—Lancaster Farming. Saturday, June 15,1974
16
ORGANIC LIVING
By
Robert Rodole
EARTHWORMS TO THE RESCUE!
Wrestling with a problem of contaminated pulp and paper
sludge, a Japanese environmental research firm recently
called for reinforcements - earthworms! The wlggly little
creatures were found to thrive on paper sludge - cleaning
and purifying it as it’s digested and passed i’trough their
bodies. One million earthworms were promptly airlifted
from Osake to Tokyo to tackle that assignment.
To measure pollution near a busy highway. Fish and
Wildlife Service Biologist Charles Gish wielded a shovel and
started digging ... for earthworms. Specimens dug up at
various distances from the road were collected, ground up
and analyzed for lead, nickel and cadmium content. The
nearer the worms were to road traffic, the more heavily they
were contaminated with traces of those dangerous metals.
In West Germany, earthworms are protecting apple or
chards against fungus diseases which are spread by fallen
leaves, bark and broken twigs. Hungry earthworms quickly
decompose that debris before fungi can gain a toehold, ac
cording to Dr. W. Kennel of Hohenheim University’s fruit
research station. The worms also drag down into their tun
nels twigs of considerable length.
Unfortunately, this biological control method fails when
poisonous pesticides are used in the orchards. Sprays kill the
worms.
To some enthusiastic researchers, no job is too big for the
tiny earthworm. In Ohio, worms have been tested as
restorers of desolate strip-mined land. By digesting decaying
leaves and then mixing them into the coarse, rocky
spoilbanks, earthworms may slowly and laboriously rebuild
the topsoil.
Even more grandiose schemes are being proposed. Worms
might possibly solve the urban solid waste problem by eating
garbage, and excreting high-quality compost. It’s been
estimated than 100 tons of worms could process the garbage
from a community of 75,000 people.
Such startling plans for harnessing the earthworm come as
no surprise td organic gardeners and farmers. They have
known for years that the eyeless creatures have fantastic
power to “move mountains” in their slow but systematic
way.
Earthworms are tremendously efficient organisms
Whenlhe crew is you
Even in a one-man operation. Hesston makes it possible tar
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because, like fish, they are cold-blooded. They don’t have to
burn up food energy maintaining their body temperature at a
certain level, but adapt their temperature largely to their
environment. All their work output goes to moving earth
through their efficient digestive system.
Because they digest organic matter (such as rotten leaves
and other dead vegetation) and turn it into humus, worms
are first-rate soil-builders and compost makers; Their
wastes or castings contain nitrates, phosphates and potash
that plants need. One worm will produce its own weight in
castings every 24 hours.
“Worms have played a more important part in the history
of the world than most persons would at first suppose,” said
Charles Darwin in his classic book on earthworms. “All the
vegetable mould (topsoil) over the whole country has passed
many times through, and will again pass many times
through, the intestinal canals of worms.”
Sir Albert Howard, founder of the organic method of
agriculture, put it more blunty: “The earthworm is the
gardener’s manure factory.”
Earthworms aerate and physically mix the soil as they
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burrow. Their tunnels keep the ground well-ventilated, and
make it easier for rain to penetrate. Also, the worms’ dead
bodies furnish a considerable amount of nltrp|on t fertilizer.
That’s.hot 'realize fhatoiW acre of rich
farmland fertilized with manure often contains mow than a
million worms it any one time. ’, . ■ v - *
Earthworms can be Intensively bred indoors or outdoors in
boxes or'shallow, pits. They multiplyrapldiy. One mature
worm will beget more than ISO worms each year.
You can order from an earthworm hatduoy.
Some large breeder operations have well over 50,000 square
feet of worm beds.
Many people with small homesteads are getting into the
earthworm business on a part-time basis. “The worm
business won’t make anyone rich, but it’s a good, honest way
to make some money,” says Steve Dubie, who runs Steve’s
Worm Farm in Rogue River, Oregon.
“For the first couple of years,” he says, “our customers
were fishermen and bait outlets interested only in night
crawlers. But this changed. Now our customers include
farmers, gardeners, orchardlsts... ” <
With a capital outlay of $l5O for breeder worms and some
lumber, a backyard “earthworm farmer” can raise $5,000
worth of worms.
MX
Earthworms are just one part of any good soil-building
program. The keys to fertility are clearly explained in the 48-
page guide, “Best Ways to Improve Your Soil.” You can get*
copy by sending fifty cents to Robert Rodale, Organic Living,
in care of this newspaper. Be sure to ask for the booklet by
name, and please allow three or four weeks for delivery. >s
(Note: Nutritionists and other medical scientists may ,or
may not agree with the assertions made by Mr. Rodale. The
.views expressed herein are those of the columnist and do not
necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)
(c) 1974 by The Chicago Tribune. World Rights Reserved.
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