What Are Earth Worms Good For?

Compost

• If you have a worm-composting bin for your garden, the worms break down kitchen scraps. Their castings create a nutrient-rich natural compost for your garden. Avoid adding meat or fat to the bin, since the worms won't eat it. Ideal materials include fruit and vegetable scraps, tea bags, coffee grounds and shredded paper.

Nutrients

• Earthworms add nutrients to a lawn or garden by consuming organic materials and excreting them. Worm castings are high in nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium, all ingredients of fertilizers. Because worms move around in the soil, they also bring nutrients from deep in the soil up to levels where the roots of plants can access them. According to McGill University in Montreal, this helps counteract the effects of topsoil erosion.

Aeration

• Earthworms create burrows as they move through the soil in a lawn or garden. These holes aerate the soil, which means oxygen enters the soil more easily. Aerated soil holds moisture, making it available to plant roots.

Encouraging Earthworms

• Make your lawn and garden friendly to earthworms creates a vibrant environment. Leave grass clippings on the lawn, as the clippings are food for earthworms, and they stay where there is food. Adding natural compost to your garden helps earthworms thrive. However, synthetic nitrogen fertilizer repels the earthworms because they are sensitive to changes in their environment.