4 ms·

After results like this, I would expect more farmers to try seeding their fields with all manner of worms.

RetroTechie 3y ago
Worms will come, and multiply, all by themselves. IF they have stuff to munch on. The great thing about worms is they mix & aerate the soil without disturbing its overall structure. Unlike tilling (which imho should be avoided as much as possible). From the (limited) gardening I've done in my life, some lessons learned: 1) Try to keep something growing at all times, even if it's just grass, a cover crop, or fast growing in-between like lettuce. Even weeds are better than bare soil (imho). 2) Organic material! Don't remove any if it's not harvest, add more if possible. Wood chips, twigs, fall leaves, straw, grass, organic kitchen scraps, even cardboard, as long as it's clean (100% "cold" compostable, no plastic bits etc) it's welcome. Not in the least 'cause it gives the worms something to chew on. This is one of many ways where modern agriculture fails: harvest = entire crop cleared in 1 swoop. And sometimes the waste (like straw) also has uses so often that's removed as well. Leaving very little organic matter in the field. Not to mention repeated destruction of the soil structure. Funny things is science knows the soil below our feet about as 'well' as deep oceans... Many of the critters down there only classified by family, relatively few by individual species. Let alone their lifecycle or feeding habits. It's a free-for-all but unknown world down there.
troyvit 3y ago
Most US farmers rely on tillage, which arguably[1] damages earthworm populations. I'm curious though because people noted in other threads that earthworms are basically an invasive species. If so, did Native Americans practice no-till, and if so how did that work w/out worms? [1] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167198700001732 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S01671...

Worms will come, and multiply, all by themselves. IF they have stuff to munch on. The great thing about worms is they mix & aerate the soil without disturbing its overall structure. Unlike tilling (which imho should be avoided as much as possible). From the (limited) gardening I've done in my life, some lessons learned: 1) Try to keep something growing at all times, even if it's just grass, a cover crop, or fast growing in-between like lettuce. Even weeds are better than bare soil (imho). 2) Organic material! Don't remove any if it's not harvest, add more if possible. Wood chips, twigs, fall leaves, straw, grass, organic kitchen scraps, even cardboard, as long as it's clean (100% "cold" compostable, no plastic bits etc) it's welcome. Not in the least 'cause it gives the worms something to chew on. This is one of many ways where modern agriculture fails: harvest = entire crop cleared in 1 swoop. And sometimes the waste (like straw) also has uses so often that's removed as well. Leaving very little organic matter in the field. Not to mention repeated destruction of the soil structure. Funny things is science knows the soil below our feet about as 'well' as deep oceans... Many of the critters down there only classified by family, relatively few by individual species. Let alone their lifecycle or feeding habits. It's a free-for-all but unknown world down there.

troyvit 3y ago

Most US farmers rely on tillage, which arguably[1] damages earthworm populations. I'm curious though because people noted in other threads that earthworms are basically an invasive species. If so, did Native Americans practice no-till, and if so how did that work w/out worms? [1] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167198700001732 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S01671...