Thread: soil health

not sure where to put this but it is chemical related so it could go here.

couple of questions on soil.
do worm's increase the health of the soil, or does the presence of worms indicate the soil is healthy?
when you burn wood the product can be buried into the soil, how does this improve the health of the soil?
thanks for your help.

It is probably best to say that worms can maintain the "health" of soil. Their presence is enough to indicate good soil conditions which they help to maintain.

They cannot live, for the most part, in soil that is unsuitable for them. Some soil may be rich and organic but is constantly flooded. In other cases you may have rich soil but it is compacted too much for the worms.

Burnt wood products improve the ferility of soil. The carbon is burnt off as carbon dioxide but the minerals, particularly nitrates and phosphates, remain with the ash. There are also traces of iron, copper, zinc, magnesium, etc, that is good for growing plants. Homeowners with fireplaces know to scatter the winter's ashes in the garden for spring fertilizer.

how do they maintain the health of the soil? do they keep the balance of nutrients correct?

yeh i was confused about the wood burning thing. i couldnt see how the product of combustion could help the soil. didnt consider minerals such as nitrates.

thanks for the help

Check out this article on the way earthworms benefit the soil:

http://www.extension.colostate.edu/4DMG/Soil/worms.htm
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