Where are My Comments?!!? Rescued by the ERA

"Have you got 1,600 earthworms per square metre?"

Okay I'm here checking the blog, looking to see if anybody wrote.
Nothing yet......looking at my watch....I'll check my email.........whistling........Do a bit of surfing......Umph. Back to the blog to check....

Still nothing.

(now singing) Nobody likes me, everybody hates me, .....guess I'll eat some worms....looking at my watch again.........long thin slimy ones.....short fat juicy ones.....still nothing......Guess I'll eat some worms..... Surf some more.......Down goes the first one .....here goes the second one. Oh how they wiggle and the squirm .........Nope. No one is talking to me...... soooo I guess I'll eat some.........

What am I saying????!?!?!
I love Earthworms!
I am the founder and president of the ERA--- That's right! Me!!!!! The ERA----
the Earthworm Recovery Agency!

What? What is our Charter? What do we do?
We go out after a rainstorm...or rather I do....and help all the earthworms that have been dislodged from the earth by the deluge of falling rain water....I am very proud to say that we SAVE all the ones that have washed up on the pavement.

Well......actually we go out and RECOVER them, and gently replace them on the soil, so they can wiggle back into their habitat before the sun rises, heats up things to the point that the Sun's rays dry them and kills them. I know you've seen dried up Earthworms on the pavement as you walk after a rain.

We also do this after careless people have watered, their lawns to the point that the lawn is soaked, and water is running down the street. Besides being an incredible waste of water, this also threatens the worms habitats, dislodging them and they are again washed out onto pavements where sunshine dries and kills them. Earthworms require moisture for their survival, but direct sunlight on an Earthworm is like Kryptonite to Superman, garlic to the Wolfman (a werewolf), or sunlight to Dracula.

You see there's a big need for my organization.....the ERA.......


Wow! Now how's that for a comment!

So much for my attempt at light hearted truthful humor~

However if you are a gardener or simply wondering about my fascination with the lowly, but lofty Earthworm (my sentiments), here's a link that I just discovered that looks good for more information. http://www.wormdigest.org/content/view/243/2/ Below you'll find excerpts from an article I also ran across working quickly here (remember I am on the road with an agenda other than posting on my blog everyday) on the use of Earthworms in farms in New Zealand.

You know if it's good for a bountiful healthy farm, it's also going to be good for your garden and lawn. New Zealand is where healthy beef and lamb is still raised and shipped all over the world, because the animals are grass fed and allowed to graze. This natural system of animal husbandry is quite contrary to the American way, which corrals and pens animals closely, feeding them grains filled with antibiotics and other chemicals that ultimately weigh in to 'fatten the profit' of the animal. American livestock ranching and industry pays little regard for an animal's 'quality of life', or for the natural needs of it's biological system. So if you are including meat in your diet, I highly recommend that you spend the extra money for meat that is from grass fed animals that were allowed to graze. Besides being of much greater nutritional value, the taste is even different. The fat content is lower, and the meat will contain healthy nutrients necessary to a wholesome human diet that you will not get from animals raised the American way.

And that all goes back to what the animal ingests from the grass it eats. That's right.....Nature's goodness in that slim green blade. Which again, is made nutritious by the soil, and the elements and minerals that it contains.....and oh my goodness....we're right back to how the soil gets good and can be made even richer ~~~~
----has ANYBODY written me a comment yet?!?!?!?

all by the work of my friend the humble
Earthworm

I will write again, on these creatures, which became my 'pets' after the loss of my Beloved Shetland Sheepdog Anubis, who was born on December 14, 1991 and passed July 13, 2004.

Now surely, my musings here should prompt some comments......maybe on the tracks that my 'train of thoughts' run?........... maybe even my sense of sanity~

EARTHWORMS

The understated livestock


Earthworms have been the measure of the value of land for the last thousand years. In the Sahara, the price of land is often determined by the amount of worm casts on the soil surface. Here in New Zealand, farmers still talk of getting good livestock under the ground before they can get good livestock above the ground.

We all know earthworms are important. They rapidly recycle dung, urine, run-off and dead vegetation, purifying the soil and assisting in the manufacture of humus – the end product that feeds the plant. They also provide aeration in the soil, help store moisture, and supply vermacasts. Hatuma clients have also proven that in large numbers earthworms assist in smoothing the soil after being stressed – on a survey farm in the Manawatu during 2003 on Marton silt loam soil, after heavy rain, very bad pugging, and a severe drought, it only took a matter of weeks after the first rain before the soil had smoothed itself out. The speed in which the farm recovered was amazing; a feat thought impossible by many authorities considering that soil type is synonymous with becoming dense and heavy once soil degradation has occurred, often taking years to fully recuperate.

This incredible resilience was largely due to the farm’s hefty population of earthworms at the time (1,125 per sq/m) moving masses amounts of dirt – a phenomenon that could only come from a combination of excellent soil management and approximately thirty years of conditioning the soil with dicalcic and lime (remarkably, scientists have traditionally recommended this soil type does not require lime). With all these benefits in mind, it is easy to see why the earthworm’s role in productive farming is crucial. But in this modern era of intensification, their function of being a simple indicator of true soil fertility is being ignored.

By creating an environment where the earthworms can thrive in abundance, farmers are giving their farming operation a huge advantage; a massive workforce running twenty-four hours a day. They are also an excellent indicator of soil health, so when they are found in abundance, like the average number above, farmers can have confidence that the rest of the soil is fertile with life. There is no limit of earthworms you can have in your soil where it starts to becomes wasteful – the higher the number the better! Take a closer look at the clod of soil at the top of today's blog.

Bless our Earth~~~Enjoy Gardening~~~Bless Yourself
Kentke