Wednesday 9th July 2014

As heard on Mornings with Michael Spooner – ABC Mid North Coast

This week’s Topic - Worms, worms and more worms

We talk a lot about compost worms these days but often forget about all the other varieties of worm. So lets have a look at what worms do and how to encourage them.

Worms increase plant growth through;

·      Breaking up organic materials
·      Breaking up root mats and thick leaf litter
·      Increase microbial activity in the soil
·      Improve crumb structure
·      Increase the water holding capacity of soils
·      Allow better penetration of roots (more oxygen and water in root zone)

How can you check your WORM populations?

·      Dig down to 10 cm and you should find them in winter
·      In summer you will need to dig to 50 cm as worms escape heat and dry    
       soils

Getting your worm populations back from the neighbours……….

If you don’t find many or any worms, chances are they have left for the neighbours. Time to get them back.  Start in a small area first and….

·      Provide quality worm food and suitable conditions to attract worms, 
       ie. Small pieces of fruit and vegetable matter, best to avoid high 
            amounts of citrus and onions.
·      Allow plant litter to accumulate
·      Dig holes around 10-20 cm deep and bury your kitchen scraps daily 
       (best to create around 50 stashes around your yard)\
·      If you really want them the worms to head to your garden, throw in 
       some dog and/or chicken pellets
·      Ensure the soil is moist
·      Mulch thickly (above 25c is death to worms)
·      Don’t dig in your garden more than necessary and avoid rotary hoeing 
       (use a fork when preparing beds to avoid worm deaths)
·      Avoid use of copper or Bordeaux type anti fungal mixtures as this will 
       kill worms (if applying, place a plastic sheet under trees and remove 
       when spraying is finished)
·      Worms generally like loamy soils so break up your clay if you want 
        worms to come
·      They like a pH of between 5 and 7.4 which is normal for most gardens
·      Avoid composting with low nitrogen fertilisers (e.g. sawdust) but 
       rather rich fungi attractors or the odd bale of Lucerne
·      Create lots of worms tubes in your garden! 

We will be posting a simple 'how to' create your own worm tubes so join us on Facebook for all updates. Facebook.com/gardenbounty