Earthworms

Homesteaders are always looking for newer, more innovative ways to make their soil richer and nutritious for their plants. If you’re someone who’s seeking extra help, consider attracting earthworms.

These tiny creatures make small tunnels in your soils. Better known as ‘nature’s plows ’, these tunnels help improve soil drainage and aeration. In turn, it makes it easier for the roots to penetrate the ground. Let’s take a closer look at why you need earthworms in your garden:

It’s a well-known fact that a worm’s digestion process helps improve the quality of your soil. As a result, more and more gardeners are benefitting from worm farming.

Enjoy Financial Savings

One of the greatest benefits of worm farming is that you can enjoy saving cash. By limiting your use of trash bags, you can save a considerable amount.

Plus, a healthy worm farm will act as a fertilizer for your garden. It means that you’ll no longer need to buy various fertilizers for your plants.

Recycle All Your Leftovers

Another perk of your earthworms is that you can recycle all your leftovers. A bonus point of recycling your food leftovers via your worm farm is that you’ll get access to soil conditioners and fertilizer.

It is known as ‘vermicast,’ which is the perfect way to improve your soil’s nutrients to help you produce healthy crops and plants. At the same time, liquid vermicast or worm tea is an excellent fungicide and pesticide.

It Follows The Natural Cycle

With the help of worm farming, all your waste from what you consume helps you grow more food for the future. In addition, you can enjoy better control over what goes back in your garden’s soil.

In this way, you can help reduce the introduction of harmful chemicals in the environment and your body.

Worm Castings Are Amazing Soil Conditioners

The fact is that worm castings can help improve the fertility of your soil. In this way, you can enjoy better seed germination, which means more flower and fruit production!

Apart from enhancing the nutrients in your soil, the mucus secreted by earthworms can help boost the activity of other necessary soil microorganisms.

Non-Toxic And Odorless

One fantastic benefit of worm castings and worm farming is that these fertilizers are 100% natural and non-toxic. At the same time, castings don’t boast a pungent smell. They simply smell like dirt.

How To Attract Earthworms In Your Garden

Let’s take a closer look at the top ways you can attract earthworms in your garden:

Introduce Organic Matter

A fantastic way to attract earthworms in your garden is by using organic matter present in your home. Let’s discuss the best ones in detail:

Coffee

You can easily attract earthworms by applying a layer of coffee grounds on top of your soil. According to an in-depth study, coffee not only helps attract worms but also repels cats. In addition, it provides nitrogen to your ground and prevents the growth of weed.

Earthworms attracted to your coffee ground will consume it and then deposit it deeper in the soil. It, in turn, improves your soil with time.

Cornmeal

Earthworms also like cornmeal a lot since it is a source of food for them. In fact, earthworms like most foods with a ‘gritty texture.

Thus, by sprinkling a small amount of cornmeal, you can boost the growth of the earthworm population in your garden. Once you apply cornmeal to your garden, wait for about 30 days as the bacteria accumulate. Next, you’ll have worms living in your garden.

Reduce Tilling

Typically, earthworms want you to reduce tilling. Here’s why:

• The act of farming itself can harm worms. Also, the act of turning the ground over with the help of metal objects can kill the worms that gardeners want to invite.
• Tilling leads to earthworms coming up onto the surface. Here they may dry out, as well as become targets to predators like eagles, robins, and so on.
• Tilling can also dry out the surface soil. It may disturb natural temperatures below the garden.
• The deeper the tilling will be, the greater will be the number of damaged and disturbed earthworms.

Reasons Why There Are No Worms In Your Garden

In certain cases, you might notice that despite your best efforts, no earthworm appears in your garden. If this happens when you boast a healthy and rich soil, you may ask yourself:

• Are there other critters in your garden eating or keep your earthworms away?
• Are there enough organic matters, such as grass or mulch clippings for keeping pests away from the sun?
• Is your garden too hot, wet, cold, or dry?
• Have you surrounded your home with earthworm unfriendly products like a park or community grass?

If your answers are positive, consider purchasing earthworms and placing them in your garden. In this way, you can attract other worms and monitor the increase in population.

How To Take Care Of Your Earthworms

Avoid the following products:

• Don’t use meats, dairy products, and oil since it takes longer to break down
• Don’t use cooked foods that are too buttery and oily
• Avoid foods high in salt

What Earthworms Like

Make sure your earthworm farm is thriving and growing by following these steps:

• Shred or soak newspaper and corrugated cardboard before placing it in your earthworm bin/garden
• Worms require plenty of water; however, copious amounts of water can drown them. Thus, make sure you moisten the soil without overdoing it
• Avoid making the soil too sandy
• Keep your soil at a pH level of 5 to 8 to ensure your earthworms thrive

To Sum it Up

The fact is that earthworms are the foundation of a healthy and thriving garden. Avoid adding harmful items like tobacco, lime, coal, grease, and so on in your garden.

There are over a thousand different types of earthworms that you can enjoy attracting in your garden. In turn, the quality and fertility of your soil are bound to go up.

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