You think he’s there.
Lurking and sliding past you. He is silent, stealthy and yet so painfully slow.
He has eluded you at every turn. Will his next turn be to starboard or
elsewhere? Why are you so hard to find Red Jumbo? Why are you not in my garden?
If you’re not sure
what I’m talking about, we are talking about earth worms. Specifically the ones
I refer to as the red jumbos or night crawlers. There are few sights more
welcomed in your garden as a nice mess of worms. Gardeners know that worms are
good for our gardens. However, have you ever wondered exactly why? Well, buckle
up for a quick and dirty overview of worms.
Let’s start with the
easiest part of the worm to identify with, its biology. Worms are cold blooded
invertebrates that do not possess eyes, ears, nose, legs or teeth. They use
four bristly protrusions called setae to help them move along. They wedge these
setae against the burrow walls by contracting their longitudinal muscles. This
provides an anchoring point for them to thrust forward through the dirt. Life
as a worm is easy going and uneventful. Other than having to dodge the
occasional bird or mole they don’t have many worries. They are completely
surrounded by food, they poo where ever they please, and they are never
homeless. Oh, and they don’t have to pay taxes.
Perhaps the most
interesting and least talked about part about worms is their reproduction. Did
you know that worms contain both male and female reproductive organs? Yep,
earth worms are hermaphrodites. How many advantages can a life form have? Just
remember the next time a worm pisses you off and you tell it to go #^@% itself,
it might very well take you up on that suggestion.
So what is it that
worms do that is so desirable? There are multiple benefits of having worms in
your garden. First they create burrows though the soil. This allows for
increased aeration to support the growth of beneficial bacteria that speeds
composting. The burrows also provide additional channels for water to reach the
roots of plants. Secondly, as worms consume the bulk organic material in your
soil where their digestive system further breaks it down. Many nutrients in
your soil are not water soluble – thus unavailable to your plants. However, the
worm’s digestive system transforms them into a soluble form that can be
absorbed by the plants. Lastly, worms are motivated workers. They never get
tired, they don’t call in sick, they don’t bitch about the boss and they don’t
shoot the crap at the water cooler on Monday morning.

A few pointers to
consider if you want more worms:
Make sure you have
plenty of organic matter for the worms to eat.
Do not apply chemical
fertilizers to your garden – that’s what the compost is for dummy.
Do not use pesticides
on your plants – the runoff can kill the worms too.
Do keep your soil
moist and loose – however don’t over work your soil. Over working the soil
generally results in needless injuries to the worms.
If you don’t have any
worms now, you can “spike” your garden with worms from the bait shop.
Worms are horny
critters, so once established in a favorable environment they will reproduce
like crazy.
That’s all for now. I
hope some of this will help you in your quest to find Red Jumbo in your garden.
It has done wonders for me.
So long for now and keep your hoe on the ground.
Rgs,
John Hasquin
No comments:
Post a Comment
Say want you want but be nice or be gone. :)