Glossary:Worm Cast

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[edit] Worm cast

A worm cast or vermicast is organic material that has passed through the gut of a worm. They can appear as tubular mounds (casts of mucus-impregnated strings of sediment) on the surface often seen on a sandy beach, grazing field or fossilised within palaeosols. Gardeners use recent casts as fertilisers because they are biologically active containing bacteria, enzymes, and remnants of plant materials that were not digested by the earthworm. A lot of the bacteria and enzymes with which the worm digests its food stays with the castings along with worm eggs to further populate the soil. It is these creatures that release the nutrients locked in the soil and make them available for plants to take up.

[edit] Sources

Garden New Zealand (2007) Organic Gardening Christchurch

BBC News (2002) Oldest worm trail discovered


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