Learning Something New....About Earthworms
This year I've learned something new. Earthworms don't necessarily have to live in the soil. They can apparently live quite well in moist leaf mulch when the soil underneath it is too wet for them.
I've seen literally hundreds of earthworms this spring in the thick layer of shredded leaves I laid down as a winter mulch last fall but I'm not finding any of them in the waterlogged soil underneath the mulch. I'm not even seeing any old worm burrows in the soil either and that's in spite of learning in Biology class that earthworms burrow down deep into the soil to hibernate for the winter.
I'm also seeing some of the largest earthworms that I've ever seen this spring. I saw four that were easily longer than my hand inside 30 minutes the other day when I was setting out a new rhododendron.
I've seen literally hundreds of earthworms this spring in the thick layer of shredded leaves I laid down as a winter mulch last fall but I'm not finding any of them in the waterlogged soil underneath the mulch. I'm not even seeing any old worm burrows in the soil either and that's in spite of learning in Biology class that earthworms burrow down deep into the soil to hibernate for the winter.
I'm also seeing some of the largest earthworms that I've ever seen this spring. I saw four that were easily longer than my hand inside 30 minutes the other day when I was setting out a new rhododendron.