The Many Benefits of Making a Wormery

Truman made a wormery. That’s his name for a worm pile. It’s basically a container with dirt and leaves and all the worms he could pry out from under the steppingstones out back. Worms don’t particularly bother me though I’d prefer not to touch them. I am learning that they serve great purpose in the garden and so I am encouraging Truman not to keep his new pets in captivity for too long.

If you want to make a wormery with your kids, I’ll share my expert knowledge and save you time from scouring the Internet yourself. Worms like dirt. The ones near the top of the soil tend to feed off of organic material like dead grass and leaves. That organic material has tiny organisms living on them that provide worms with luscious snacks like algae, fungi and bacteria. The worms that burrow deeper in the ground live primarily off of raw dirt, feeding off the fungi and algae there. Worm poop, more affectionately known as worm casts, add wonderful nutrients to the soil which makes plants happy.

If you make wormery – a little spot to keep worm pets – be sure to add plenty of dirt and dead leaves and grass to your container. You’ll also want to add water. Worms can’t live without plenty of moisture. If their skin dries out, they’ll die … and then you’ll have to enter into that whole died-and-gone-to-heaven bit.

If you want to go all out you can make a compost pile where you can add all your dead plants and fallen leaves and vegetable trimmings from dinner. Then add a batch of worms and let them eat and make their worm casts and use the rich compost left behind to fertilize indoor and outdoor plants. We probably won’t tackle that goal just yet, but for those who want to, visit the University of Missouri Extension Service’s site for tips on how to construct one.

Photos, JWJourney