Facilitators-Handbook-For-Permaculture

Workshop Module 4: Healthy Soil 133

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Presentation : About worms for healthy soils

Method : Discussion about worms

Tools : See the “Worm farms” section from PC Book MOD 4 – Healthy Soil

References : PC Book MOD 4 – Healthy Soil

Objective    :  Participants    learn   about   the benefits    of  using   worms

The importance of worms in healthy soils

Many worms in the soil show that the soil is a healthy living environment.

How worms help create and maintain healthy soil:

• Worms eat and cast out soil. As the soil passes through their body, the humus in
  the soil is changed into nutrients and the quality of the soil improves.


• Worms continuously:
  
  
  • Turn humus into nutrients that plants can use.
  
  
  • Dig and add air to the soil.
  
  
  • Improve soil structure and water drainage.
  
  
  • Bring up nutrients from deep in the soil to supply plant roots with food.
  
  
  
  

Worms are extremely economic:

• 1 worm can eat and cast out many tons of soil each year.


• 1 worm can produce 150 baby worms each year.

The facilitator can encourage a discussion with the participants to identify:

• The importance of worms in soil and how they help create healthy soil.


• How worms turn natural fertilizers (mulch, compost, liquid fertilizer, etc) into
  nutrients available for plants.


• Why pesticides, herbicides, and some chemical fertilizers can kill worms in the
  soil.

Making a worm farm can quickly increase the number of worms in your soil. See the next

page for details on how to make a worm farm.