The seemingly, lowly earthworm doesn’t necessarily appear to be something we should get that excited about, but in reality, they are valuable partners to anyone trying to grow plants in their landscape.

For the most part earthworms go unnoticed in our day to day lives. Typically, we only see them when they are struggling for life on the driveway or sidewalk after a rain. They ended up in these locations because rain can push the air out of the soil, making it hard for the earthworms to breathe. So, they come to the surface to breathe and find themselves in un-livable locations like the street or sidewalk, now struggling to get back to something more supportive of their lifestyles.

My wife and I often take walks, and after a rain, these walks take much longer since we spend a fair amount of time relocating these desperate worms back to a more suitable location. Yes, I know. We are those people…

However, it’s difficult to overestimate the important role worms play in our ecosystem, in fact, Charles Darwin perhaps said it best “It may be doubted if there are any other animals which have played such an important part in the history of the world as these lowly organized creatures.” So, let’s talk a little bit about these subterranean wonder workers.

As most of us know, earthworms spend the majority of their lives digging tunnels in the soil. The tool they use for all this digging is a large upper lip called the prostomium. Big word, but the children we teach in elementary schools across the county seem to enjoy knowing and calling it a prostomium. So, repeat after me… prostomium. Very good.

This large upper lip serves as not only a kind of shovel to dig the tunnel, but it also helps move this organic matter into the mouth of the earthworm. Organic matter is essentially, anything that used to be alive such as dead insects, sticks, leaves, grass clippings, etc. Once digested, this organic matter is deposited back into the soil through their excrement which has a scientific name called castings. Repeat after me…castings. Very good.

Each year at our annual plant sale/fundraiser we sell bags of worm castings which make great supplements for your gardens. Your favorite garden center should have worm castings available for sale. If not there’s always the ever-present tool in our lives called Google.

It’s estimated that a single worm is able to produce about 1/3 of a pound of the nutrient rich fertilizer each year. When you consider that a healthy acre of land might contain a million earthworms, that’s a lot of fertilizer being put back into the soil. However, generating nutrients for the soil is not the only benefit we receive from earthworms.

Over time, soil can get compacted and it’s harder for plants to grow in compacted soil. The constant tunneling and digging of the earthworms loosens up compacted soil, creating pathways for air and water to move around. This loosening also makes it easier for plant roots to grow and reach out into the surrounding landscape. And then guess what these little roots find while growing in this loose soil? Castings. It’s an awesome system actually.

While gender is quite a topic of discussion above the ground, underground it’s pretty simple in that there are no male or female earthworms, just earthworms. However, it does take two to tango so to speak.

As earthworms reach adulthood, they form something known as a clitellum. This clitellum is the lighter colored portion on a worm’s body. You may have seen this lighter colored band on an adult worm. It can be found closer to the head or mouth end of the earthworm.

To reproduce, two worms cozy up to one another with each worm secreting sperm to fertilize their dance partner’s eggs. Afterwards, the worms go their separate ways, leaving this cocoon of fertilized eggs to mature on their own. This is something generally frowned upon above ground, but below ground they apparently have different practices.

Earthworms in Oklahoma are typically about 6 inches long plus or minus a few inches. However, in South Africa earthworms have been measured up to 22 feet long. While I have not experienced this, I am told, if it’s quiet, you can actually hear these earthworms moving underground.

I mentioned that the Tulsa Master Gardeners teach classes in our elementary schools about worms, but we also teach about a variety of topics including seeds, butterflies, trees, soil, etc. The worms’ class is my personal favorite because I’ve never heard a child scream or laugh with delight in a class about seeds… Being squeamish about holding or touching a worm doesn’t seem to be age related however. Just remember, there’s nothing on a worm that can bite or sting you. Just be gentle with our subterranean friends and everyone should be just fine.

I mentioned that we teach classes in area elementary schools. We also teach adults on a variety of garden topics. In fact, our final vegetable gardening class of the year is coming up July 20^th. Now you might ask, why are we teaching a vegetable gardening class in July rather than at the beginning of the growing season? Well, we did teach these classes at the beginning of the growing season, but we have another growing season about to begin in our fall vegetable gardens. Yes, we are at the point where we can start planting a variety of crops for fall harvest such as butternut and acorn squash to name a few.

In this class we will talk about soil nutrition management, types of gardens, planning your garden, seed starting vs transplants, and environmentally friendly ways to manage pests in your garden. For more info and to sign up, visit our website (www.tuslamastergardeners.org). See you in the garden… and maybe we’ll see you in class.

You can get answers to all your gardening questions by calling the Tulsa Master Gardeners Help Line at 918-746-3701, dropping by our Diagnostic Center at 4116 E. 15th Street, or by emailing us at mg@tulsamastergardeners.org. Photo: Joseph Berger, Bugwood.org