Earthworm Friends in the Garden

November 18th, 2008 by Ezio

Tip! Choose a sunny, well-drained gardening site. Most wildflowers need at least five to eight hours of sunlight a day and well-drained soil.

Earthworms are a gardener’s best friend.

Research has shown that earthworm excrement, also called
castings or vermicompost, improves the aeration, porosity,
structure, drainage, and moisture-holding capacity of soil.

Many studies prove that when compared to conventional
composts, vermicompost is less variable and much more
stable. Mixing vermicompost into the planting medium
essentially eliminated the need for additional fertilizer in
the production of tomato plugs as one example.

Home Vegetable Garden Secrets. Create a Stunning Vegetable Garden in Your Own Backyard.

Studies show that earthworm castings increase height, stem
diameter, enhance root growth, increase dry weight, and
produce more flowers per plant than peat moss.

Redworm castings are the richest and purest humus matter in
the world. Humus is believed to aid in the prevention of
harmful plant pathogens, fungi, nematodes and bacteria.

One pound of worms can convert one pound of pig manure into
compost in 48 hours!

Worms consume three times their weight a week or more. Red
wrigglers are very active, reproduce quickly and consume
their own body weight of waste every 24 hours. Therefore ten
pounds of worms will eat ten pounds of waste in 24 hours!

Tip! Sunflowers ï¿½ There’s no better flower for your garden than the sunflower. Sunflowers have yellowish-orange petal with a black circle in the middle.

Worm castings provide a rich source of a variety of
essential plant nutrients.

Microbial activity in worm castings is 10 to 20 times higher
than in the soil and organic matter that the worm ingests.”

How to use worm castings:

When planting vegetable and annuals line the rows and holes
with about two inches of castings. About every eight weeks
side dress the plants with one-half cup of castings per
plant or one cup per foot of row.

For perennials work one-half cup of castings into the soil
in the spring, middle of summer, and early fall.

For pots and hanging baskets add one-half inch castings to
the top and water in. Then reapply every eight weeks.

Tip! You will want to consider the size of your garden space, so that you can ensure proper exposure to the air and other elements as well.

Roses appreciate four cups of castings per plant.

If starting a new lawn add 15 pounds of casting per 100
square feet when sowing. Once established use seven pounds
per 100 square feet.

For more information about vermicompost and castings visit:

http://www.apluswriting.net/garden/earthworm.htm

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Tip! Pull weeds. If weeds grow in the midst of your wildflower garden, pull them by hand before they have a chance to flower and populate.

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Author: Marilyn Pokorney
Freelance writer of science, nature, animals and the
environment.
Also loves crafts, gardening, and reading.
Website: http://www.apluswriting.net