Earthworm Math --

25 earthworms in one sq. ft. = 1 ton of worms/acre

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-- Nutrients added to 1 acre of soil each year --

4 lbs of plant soluble nitrate of nitrogen

30 lbs of phosphorus

72 lbs of potash

90 lbs of magnesium

500 lbs of calcium

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In terms of a fertilizer analysis = 4-68-96 plus 3/4 ton of limestone.

Earthworms are Golden

Make a happy home for earthworms, they will pay you rent!!

It has recently been discovered that in feeding, earthworms consume spores of mycorrhizae, a beneficial fungi that help roots take up nutrients. These spores are deposited in the worm castings, deep in their burrows, where roots easily find them as they grow.
One-million earthworms per acre is about 25 earthworms per square foot of soil. If one had 1 nightcrawler per square foot at a value of $1.00 per dozen then one would have $3,630 worth of earthworms. Full retail value of one million earthworms would be over $83,000.
If earthworms would work only 100 days per year and eat their weight of soil and/or residues daily, then at that rate with one ton of earthworms per acre you would have 100 tons of earthworm manure (ph7 castings) per acre per year. This is about 2/3 inch deep layer over an entire acre of land.
Don't mow your orchard. Graze herbifors instead.
Never use synthetic fertilizers or herbicides, that is poison to earthworms.
One earthworm can digest 36 tons of soil in one year.
Earthworms are responsible for passing nitrogen to the soil at a rate of 100 pounds of N per acre per year.
Studies have shown that earthworms can increase barley yields 78-96%, spring wheat and grass yields 400%, clover yields 1,000%, and peas and oats by 70%. Other studies found that yields were increased for millet, soybeans, lima beans, and hay. Studies in New Zealand found that earthworms at least doubled yields in all cases and adding worms to crops has become standard agricultural practice.
One million earthworms will have burrows which will have the equivalent space of 4,000 feet of 6 inch drain tile. At a installed price of $1.20 per foot for drain tile, those burrows are worth $4,800 per acre.

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