Worms mining my soil.

Earthworms are Natures Soil improvers; they mine the soil making it more friable, open and fertile.

Worm castings are the same as Worm Farm Castings very rich and one of Natures strongest Fertilisers.

They work the soil looking for Organic matter consuming it and excreting it as Castings.

During this process they build Homes for themselves which are just tiny tunnels burrowed into the soil, at the top is were they excrete the Castings.

The castings are quite distinctive, small balls of what looks like dark soil with a very crumbly texture, this is Organic Matter that the Earthworm has processed and deposited on the soil surface where it is washed into the soil with rain or Irrigation.

If you like they are "Composting" the soil for us, instead of making a pile of Compost and spreading it on our Garden add the Organic matter that you would normally use as an ingredient in making compost directly to the soil and let the Worms do the work for you.

Soil that has high Worm numbers is rich and fertile, whether that is a natural occurrence or manufactured by giving Worms the right conditions to multiple and weave their magic is a matter of course.

In a healthy acre of land, there can be a Million Earthworms working away if the conditions are right.

I am a great fan of No Dig Gardening and one observation I have made since switching to this form of gardening is that when ever I have a scratch around under the mulch that my plants are growing in there is always an abundance of Earthworms.

After the second year of No Dig Gardening the soil that was originally heavy and unfirable (the reason I went to No Dig) is open and soft, you can dig it with a trowel with little effort where as prior it took all my effort to get a spade into the ground and as much effort to then get the soil off the spade!

This is because the Worms have mined the Mulch and Compost that I applied and in that process multiplied their numbers to a point where they have turned that heavy unproductive soil into a pristine growing media.

So you want to improve your soil be it either heavy or light the end result will be the same, just add worms!

Worms need plenty of food and moisture to create the right environment to multiply. (no different to anything else)

The easiest way to achieve this state is to apply Mulch and or Compost to the soil, and water well to start the process.

The Mulch provides food for the Earth Worms and also stops the soil from drying out, as the Worms consume the Mulch add more, you will find in no time that here numbers will increase and your soil will become something that produces strong healthy crops.

Applying any Organic Fertiliser will help the Earth Worm population grow, Worms also love Lime so don't be shy with it either, don't use any of the standard Chemical fertilisers as these are normally quite acidic and will burn the worms drying them out which leads to their demise.

Earth Worms are Natures gift to us, look after them and they will look after you.

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