Cultivate Tips and Tricks
Worms: The Doctors of Soil By Megan Lowder
F
o r d e c a d e s , c o nve n tional methods of tackling problems have taught us to treat the symptoms rather than look for their causes. That headache may be a symptom of dehydration, but the quick fix is to take an ibuprofen. The same tactics have been used in conventionalgardening. Conventional gardening is all about bug control. How do I get rid of cucumber beetles? How do Iget rid of caterpillars? For many decades, we’ve relied on the use of pesticides, which has evolved into “natural” pesticides in organic gardening. In an attempt to kill one type of bug, we kill them all–not only the bugs we can see, but the microorganisms as well. Rather than diagnosing the root cause of the problem, we spray pesticides on the leaves of a plant to kill the bugs.
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Spring 2022
The answer to h e a l t hy
and nutritious plants is in the soil. Soil is the plant’s immune system, its food source and protection. Without good soil, plants can’t thrive and bugs attack the weakest link (usually the leaves??). The bugs are a product of what we’ve been sold to kill off the bugs, but in the garden world of poison treatments, only the strongest survive. It’s not the ladybugs or the praying mantids that live despite the poison. It takes decades to turn soil into dirt. Luckily, it doesn’t take as long to amend the soil, but it is a process that does take time. This is where worms come in! Worms are the doctors of soil health. Soil is alive and it needs tending, just like a pet. Soil must be fed food that it likes, it needs to be protected and kept in balance.
