Collecting Earthworm Castings

Earthworms tunnel though soil, mixing top soil with subsoil allowing lots of air and moisture to pass through. They improve porosity and contribute nutrients. In short, earthworms create a healthy environment for plants.

"earthworms---the intestines of the soil" - Aristotle (about 330 B.C.)

  Earthworm Castings are the organic material that have been digested by earthworms. They are enriched with nutrients and microorganisms and are considered excellent soil conditioning material.

Since worm castings are very rich for plants, I collected several pails and applied generously on my new garden beds last month.

Earthworm castings can be purchased or harvested from worm bins. It may take several months for the worms to digest the contents in the worm bins and eventually produce nutritious worm castings. I took the short cut. Actually there are worm castings all over the ground under the rain trees just in front of my house. I scraped off just the top inch of the soil which consisted of worm castings and partially decomposed leaves. The top soil was so rich, I felt as if I was collecting gold. In return, I threw in some of the clay soil that I dug out from my garden. They will slowly but surely turn to 'gold' too.

If you wish to collect them, you will need to know how they look like so I am including the photo above. The worm castings are like little out-of-shaped balls, less than 1 cm in diameter. Do note that these castings have been around for a long time, exposed to rain and shine so they do not look anything like fresh worm poop.

Don't be surprised if your worm castings collection come with some weed seeds.

The new garden beds about 6 weeks after earthworm castings application.

A closer view of red Ruellia with a white butterfly fluttering around it. I do rear earthworms but not in the bins. They roam free in the garden, encountering all sorts of dangers, meeting with predators like centipedes and birds. On some days when it rains continuously, the earthworms suffer from breathing difficulties. They breathe through their skin and must stay wet and slimy for oxygen to pass through them. However, too much water will drown them. Just for today, why not appreciate these little but invaluable creatures who risk their dear lives to create a healthy environment for our greens? There must be a reason why earthworms do not have eyes, ears nor limbs but come with 5 'hearts'...

Linking up with :  Cottage Flora Thursday Fertilizer Friday Live Every Moment