Your Friend: The Earthworm

Many Weekend Gardener's think they must get rid of earthworms! Actually, earthworms are a blessing and a gardener's best friend. The good they do fully outweighs their occassional messy habits. You should take pride in their presence and encourage their work. It's not for nothing they are called nature's plows; they have the ability to burrow to depths of several feet. Their churning loosens the soil and improves the structure so that air and water can get into the roots of your plants. The organic matter they feed on passes through their bodies and is excreted as castings, a rich source of nutrients readily available to plants.