Commonly, the worm found in your garden is an earthworm, having a mutualistic relationship with the earth that nutrient enriches soils, with nitrogen, phosphorous, nutrients and its propensity for decomposition.
Below we will share the 3 varieties of earthworms found in your garden and explore the acumen of some their benefits.
3 Types of Garden Worms
Garden worms are sorted, based on their habitats, into three distinct groups.
To identify those you have wriggling in your garden here are some key identifiers, and we will look into where they live and what they eat.
1. Epigeic Garden Worm
Key Characteristics
- A dark, rich color
- Rapid movements
- Inhabiting the topsoil
- Small in size (between 1 and 7 inches)
The one type of garden worm you probably see the most is the epigeic worm.
These worms live on the surface of soils and are important for breaking down organic matter.
Epigeic garden worms are often darker than other types of worms to help them camoflage into the dirt and protect them from UV-light.
They feed on materials that are on the surface of the soil, such as leaves or compost pile.
These are by far the most common worms you will find in your garden, and the ones that you are most likely to see when you investigate your garden.
2. Endogeic Garden Worm
Key Characteristics
- Inhabit the upper layers of soil
- Mostly pale or colorless
- Small (mostly smaller than epigeic)
- Slow movement
To put it simply, the endogeic garden worm usually digs itself into the ground.
They can be doing this and eating organic matter until it rains.
Then you will see them crawling back up out of the ground to escape the rain and then burrow back down again.
3. Anecic Garden Worm
Key Characteristics
- Slowest moving worm
- Milky white color
- Thick diameter
- Come up to feed and then burrow down.
Aneic garden worms like to live underground; they only come out to eat.
They eat organic matter that has fallen from trees and plants or is in the compost.
Anecic worms tend to be larger than other garden worms, having a thicker body and longer length.
In terms of color, they are typically milky white and only come up to eat, digging back in at least six inches into the earth.
Are Garden Worms Beneficial?
When you have sluggsh creatures a crawling in your garden, your first thought may be to get rid of it.
When though, you’re usually good to have a garden worm slithering through your garden.
Garden worms have many important benefits for your garden and the soil in it, some of which may surprise you.
Support Soil Nutrition
One of the most significant benefits of having worms in your garden is that they contribute greatly to soil nutrition.
The worms eat organic or decomposing material and, after they digest this material, they excrete it back into the ground.
When worms digest this material, they enhance it with nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous that are essential to any plant.
Not only do worms add this nutrient content back into the topsoil, but they also can burrow down, incorporating nutrients back into deeper soil layers, for a healthier and stronger soil immunity.
Decompose Organic Matter
The organic matter that worms break down becomes a buffet for fungi and bacteria.
Many of these important microbes will continue to feed on and decompose organic matter, establishing a high nutrient level in your garden soil and for all the plants living there.
Key Takeaway: Bacteria and fungi may get a bad rap, but they are vital parts of a healthy soil environment-supplying benefits to plants, roots and microbes such as nutrition, defense and improving tolerance to greater environmental extremes.
Support Root Health
The roots act similarly to arteries, spreading and growing throughout the ground in search of nutrients, moisture, and other essential items.
Garden worms can be beneficial for root health due to their burrowing habits that help aerate the soil.
As worms burrow into the soil they create a small hole that can allow water and air to access the roots.
These small holes also aerate the soil which can help prevent roots from rotting and help promote a healthier below-ground network for your plants.
Part of the Food Chain
Worms are an essential part of the food web. Worms are what predators eat, such as:
- birds
- snails
- insects
If the world lost all of its worms, these animals would die off or drastically decrease in numbers while they adapted to look for alternative food.
If you have worms in your garden, you have a full food web happening, plants are getting nourished and providing food for some of the most necessary species in our ecosystem.
How to Keep Your Garden Worms Happy?
Given all of the important advantages of having worms in your garden, it is worth making sure they stay happy and healthy.
Worms like certain conditions, and several are within your control..
Give Them Scraps
Worms have a huge love for decomposing organic material.
Think about kitchen scraps, which can be a good source of nutrients but don’t want to go overboard.
If you eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, it is worth keeping the scraps and peelings and adding them in small quantities.
Doing this will keep your worms happy and healthy, and more importantly give them things that they love!
Keep Moisture in Soil
Like your plants, worms are happiest when the earth is moist and spongy.
To maintain the right moisture and sponginess in the soil some climates will need more water than other.
Based upon the contents of your garden you may need to add a combination of the following: mulch, water, and other essential ingredients to maintain the best ecosystem for garden worms and your plants.
Control the Temperature
Worms generally do best in temperatures averaging between 40-75 degrees.
If you have the ability to maintain a controlled temperature for your garden , the best thing to do is to find a temperature that is constant.
If the plants are growing outside, as an example, you have to think in a creative way.
You might consider the use of a blanket when the temperatures drop as an example, and also some type of heat lamp or supplies such as sticks, leaves, or whatever materials you have to cover your plants.
These things can hold in the moisture, and you can use them to insulate to help control the temperature and give the worms something to eat.
And even if the temperature is not perfect, try thinking of these materials as insulating your plants and worms for ‘apocalyptic’ freezing conditions.
Final Thoughts
Garden worms are an important aspect of every garden. Gardens that have an abundance of worms, are richly loaded with nutrients and more resistant to disease.
Worms contribute nutrients to the plants within your garden, add additional moisture, and have positive effects on root conditions.
When worms are present in your garden, it is advisable to support their health, providing conditions they favor.
If you do not see worms in your outdoor space, you can purchase worms and add them to the garden, and they will help in making your garden healthier with their squirmy, squiggly, and slimy bodies.