CRAWLIES (not creepy) UNDERGROUND
Collecting Earthworms From a Vermiculture Bed
If you have ever turned over a shovel or trowel of soil in the garden, you are aware of some of the creatures who inhabit good soil. They may not be as visible or abundant in soil that has not been worked or amended, but some are still present. More on native soil structure in a later blog, but for now, let’s look at the life in your garden soil.
Nearly all soil contains biological life naturally. There are of course exceptions, but that’s a different discussion. For now, let’s assume we are talking about garden soil, whether at ground level or in raised beds. This can include creatures as large as gophers, moles, rock squirrels, and other mammals all the way down to the microscopic archaea, a type of bacteria that inhabits rocks. If you asked a random gardener what type of soil life they notice while working the ground or planting, most will identify earthworms. Yay! (We love earthworms!)
Seen or unseen, there is a multitude of lifeforms in a healthy garden soil. However, to maintain that delicate ecosystem, there is another element that must be present: water. All biological life on this planet requires water for survival. I have heard gardeners say, “I have lots of worms in my garden,” or “I used to have worms in my garden,” or sometimes, “I wish I had worms in my garden.” What’s the missing link? It’s most likely moisture content.
I use worms as the example here because they’re the most easily observed critter we hope to find in our gardens. The Master Tillers. Worms can turn waste into something great for plants. We will cover more details about that in a later post, but for now let’s focus on why they, and other lifeforms, stay or leave the soil we have created to attract and keep them. The most obvious reason became clear to me recently while working with a client preparing their garden beds for spring vegetable planting.
We were adding new soil to some old, tired beds that had been struggling to produce well and mixing new compost in to improve structure. The dry, seemingly lifeless soil needed help, and I wondered where the Master Tillers had gone. After all, these raised beds had been in use for several years. The answer came as we discussed the rest of the preparation for this year’s crops.
“Make sure you keep these beds moist until you are ready to plant, even if that’s not for a few more weeks.” We had added earthworms from my vermiculture project, and I knew they needed adequate moisture just to survive, more to thrive and reproduce. “What? You mean we have to water even though there’s nothing growing yet?”
The “aha” moment had arrived!
What do we generally do with our gardens at the end of the season? Whether we sheet compost, move the dead plant material to the compost pile, or just leave it in place until we prepare the following spring, once the frost releases its nasty bite the show is over. No matter how long we stand there applauding our great season of bounty, there is no ovation. With sadness, we eventually leave the theater with only memories of the enjoyable production.
And then, . . . WE SHUT OFF THE WATER!
Did we forget about all the other life in there? Since we have focused on worms, let’s take a minute to look at what happens to them. Worms, being the great tillers they are, can move rather quickly into and through the soil. You have probably observed this when you expose a worm on the surface on a sunny day.
As the soil dries or gets colder in the fall, the worms can indeed move to deeper parts for their survival. Some species can only survive at a certain depth and will die off, while others will move to a different yard if local conditions don’t improve. So where did my worms go? The answer: AWAY. Possibly never to return. Like someone fleeing the big city for a better life in the country.
And what about all the other, smaller, lifeforms? Many are nearly immobile, so once the soil dries completely, they die. Some have survival mechanisms, but many do not. Sometimes we make the situation worse by how we treat the soil. Again, another blog post. So how do we offset this? Do we need to just water an empty bed all winter?
The short answer is yes. The easiest solution is to plant a cover crop or some other winter-hardy plants in your beds, even without the need to remove all the old, expired plants. This accomplishes two things: (1) it forces you to continue giving the beds attention, and water, and (2) the action of plant roots growing in the soil has benefits to all the soil life.
Is this a waste of our most precious resource? Examine the big picture and you decide.
SEE YOU IN THE DIRT!
thehorticoach.com