The World's Greatest Gardener

Do you have any idea who that could be?
Let me describe some of his characteristics so that you might be able to work it out for yourself.

He's about two inches long, rather flat, grayish in colour and wriggles about if you hold him in your hand. Yes it's the earthworm! A truly joyful moment for me is when I discover earthworms in the soil of a customer's garden that were not previously there. This is because their existence shows that the soil conditions are improving sufficiently to support them.

But why are earthworms so important for the garden, and why do I call them, a little bit of hyperbole notwithstanding, the world's greatest gardener? Let's see what they do.

Earthworms burrow through the soil creating channels which significantly improve the aeration in the soil. They ingest large quantities of soil, secreting it back in the form of beautifully rich humus. This humus binds soil particles together creating a healthy soil structure. Humus also has moisture retaining properties, thus improving the moisture availability in sandy soils, and the aeration in clayish soils. Humus finally breaks down, releasing essential nutriments for the plants to take up.

So this little creature, composts, fertilizes, cultivates, and helps to protect plants from disease, because healthy soil conditions improve the plants' hardiness to pests and disease. Now how much would you pay for a gardener like that?

All you have to do to make your garden earthworm friendly, is to supply good quantities of organic matter in the form of well rotted compost, and keep off the chemical fertilizers. The latter burn the earthworms and either kill them or cause them to flee the garden.

Till then love your earthworms, love your garden – It will love you in return!
Jonathan Ya'akobi
Jonathan@dryclimategardening.com