2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Earthworms at their summer cottage are always welcome guests! These nondescript creatures bring great benefits to the soil, because earthworms not only loosen it up perfectly, but also noticeably enrich it! That is why many summer residents not only do not seek to get rid of them, but, on the contrary, try to start breeding them! So why is this necessary, and how to do it correctly?
Undoubted benefit
The presence of earthworms on the site is good because it is one of the most important indicators that the soil is fertile! However, the worms themselves also perform a truly incredible number of useful functions! Laying numerous passages in the soil in search of food, they simultaneously loosen it, greatly facilitating the processes of water and air penetration into the soil. And it is much easier for the roots of plants to move along the passages dug by worms, at the same time being saturated with the most useful elements. And on the walls of the passages dug by worms, numerous colonies of the most useful fungi and bacteria settle! In addition, earthworms enrich the soil with humus, and also contribute to an increase in the content of phosphorus and potassium in it. In addition, they are very willing to eat organic residues, which significantly accelerates the process of decay of individual plant parts.
And earthworms, during their movements, perfectly and surprisingly evenly mix the soil with the plant residues found in it, which in turn makes it possible to significantly increase the fertility of the soil. Thanks to these tireless workers, absolutely any organic residues can be easily turned into excellent vermicompost! That is why in some parts of the world there are even special farms for breeding them!
Breeding
In order to increase the population of earthworms, it is not at all necessary to create your own farm - it is quite possible to do this in your own garden! To attract worms, you first need to dig a small hole in the soil about 30x40 cm in size. The bottom of this hole is lined with old newspaper sheets, as well as various waste paper and foliage, after which this raw material is abundantly watered with either water or slops containing any organic residues. And then, approximately after a week, a certain number of worms, previously obtained in any humid place, are populated into this hole. At the same time, they do not begin to feed them immediately, but after a few days! As feed, you can use any organic matter: peels from fruits or vegetables, bread crumbs, all kinds of food waste, bird droppings or manure, as well as ground coffee, sleeping tea or even wet paper. And this kind of feeding should be carried out at least once every two weeks - each time the "nursery" should be covered with a layer of food at least five centimeters!
The soil in which the worms have settled should be regularly moistened. For these purposes, it is better to take either rainwater or settled water - it is poured over the worms' place of residence from a watering can. It is important not to forget that for the proper maintenance of these useful creatures, the moisture indicator must be within 80%. And about twice a week, the "nursery" should be carefully loosened - this is necessary to enrich the soil with oxygen.
It is quite acceptable to breed earthworms in specially designated boxes installed in various technical rooms (such as sheds, basements, etc.). But in living quarters it is not worth breeding worms - hardly anyone will like the specific smell emanating from the "nursery". As a rule, the contents of such boxes turn into vermicompost within a few months. And in order to extract earthworms from it it was easier, pre-prepared baits are laid out on the surface (for this, you can soak the paper with sweet water or come up with something else). As you can see, everything is not so difficult - with minimal effort on your part, you can always get a very impressive number of valuable garden helpers!
Do you have earthworms on your property?
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