As of: March 12, 2024, 8:00 a.m
By: Laura Hindelang
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Earthworms are valuable beneficial insects in the home garden.
You can support the animals with a few simple measures.
Earthworms are invaluable for a healthy garden.
The animals are most active at temperatures of ten to 15 degrees - and do valuable work during the night: earthworms dig up the soil, compost old leaves and fertilize the garden with nutrient-rich droppings.
However, a third of the earthworm species native to this country are now on the red list of threatened species, reports
Ökotest
.
This makes it all the more important to support the beneficial insects.
Earthworms help with gardening
According to the
Nature Conservation Association (Nabu),
there are around 40 earthworm species living in Germany.
The best known are the compost worm (Eisenia fetida) and the dew worm (Lumbricus terrestris).
Thanks to their diet and lifestyle, the small animals, just a few centimeters long, bring a lot of advantages for hobby gardeners:
Earthworms burrow all over the earth and do important work.
© imagebroker/Imago
1. Compost
Earthworms feed on rotting plant debris such as leaves, green waste and dead plants.
This boosts composting: garden waste rots much faster in a garden with lots of earthworms than in a garden without the little helpers.
Plantura magazine
describes the compost worm in particular
as a “miracle weapon for recycling green waste”.
2. Fertilization
According to Nabu
, soil biologists have
discovered that a pile of earthworms is a better fertilizer than the same amount of compost.
The animals' feces contain important plant nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and lime and therefore serve as a highly effective, highly concentrated garden fertilizer, explains Nabu agriculture officer Jochen Goedecke.
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The soil also benefits from fine humus particles that form so-called clay-humus complexes, explains
Planutura magazine
.
These not only ensure a better soil structure, but they also bind and store minerals.
This means that the nutrients remain in the soil for a long time and have a long-term effect on plant nutrition.
3. Improved soil structure
Earthworms burrow several meters deep into the earth.
The tubes they leave behind are extremely stable and channel water into the lower layers of the soil.
The soil absorbs the water, which prevents waterlogging and counteracts drying out in times of drought.
At the same time, the soil is better ventilated.
This has the advantage that the lower layers of the soil are also sufficiently supplied with air and dead plant parts can be broken down better there.
4. Mixing the soil
By constantly digging, earthworms layer nutrients from bottom to top.
In doing so, they mix the different layers of soil, explains
Plantura magazine.
For example, they pull leaves deep into the earth where there is hardly any organic material left.
At the same time, they bring valuable minerals with them from the deeper layers, which prove to be excellent fertilizer for the plants on the surface.
5. Promote plant growth
In the soil loosened by the worms, the plant roots can grow without much resistance.
This saves energy and promotes healthy growth.
Earthworms are threatened, among other things, by monocultures, soil compaction, sealing and pesticides, says
Ökotest
.
However, with a few simple measures, as a hobby gardener you can support the beneficial insects and ensure that the animals feel comfortable in the garden.
By leaving as much plant residue as possible and mulching beds with straw, grass clippings or wood chips, you provide the earthworms with plenty of food.
Attract earthworms: airy soil and organic fertilizer
In addition, you should not dig up the soil: “Earthworms feel most comfortable in airy, moist soil.
If soils are heavily compacted by heavy machinery, they will run away,” explains Jochen Goedecke from NABU.
To provide sufficient moisture, you should leave the grass a little higher.
This means that dew dries more slowly.
You can find even more exciting garden topics in the regular newsletter from our partner 24garten.de.
If you want to attract earthworms, you may want to avoid birds and, for example, not hang up nesting boxes.
This gives the worms time to multiply.
If you want to specifically attract the animals, you can use mustard, salt water, valerian flower extract or coffee grounds.
Also helpful: ecological gardening.
According to
Ökotest
's recommendation , organic fertilizer should be used instead of mineral fertilizer.