the earthworm has been called "the gardeners unpaid handyman". It tills the soil around root areas by its tireless burrowing. The burrows form channels through which root growth may reach down into the subsoil for minerals and moisture. They also absorb rainfall quickly for storage in the soil instead of allowing it to run off, carrying away valuble top soil. Most important of all, the earthworm eats, digests and enriches dead and decaying vegetable wastes in the soil, ejecting it in the form of castings, rich in plant food value, water-soluble and immediately available to plant roots.
Earthworms also break down thatch and other raw materials of organic matter, and spread it evenly throughout the top 12 inches of soil, further improving it. Millions of beneficial bacteria that break down thatch are produced in the gut of earthworms. These bacteria, along with a superior fertilizer produced by the earthworm, are put into the soil in earthworm "castings". This top quality fertilizer contains nitrogen, phosphorus,potassium, and 1,000 times more beneficial bacteria than the material contained before the earthworm ingested it. The N-P-K ratio for worm castings is 0.5-0.5-0.3 consisting of 50% organic matter and eleven trace elements. In a 10x20 foot garden with only five large earthworms per cubic foot of soil, over thirty five pounds of this superior fertilizer is produced by the earthworms. In healthy soil with worm populations of 25 per cubic foot of soil, more than 170 pounds of highest grade fertilizer can be produced in a 10x20 foot garden. This is more than 18.5 tons per acre per year. Gardening supply companies take advantage of the market by selling the castings for about 12-25 $ per pound.
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