Getting down and dirty Getting down and dirty (April 09, 2004)

Garden writer Amy Stewart offers worm-composting wisdom

by Carol Blitzer

Eeeuuuuu. Yuck. Worms.

Although garden writer Amy Stewart never had that negative response to earthworms, she does admit that it was years before she actually touched one without wearing gloves.

Now she's written a book, "The Earth Moved: On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms," and will be offering a workshop and signing books on April 18 at Common Ground Organic Garden Supply and Education Center in Palo Alto. She'll be bringing a variety of wigglies to share, along with a worm composter.

Growing up in hot, dry Texas, Stewart said she saw gardening as a chore. But after moving to Santa Cruz, she developed a real interest in the land. "The weather was perfect, I had the time. It just kind of happened. Everything blooms there on the coast; it was hard to resist," she said.

A few years ago she moved to Eureka, where she is a garden columnist for the North Coast Journal, as well as a freelance magazine and newspaper writer. "The Earth Moves" is her second book, following "From the Ground Up: The Story of a First Garden."

At home in Eureka, Stewart has a "normal-size" yard on a 6,000-square-foot city lot.

"I hate lawns. The first thing I did was hire a crew to rip out the lawn," she said. Today, her garden has mostly perennials, with culinary elements -- including kale and chard -- woven in.

And, of course, worms are an important aspect in the success of her garden.

Her love affair with worms began about nine years ago, when she first got interested in organic gardening. She picked up a worm bin at the San Lorenzo nursery.

"It seems like a miniature farm," she said.

"For years, I only reached in with a glove on. It's funny to think about now, that I was ever squeamish," she said.

She even brought her worm bin to Eureka with her. That was when she realized that the varieties she had in Santa Cruz were far different from what she found in the earth along the North Coast.

"I thought I knew a lot about worms," she said, adding that she knew those in composting differed from those that lived in the ground. But only after doing some research did she realize there were 4,500 species.

Stewart describes the three main kinds in her book -- epigeic, like red wigglers, that thrive in compost heaps; anecic, such as night crawlers, which build permanent burrows in the soil and come to the surface at night to pull organic matter into their burrows; and endogeic, which don't come to the surface, but live in the roots of plants, and make it easier for roots to take up nutrients.

As an avid organic gardener, Stewart will be offering advice in her workshop on getting worms to work for you. She suggests adding manure or organic material to gardens, as an excellent food source for those worms.

Asked about local clay soil, Stewart said, "Clay soil gets a bad rap. It can be higher in nutrients than sandy soil. ... Earthworms thrive in clay soil."

She also suggests that people forget double-digging every year, and instead add mulch to the surface -- worm food -- so there's something for the worms to pull down under. Or, she said, you can plant winter cover crops -- fava, rye, vetch or clover -- that stabilize soil and break up clay soil.

"Then, in spring, cut it down. Let them decompose on the surface or add to the compost pile. As they die and decay, they leave lots of organic matter for plants," she said.

At her workshop, Stewart will bring several species of earthworms, as well as the worm composter offered by San Mateo County called The Worm Factory. She'll also share photos of a giant Australian earthworm. "Worms are usually the star of the show," she said.

Often people like to share stories about worms, whether it was digging them up for fishing with their dad or wondering about the myth that if you cut a worm in half you'll get two worms (Actually, the head can grow a new tail, but the tail cannot grow a new head, she said.).

And, there will be plenty of opportunities to touch them. "I'm really surprised people want to do that," she said, recalling numerous events at garden clubs where "elegantly coiffed" ladies couldn't wait to get their hands on the worms.

Stewart's audiences include teenagers, middle-aged suburban couples, those buying their first house and organic farmers.

"It's really fun. Everyone has some connection with earthworms, some childhood memory.

Assistant editor Carol Blitzer can be reached at cblitzer@paweekly.com.
What: The Remarkable Achievement of Earthworms Who: Amy Stewart, author of "The Earth Moved" (2004, Algonquin Books) When: Sunday, April 18, 12:30 to 2 p.m. Where: Common Ground, 559 College Ave., Palo Alto Cost: $10 Info: Call (650) 493-6072 or visit www.commongroundinpaloalto.org.

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