How to Attract Earthworms

It’s common knowledge that if you dig up a shovelful of dirt and find a few worms it’s a sign of a healthy soil. But why is this? And how do you get it?

Earthworms excrete a nutritious substance also known as "castings" that plants can easily absorb, in fact plants thrive extremely well on worm castings--which by the way is an amendment that is widely sold for a high price! As worms search for food they tunnel about and aerate the soil—plant roots need oxygen, and the tunnels help water and nutrients move about the soil.

The same process is repeated a billion-fold over with other microscopic soil creatures also known as soil microbes. These microbes and worms all eat the same thing, organic matter, aka, compost. When they are done, they leave behind their castings and a substance known as humus. So if you want to invite these beneficial creatures to your yard, put out the welcome mat by feeding them. Homemade compost made from grass trimmings, leaves, fish bones and kitchen scraps is excellent and OSH Garden Compost, Sun Land One Earth, Redwood Soil Conditioner are other good choices.

Apply 2-4" of compost around trees, shrubs, in flower and vegetable beds (this is the welcome mat). In a few weeks the worms will be there to eat. You don’t have to cultivate it in; the worms will do that work for you. Having worms eating organic matter creates a natural, slow release of food for plants. If you have been relying on costly chemical "miracle" fertilizers to keep your plants green, your soil probably is somewhat acidic and salty, a condition that repels sensitive earthworms! Commonly sprayed herbicides are also toxic to not only worms but bees as well. Take time to remedy the situation, and once you do, you will spend less money on expensive chemicals anymore! Remember to keep feeding the worms every year, so they stick around!