How to Add Earthworms to Your Garden

Earthworms offer many benefits for your garden.

A garden that has earthworms in its soil is bound to be healthy and thriving. Earthworms can ingest any soil, compost or even sand and expel it as an incredibly nutrient- and mineral-rich plant food. Earthworms also loosen the soil, making it easier for rainwater to penetrate deep down. To add earthworms to your own garden, you don't have to do much. And if you continue to bury your compost, earthworms will continue to come and help your garden thrive.

Things You'll Need

• Water
• Spade
• Compost
• Earthworms

Instructions

1. Pour some water around the plants in the garden that you'd like to benefit from the earthworms. Allow the water to fully absorb into the soil.

2. Use a spade to loosen the wet soil for 6 full inches. Be careful not to destroy any roots you come across.

3. Bury some compost in the loosened soil. Earthworms are particularly fond of coffee grounds. Compost can also contain fruit and vegetable scraps, grass clippings and leaves. Shred any leaves being used so they don't weigh down large areas of soil.

4. Add earthworms to the top of the loosened soil and allow them to work. Make sure that you add the earthworms to your garden in the evening so that they have time to burrow into the soil without being dried out from the sun or picked up by birds.

5. Continue to bury compost around your garden as often as possible. Adding compost will attract many more earthworms and will make a tremendous difference in your garden.

References

• Ridgetown Horticultural Society: Earthworms- Nature's Garden Fertilizers
• Mother Earth News: The Earthworm Lawn and Garden

Resources

• Great Garden Info: Earthworms in the garden