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Did you know that if it were not for the earthworm, it
is entirely possible that civilization as we know it would
never had developed at all? There are historical researchers
convinced that the growth and spread of man's civilizations
were in direct relation to the distribution of active earthworm
species. One glaring example is the immense richness of the
Nile Valley, which spawned one of the greatest of the early
civilizations. It, in fact, offered the richest agricultural
land the world has ever known.
Investigations carried out along the
Nile reveal that the great fertility of the soil is due
in large part to the work of earthworms. Certainly, the
annual flooding sweeps enormous amounts of nutrient-rich
silt into the Nile Valley. But it is considered that the
huge populations of earthworms are what have enabled this
area to be so incredibly lush and productive.
There
is evidence that the Egyptians were aware of the earthworm's
contribution to their prosperity.
Cleopatra, in fact, decreed the earthworm to be a sacred
creature; to be revered and protected by all her subjects.
- Castings are the highest-grade compost imaginable. They
constitute a superb organic fertilizer and soil conditioner.
(Ten times the amount of castings that are normally
deposited in fertile American and European agricultural
lands enrich the Nile Valley).
- Castings have about 1/3 more bacteria than the
surrounding soil, and this increased bacterial
activity is beneficial to the breakdown of organic matter
and liberation of plant nutrients.
- USDA tests show that castings contain from 5-11
times the amounts of the three major plant nutrients (nitrogen,
phosphorus and potassium) than does high-grade
topsoil.
- In passing soil and organic matter through their digestive
tracts, earthworms liberate essential minerals in
a form that is 97 percent utilizable by plants,
and the castings have a mucous coating which allows the
nutrients to "time release."
- Possibly most important is the humic acid that worm castings
contain. Humic acid is extremely advantageous to plants;
it stimulates growth and controls plant pathogens,
harmful fungi, nematodes, and harmful bacteria in the soil.
-
Castings become an integral part
of the soil they are added to. They're in aggregate form
which retains moisture, provides aeration, and conditioning.
- IN contrast, chemical fertilizers
may add higher concentrations of the three main nutrients,
but they are in synthetic form so that only a small amount
of their nutrients are absorbed by the plant. The rest
is washed away. Chemical fertilizers are most often detrimental
to the soil microbiology, destroying much of its beneficial
microbial and bacterial activity.
_________________
J.I. Rodale, founder of Organic
Gardening magazine, is quoted as saying,
"earthworm castings are the finest form of humus
known."
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