Earthworms are cool. Ask any little boy, and they will tell you. Ask anyone who fishes and they will agree. Nightcrawlers are the best!

Did You Know?

Earthworms are 72 percent protein and less than 1 percent fat. If they were prescribed as the only food in your diet, you’d probably lose weight. (If it were left to me, I think I’d pass.) Earth worms have the power to move stones that weigh 50 times their own weight.

They love coffee grounds, decaying leaves, bacteria, and decomposed animal and insect remains. As a result, they infuse the soil with their excrement, or castings, which are rich in concentrated nitrate, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium and calcium. They also produce 60 percent of their body weight daily in urine, which contains high levels of beneficial nitrogen.

They ingest soil and organic matter equal to the amount of their body weight each day. They also help with your compost pile; when you turn your compost pile and find a lot of earth worms, you know that your compost pile is working and that you will have great top soil for your plants! Better yet, start your own vermicomposting bin. This will ensure an endless supply of the “black gold” for your garden.

Roughly 180 types of earthworms can be found in the United States and Canada, most of them the descendents of worms that were inadvertently brought to North America from Europe in the rootstocks of plants. Over the last couple of centuries, they’ve populated nearly every corner of the continent. Some scientists estimate that rich, fertile farmland may contain as many as a million or more earthworms per acre! Even an acre of poor soil can support as many as 250,000 of the wrigglers.

More Earthworm Facts

A worm’s body is basically a tube containing a mouth, reproductive organs, and a digestive system. Worms don’t have eyes or ears or lungs, but breathe through their skin. For movement, worms rely on a complex system of muscles and tiny, nearly invisible bristles to pull and push themselves forward. Worms are hermaphrodites, which means they have both male and female reproductive organs. However, researchers say it still takes two to get the job done. The average lifespan a garden earthworms is 1-2 years, although they can live 4-8 years under field conditions.

So gardeners, embrace the earthworm! They can be your best friend as they wriggle through the soil, aerating it, consuming and digesting vegetation and organic matter, improving its fertility with their castings.