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earthworms

Kids Post: Are You Happy to See Worms in Your Garden?

July 15, 2022

Earthworms in your garden can do some amazing things, but not all worms are good guys, and even the good guys may cause trouble! Learning what earthworms look like and where they
belong can help your garden grow.

What good are worms?
Earthworms are great decomposers—they tunnel through garden soil, eating and breaking down a lot of dead leaves, tiny plant roots, and the fungi and microbes that grow on them. Their
tunnels let air, water, and many important nutrients move through the soil to help keep plants healthy and create the moist places that keep worms happy.

Good guys and bad guys
Earthworms in your garden are usually good, but there are a lot of different kinds of worms! Most worms came to Western North Carolina from other parts of the world. We call these worms
non-native or exotic and some can cause damage.

  • Photo courtesy of Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
    An invasive Asian jumping worm is seen at the bottom next to a common nightcrawler.

    Earthworms: There are both native and non-native earthworms, but even our common
    nightcrawlers (Lumbricus terrestris) came here from Europe!

    • Earthworms that help your garden are not as welcome near streams—where the nutrients they bring can cause pollution—or in forests—where they might break down too much of the leaf litter that forest plants and animals need!
    • Non-native jumping worms (Amynthas agrestis) do serious damage because they live closer to the soil surface and eat a lot of leaf litter and mulch. They don’t help get nutrients into the soil like other earthworms and can take over because they grow and multiply faster. Called jumping worms because they may jump or move very fast, they also look different from other earthworms.
  • Hammerhead worms (Bipalium spp.) and terrestrial flatworms are other non-native worms that may do damage. Because they especially like eating earthworms (as well as snails, slugs, and other small insects), they can decrease the number of “good” earthworms that are better for your garden. These critters look very different from earthworms!
    Close up of the head and neck region of a flathead worm, Bipalium Kewense. Note the broken collar around the neck.
    Terrestrial flatworm, Microplana terrestris from North Carolina.

What can you do?
How do you keep the good earthworms happy and keep the non-native worms of all types out of your garden?

  • Photo by Marie Johnston, University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum.
    Cocoons of jumping worms.

    The most important thing to do is check the soil of all plants you buy—or get from friends—to make sure there aren’t any unwanted worms or cocoons in the soil. Cocoons are extremely small and may be difficult to see.

  • Use gloves or tweezers to handle any worms until you can identify them.
    • Flatworms or hammerhead worms can be toxic in certain circumstances, so wash your hands if you accidentally touch one! Put them in a jar with rubbing alcohol or in a bag to freeze them before you put them in the trash.
    • You can also dispose of jumping worms after leaving them in soapy water or in a sealed bag in the sun.
    • Be sure not to cut-up any non-native worms to get rid of them because some cut-up parts can grow a whole new worm!

Article written by Carol Anne Reynolds, Extension Master GardenerSM Intern.

For more information:

Earthworms:
Earthworm FAQs for Teachers
National Geographic Kids – Earthworm: https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/facts/earthworm
NCSU – Earthworms in Turf: https://www.turffiles.ncsu.edu/insects/earthworm-in-turf/
NCSU – Jumping Worm Fact Sheet: https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/jumping-worms
UNH – Extension – Plant Sales and Jumping Worms:
https://extension.unh.edu/resource/plant-sales-and-jumping-worms

Terrestrial Flatworms, Land Planarians, and Hammerhead Worms:
NCSU Extension: https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/terrestrial-flatwormshammerhead-worms

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Categories Gardening for Children, General Gardening Tags earthworms, hammerhead worms, invasive worms, jumping worms

Making Great Soil: Compost, Worms and More!

November 7, 2016

When gardeners meet, they greet each other with an endless flow of questions: “How are the tomatoes over your way?” or “Are your roses doing okay in this drought?” But you never hear “How is your soil doing?”Soil

Soil tests identify mineral content
Fortunately, one way to find out how your soil is doing is to do a soil test. Most gardeners think they need to add fertilizers to their soil to feed their plants. Experienced gardeners know that a soil test will help them pinpoint which specific nutrients—if any—their plants need, and in what proportions. The North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services provides free soil test boxes, instructions, and soil analyses for North Carolinians between April and November. There is a $4 charge per sample for those received December through March. Pick up boxes and instructions at the Buncombe County Extension office and then ship your samples to the lab in Raleigh.

Soil as a living organism
But soil tests only give you information about the mineral elements essential for plant growth. Mineral elements are a small part of what soil scientists, biologists, and plant specialists call the “Soil Food Web.” This web is an intricate interrelationship of earthworms, insects, arthropods, and microorganisms, such as beneficial nematodes, protozoa, fungi, and bacteria. Their job in the soil is to make mineral nutrients available to the plants, preserve soil moisture, improve soil texture by opening spaces for air, and continually replenish the soil through the decomposition and recycling of organic materials.

Be a composter!
The $64,000 question? How do we increase the organic content of our soils? One of the most common answers is through composting. Composting involves recycling of organic materials— grass clippings, leaves, small twigs, weeds, garden refuse, and vegetative food scraps—from your yard, garden, and kitchen. 

“Chop and drop”
In addition to creating a separate compost pile with such materials, you can use an in-place composting technique called “chop and drop.” Simply cut weeds, leaves, vegetable scraps from the kitchen, and so forth into small pieces. You can do this by running your lawn mower over them or chopping up things with a knife or shears as you gather them. Pull back the mulch in your planting bed, put down the chopped up stuff—cover with a sheet or two of newspaper if you want to help conceal the contents—water, and then put the mulch back over the drop spot.

Be a worm whisperer!
It’s possible to do double duty to improve your soil: recycle organic matter and become a worm whisperer! Two types of worms help improve our garden soil: Nightcrawlers  (Lumbricus terrestris), which dig deep vertical channels, aerating the soil and allowing for water penetration, and red wigglers (Eisenia foetida), which dig more horizontally, speeding the decomposition of the organic matter they eat. Both pass worm castings that are rich in nutrients for the plants and for the tiny microbes working within the soil. You can purchase red wigglers if you want to set up a worm-composting bin (also known as vermiculture).

Further reading
Useful Extension publications include “Soils and Plant Nutrients” https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/extension-gardener-handbook/1-soils-and-plant-nutrients
“Soil Facts: Modifying Soil for Plant Growth around Your Home”
https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/modifying-soil-for-plant-growth-around-your-home
“A Gardener’s Guide to Soil Testing,” which you can find online at http://content.ces.ncsu.edu/a-gardeners-guide-to-soil-testing
“Vermicomposting for Households”
https://www.ces.ncsu.edu/vermicomposting-north-carolina/vermicomposting-for-households/
A comprehensive book on the subject is Keith Reid’s Improving Your Soil, 2014 Firefly Books.
For fun, read Amy Stewart’s “funny and profound” The Earth Moved: On the Remarkable Achievements of Earth Worms, 2004, Algonquin Books.

Article written by Mary Hugenschmidt, Extension Master Gardener Volunteer.

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Categories Soils & Fertilizers Tags compost, earthworms, soil content, soil test

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