earthworms and give my soil a gardener from Mother Nature's employ? Elementary, my dear Watson - all you need is to add more organic matter to your soil. Humans have chocolate, earthworms have organic matter, and once they get their hands on it, they won't stop till they have more of it.
The earthworm is just as important to the garden as the gardener that maintains it because they till the soil and add a soil conditioner in the form of castings. So to answer the above question, it's way to go for the earthworms, probably the one thing that could make your garden thrive.
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You may now be asking this - how do I lure these earthworms and give my soil a gardener from Mother Nature's employ? Elementary, my dear Watson - all you need is to add more organic matter to your soil. Humans have chocolate, earthworms have organic matter, and once they get their hands on it, they won't stop till they have more of it.
The earthworm is just as important to the garden as the gardener that maintains it because they till the soil and add a soil conditioner in the form of castings. So to answer the above question, it's way to go for the earthworms, probably the one thing that could make your garden thrive.
About the Author:
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