When getting the garden started for another season it's important to make sure that you have good soil to work with. The best way to check your soil's health is to do a worm census.
WHY DO IT?
Worm castings make your soil healthier and are a good indicator of soil health. Their castings create soil capillaries and allow air and moisture to flow more freely. If there are lots of worms, it is because the soil has lots of organic matter, is well aerated and drained and has a pH of about 6.0-7.0. Good soil looks like chocolate cake and is crumbly in your hands.
WHAT YOU NEED
* A spade, garden gloves, a board or flat clean surface.
HOW
* Do your worm census in the spring or fall when temperatures are comfortably warm but not too hot.
* With a spade remove a block of soil about a foot square (30cms) and 7 inches (17.5 deep).
* Spread the soil on a board, break up the clumps of soil and gently take out the worms and count them. Little worms count the same as big ones.
RESULTS
* More then 10 worms is good news! It means that your soil is healthy and that the worms find your garden to be a nice place to live. You can’t have too many worms so the more the merrier.
* If you find fewer then ten worms, your soil is in need of conditioning and help. It is deficient in organic matter and will need compost or other amendments to become healthy. *
Source: The Vegetable Gardener's Bible, Edward C. Smith, Story Publishing, 2009. p. 136-13
Check out this great article about gardens and the importance of worms: http://www.amystewart.com/images/pdfs/Worms_for_OG.pdf
