Garden Worms: What They Are and What They Do
Earthworms are the sorts of worms that you are most likely to encounter in your garden, and they are the most common. This mutualistic interaction with the ground results in them enriching soils with nitrogen, phosphorus, and other nutrients, as well as increasing the capacity of the soil to decompose.
The advantages of using garden worms
We’ll go through the three most prevalent varieties of earthworms that may be found in gardens, as well as the primary advantages of having them in your garden, in the sections below.
Garden Worms Can Be Divided Into Three Types
Garden worms are classed according to the ecosystems that they disrupt, and they may be divided into three groups.
Here are some essential identifiers, as well as information on where they live and what they eat, to help you identify the creatures that are crawling about in your garden.
1. The Epigeic Garden Worm is a kind of worm that lives in gardens.
Garden worms of the epigeic variety
The Most Important Characteristics
- A deep, luscious shade of red.
- The topsoil is being inhabited by rapid movements.
- Small in stature (between 1 and 7 inches)
- The epigeic garden worm is the kind of worm that you are most likely to observe in your garden.
This is due to the fact that they live on the soil’s surface and work to decompose organic substances.
Garden worms that live in epigeic environments have a darker coloration than other worms, which they use to blend into the soil and shield themselves from ultraviolet light.
In order to thrive, they must live on the soil surface and feed on organic matter such as leaves or compost piles.
These worms are the most common in gardens, and they’re the ones you’ll be most likely to notice if you take a look about your garden area.
2. Endogeic Garden Worm (Endogeic Garden Worm)
Worms come in a variety of shapes and sizes.
The Most Important Characteristics
- Inhabit the soil’s uppermost layers to survive.
- Mostly colorless or pale in appearance
- a tiny size (mostly smaller than epigeic)
- Movement at a snail’s pace
- The endogeic garden worm, on the other hand, prefers to create its home deep beneath the ground, bringing things down a notch.
They like to burrow into the earth and eat on organic debris until it rains, at which point they will move on.
You’ll see them emerging from the earth and trying to get away from the rain before burrowing back into the ground once again.
3. Anecic Garden Worm (Anecica anecica)
Endogeic garden worms are a kind of worm that lives in the soil.
Key Characteristics of the Small Garden Worm
Worm with the slowest movement
- The color is a milky white.
- Thickness of the diameter
- Come up to the surface to eat, and then burrow underground.
- The Anecic garden worm is a kind of worm that prefers to dwell underground but rises to the surface when it’s time to feed.
They subsist on organic debris that has fallen from trees or plants, or that has been incorporated into compost.
Anecic worms are often larger in size than the other species of garden worms, having a thicker body and a longer length than the other forms.
For the most part, their coloring is milky white since they only come out to eat and then burrow back down at least six inches into the ground.
Is it Beneficial to Have Garden Worms?
Whenever you see a slimy thing creeping about in your yard, your initial instinct may be to get rid of it as quickly as possible.
Once it comes to the garden worm, on the other hand, their existence is typically considered a positive indicator for the health of your garden.
Garden worms provide a variety of important advantages to your garden and the soil that it is planted in, some of which may come as a surprise to you.
Support the Nutrition of the Soil
The most significant advantage of having worms in your garden is the function they play in improving soil nourishment.
The bulk of their food is composed of organic and decaying material, which is eventually digested and recycled back into the environment.
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This debris becomes enhanced with critical plant nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus after it has been digested by the worms.
Furthermore, they dig down and enrich deeper soil layers, promoting a better and more resilient soil immune system as a result of their activities.
Organic Matter Must Be Decomposed
Afterwards, the organic debris that worms degrade provides a source of food for fungus and bacteria.
In addition to feeding on and digesting organic debris, many of these important microorganisms also provide a high amount of nutrients for your garden’s soil as well as all of the plants that live there.
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It’s important to remember that, although bacteria and fungus have a poor reputation, they are essential components of a healthy soil ecosystem.
They provide advantages to plants, roots, and microorganisms such as nourishment, defense, and enhanced tolerance to adverse weather conditions.
Promote the health of the roots
The roots function similarly to the arteries of a plant, extending and growing throughout the earth in search of nutrition, moisture, and other resources.
Garden worms are beneficial to soil health.
Worms in the garden
Garden worms contribute to the health of root systems by aerating the soil during their digging activities.
As they dig their way further into the soil, they produce a tiny aperture that enables water and oxygen to reach the roots under the surface.
These little apertures also aid in the aeration of soils, which may assist to avoid rotting of the roots and promote a more robust subterranean network for your plants in general.
A component of the food chain
Worms are an essential component of the food chain, providing food for predators such as:
Snails and insects are included.
Without worms, these creatures would be deprived of a food supply, and their numbers would either dwindle to extinction or plummet dramatically as they learned to adapt to a new diet.
When you have worms in your garden, you have a whole food chain unfolding in front of your eyes, providing nutrients for plants as well as food for some of nature’s most important creatures to have around.
How Can You Keep Your Garden Worms Content?
Because of all of the important advantages that come from having a worm population in your garden, you should take efforts to ensure that worms continue to thrive and be happy.
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Garden soil that is rich in nutrients
Some environmental factors attract garden worms, and you can influence a few of these factors.
Give Them Scraps of Your Time
Garden worms are particularly fond of decaying organic waste.
Kitchen leftovers are an excellent source of nutrients, however you should avoid consuming too much of them.
If you consume fruits and vegetables on a regular basis, save the peels and scraps and throw them in little by little while you cook.
This will ensure that your worms are happy and growing by providing them with the foods they like.
Maintain Soil Moisture Content
Just like your plants, worms are attracted to the soil when it is damp and spongy in texture.
Depending on the environment, more water may be required to maintain the soil wet and spongy than in others.
In order to establish the ideal habitat for garden worms and plants, you may need to amend the soil with mulch, water, and other essential ingredients, depending on the contents of your garden.
Temperature control is essential.
Garden worms thrive in temperatures ranging from 40 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit.
Maintaining a consistent temperature in your garden may be possible with proper planning and management of your garden.
Garden worms of several kinds in the soil
Worms in the garden
If, on the other hand, you have your plants outdoors, you may need to take further precautions.
Consider adding a blanket as the temperature drops, a heat light of some kind, and items such as sticks and leaves to the space.
These materials not only aid in the retention of moisture, but they also aid in the regulation of temperatures and the provision of an extra food source for worms.
Even if you are unable to completely regulate the temperature, you should consider taking precautions to keep your plants and worms warm if you anticipate a significant decrease in temps.
Concluding Remarks
Garden worms are an important element of every garden’s ecosystem. Those who have a high concentration of worms have a higher concentration of nutrients and are more prepared to battle sickness.
Worms offer nutrients to the plants in your garden, as well as extra moisture and the ability to enhance root conditions.
Whenever you have worms in your yard, you should take precautions to ensure that they remain healthy by providing them with the circumstances that they like.
If you don’t notice worms in your garden organically, you may purchase them and include them into your garden, which will help to boost the health of your garden with the assistance of these slimy, wiggly insects.
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