Why You Want Redworms and Earthworms (Nightcrawlers) in Your Garden

Chris McLaughlin, contributor

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Red worms or Red wigglers are composting worms.

 

Photo by netefect under the Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0.

Worm castings offer excellent nutrition to plants.

 

Photo by willsfca under the Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0.

Earthworms are the soil movers.

 

Photo by slappytheseal under the Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0.

Red worms or Red wigglers are composting worms.

 

Photo by netefect under the Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0.

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Not all worms are created equal; each species has its own gift as far as value for the garden soil. Some worms excel at composting and some are made for earth moving. While all worms are sometimes referred to as earthworms, it's usually the night crawlers we're referring to as an earthworm. Redworms are usally called red wigglers, although, they too, are an earthworm technically. The redworms ingest food scraps and other organic waste at a rapid pace.

After these have passed through the worm's gut, the end product is a biologically active material called worm poop - I mean castings. Here’s the big deal about castings. They contain significantly more beneficial micro-organisms, enzymes, humus, and plant stimulants than regular compost.

Castings have these nutrients in high percentages in a slow-release form along with superior soil binding, and water retaining abilities. They also offer excellent aeration, porosity and structural properties. Plus, these nutrients are available for a longer period of time. “Available” means that the nutrients in castings can get to the plants for easy absorption because they're water soluble. Worm castings will also greatly improve your soil’s texture.

More info ... • Let Worms Compost Your Kitchen Scraps • Video: Worm Composting

I like being a worm farmer. Like my fondness for rabbit poop, I take great pride in the rich nutrients they produce for my garden. These are natural talents we humans can't begin to duplicate. Our poop just isn't that great. While traditional composting and vermicomposting both enlist broken down organic materials, worms bring their own somethin'-somethin' to the table by providing a highly nutritional product for the garden.

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Comments (5)

ChrisMcLaughlin writes: I so enjoy the comments of my worm-loving com padres. Worm farmer untie...er..unite!

JadaE - You simply MUST get a bunny. Lops are very friendly...holland lops and American fuzzy lops are 4 pounds as adults. Lots of poop, but easy to handle. But really, get a bunny. I have a monstrous French Lop (Banx) whom I adore but he's about 17 pounds and not easy to handle. But he's friendly and looks like a big stuffed animal (I'll have to post pics) and there is lots of poop going on here, LOL.
Posted: 3:06 pm on November 20th

JadaE writes: I want to try a worm compost unit inside (or least in the garage this winter), but the hubs is against having worms as indoor roommates....I have talked him into a rabbit though! Maybe Santa will bring a rabbit this Christmas!

Another random thought: My kids LOVE the book "Diary of an Earthworm"...it is pretty funny! Check it out!

Final(weird)random thought: What a shame that human poop is no good! I had 3 babies in 5 yrs-for a while I could have sold it by the diaper! :) (I know, weird) :)
Posted: 1:51 pm on November 20th

yourownvictorygarden writes: As Homer Simpson would say... "Mmmmmmm... worm poop."

Seriously, I crashed and burned on my first attempt at vermicomposting, but have an interest in trying it again.
Posted: 9:02 am on November 20th

Blue_Hydrangea writes: Funny how we need the ugly-stuff to make the pretty-stuff! Thanks for further explaining 'red wigglers' to me because their small yet important contributions are over-looked, so to speak!
Posted: 2:43 am on November 20th

Matt_M writes: Red Wigglers are pretty awesome critters all right. Not many things work magic on a garden like good worm poo. All that great biological activity in the soil is invaluable.
Posted: 11:56 pm on November 19th

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