Underground workers who are the best recyclers on the planet

Oct 27 2007 Graham Porter, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

THERE’S a worm at the bottom of my garden and his name is……………….

If you have not heard of this old-fashioned childrens’ rhyme then I suggest that you find a copy – it might come in useful if you enter the World Worm Charming Championships next year!!

Seriously though, Charles Darwin described the benefit of worms in 1881 in a book entitled ‘The Formation of Vegetable Mould Through the Action of Worms.’ “It may be doubted whether there are any other animals which have played such an important part in the history of the world as these lowly organised creatures.”

You may not realise, if like most of us, you only ever see the red brandling worms of the compost heap and the fisherman’s supply shop or the casts of the casting earth worms on the surface of your lawn, that there are 25 species of worms native to our green and pleasant land. Each species has its own part to play in the processing of vegetative waste, some working well below the surface of the soil and others popping their heads out at regular intervals to search for fresh organic matter to pull down into the soil – this is happening now as the autumn leaves are falling – look out for the worm casts on your lawn and the leaves that seem to be sticking out of the lawn, having been pulled partly underground by the worms.

Brushing these worms casts around on a dry autumn or spring day helps to top-dress your lawn and so you have no need, in the ordinary garden situation, to control these apparent pests.

The earth worm’s ability to drain and aerate our garden soil can only truly be considered mathematically.

An average garden will have around 20 worms per square metre.

Each worm is estimated to burrow through the soil at about 20cm per day – this gives a series of temporary drainage channels below the surface of your garden of around four metres per square metre – no amount of spiking and digging could achieve that with such little effort or cost on your part.

Add to this phenomenal mining, the worms feeding habits and you can understand why Charles Darwin said what he did.

Worms eat organic matter, either in its pure state or as an extract from the soil that they eat – this unseen but vital process helps to recycle millions of tonnes of organic matter that falls onto our lawns and borders, reducing the need for us to apply artificial fertilisers and imported bags of processed organic matter.

Darwin, in his research estimated that about 16,000 kg (35,000 lb) of worm casts were scattered over an acre of pastureland every year, amounting to a depth of 6 mm (¼”) of soil.

This slow movement of soil over the centuries has helped to create our top soil, moved millions of tonnes of stones to the lower depths of the soil and has brought valuable minerals and nutrients back to the surface for our plants to use.

Our brandling worm, Eisenia foetida, is now the number one processor of vegetative garden and kitchen waste in Britain and collectively, is probably doing more to reduce land-fill than any other creature on the planet, including the human species, that created the problem in the first place.

These worms can reduce a full bucket of kitchen waste to a quarter of a bucket of brown gold in about three months that can then be scattered onto the garden to be processed again by the earth worm – that’s what I call recycling.

For more details on vermiculture (worm composting) why not call Wiggly Wigglers on 0800 216990 or 01981 500108 or visit their website at www.wigglywigglers.co.uk .

A little known fact: The International Federation of Worm Charmers and Allied Pastimes holds an annual Worm Charming Championship in the village of Willaston, near Nantwich in Cheshire every year and the current world champion is one Tom Shufflebotham who, single-handedly, charmed 511 worms from a piece of ground 3 metres by 3 metres in half an hour in 1980.

If you don’t believe me visit their website at www.wormcharming.com .

The 29th World Worm Charming Championship is being held on June 28, 2008 at 2pm.

By the way, in case you still don’t know, the worm’s name is Wiggly Woo!