Ally with Nature: Earthworms - Species you should & shouldn’t be inviting into your garden.
For decades there have been numerous pesticides, herbicides, and invasive species used in the pursuit of eliminating a threat to a harvest and increasing yields. Large farm operations, especially those in corporate farming industries primarily focused on profits, by any means necessary. And those means have led to extreme soil and biodiversity degradation. Although there are many pests that can ultimately spoil an entire harvest as long as there is a native predator to eliminate that threat we can restore the balance to our land and reap the benefits. In this blog series, we will discuss the species you should and shouldn’t be actively inviting into your gardens. Every garden should have its own ecosystem so we’ll go over how you can entice beneficial critters to call your garden home. We’ll start with some obvious candidates and then get into some of the lesser-known helpers.
Worms may seem like an obvious choice, and they are. You’re probably familiar with giant worms like nightcrawlers (Lumbricus Terrestris) and red worms (Eisenia Fetida). Worms have the ability to aerate your soil, compost your waste and distribute nutrients throughout your garden. So should you befriend the worms? Absolutely! They reduce soil compaction and help nutrients make their way to the root systems of your plants. And their excrement forms soil aggregates combining minerals and nutrients. In other words worms = soil.
If you have healthy garden soil worms will find their way to you. However, if you are just starting to care for your soil or you just started learning about gardening you may consider purchasing worms to introduce to your garden. I’m here to tell you an emphatic “NO.” Studies on worms used in agricultural settings were unable to find an improvement in performance for these agricultural operations that could be attributed to earthworms. In fact, earthworms may be partially to blame for your high garden water bill. Because they are so good at aerating your soil they are likely contributing to a lack of water retention.
Moving worms from one location to another will no doubt cause more harm than good. Although they are commonly sold at garden centers and baits shops nine times out of ten you are buying an invasive species. Remember how we talked about farmers introducing invasive species at the beginning. Let's not do that. Invasive earthworms can be detrimental to forests and without trees, the effects of soil erosion begin to worsen.
How could that be? You’ve probably seen them everywhere practically since the day you were born. The answer? Invasive species, the two most common worms, the nightcrawler, and the red worm, are actually native to Europe.
Earthworms’ effects on forests are especially a problem in Ohio and northeastern states. The first sign of a healthy forest is the thick layers of decomposing vegetative matter such as leaves, twigs, and dead logs that slowly decompose and gradually release nutrients into the soil throughout the growing season. These layers are imperative for insects and other small vertebrates and invertebrates. It is a self-contained ecosystem all on its own. We’ve all heard “Leave the leaves,” well because earthworms are so adept at consuming organic matter they end up consuming these layers of composting debris far too quickly, converting it into readily available nutrients all at one time. Sounds like a good thing right? Wrong. Because vegetation including trees and shrubs will only absorb as many nutrients as they require the remaining nutrients are then leached from the soil and into groundwater. The impacts of which you can begin seeing within only a few years.
Photo by Melike Sayar Melikesayar from Pexels
Conclusion: Worms are great for composting but should not be introduced to your garden or environment. So here’s how you can strike a balance. Keeping worms in a closed composting container will leave you to reap the benefits of harvesting worm casting (excrement) or “Black Gold” as many gardeners refer to it without worrying about damaging your ecosystem. Your container should have a bottom and four walls and a cover to ensure no escapes. When harvesting the worm castings you should use a screen to sift the composted materials so you can be certain that no worms are leaving their confinement. Below I’ve included some tips to make you a successful worm farmer.
Don’t overfeed your worms.
-You should be adding organic matter every 2-3 days. By overfeeding, your compost begins to stink and pile up. Worms will not be able to break down large fruits and vegetables such as an entire head of lettuce or melon rinds, by using a food processor or blender you can easily break down these larger items. This will also reduce odors and discourage pests. Anything you are feeding to your worms should be completely broken down within 2-3 weeks.
2. Be conscious of what foods should be composted.
-You should never be adding processed foods, spicy foods, oils, or meat scraps to a compost bin, but especially for worms. Composting must-haves for worms includes non-acidic fruits, vegetable scraps, grains, bread, coffee grounds, tea bags, pasta, herbivore animal manure, crushed eggshells, and shredded cardboard.
3. Compost shouldn't be too wet or too dry.
-Don’t make the mistake of adding too much water to your worm bins, we’ve all seen what happens to worms in a downpour. The worm “bedding” should be moist enough to allow worm tunneling but not enough that they end up drowning. The bedding should resemble a damp sponge when squeezed.
4. Temperature.
-Worms should be kept between 54 - 84 degrees. Too cold and worms begin to slow down their processes and metabolism, too hot and they will die.
Best of luck on your gardening journeys!
Questions? In need of an answer? Ask below and if we don’t know the answer off the top of our head we’ll do our best to find an answer.
Here are some sources and links to learn more about earthworms and their impact on the environment.
