BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Inch by inch, invasive worms may be destroying Vermont gardens and farms. A team of researchers at the University of Vermont is studying jumping worms and their harmful impact on the environment.
Maryam Nouri-Aiin, a UVM postdoctoral plant and soil science researcher, points out the kind of worms you don’t want to see in your garden. “They usually turn a really big area into castings,” she said.
Nouri-Aiin says that worm poop impacts seedling growth, moisture retention, and various organism habitats. “We wanted to find out the sources of the spread. The genotypes that we found at nurseries — they were almost basically everywhere, so you could tell some of the horticulture traits is the main source of the spreading of these worms,” she said.
She’s studying ways to control the worms in a natural way. The main control method thus far has been hand-picking them out of the ground. But Nouri-Aiin’s recent research shows how temperature controls can help.
“In your garden, if you are able to heat the soil to a certain temperature, it can be fatal to them, which we want in many ways because they are super invasive and detrimental,” said Ollie Leibovich, a member of the research team.
The team studies how temperatures affect when worm eggs will hatch. “We can tell people, ‘Hey, this is when they’re emerging this year because we’re seeing when they’re really starting to come out now,” said Kit Eller, a UVM senior on the team.
Chemicals and pesticides are not a good control idea because they can be more harmful to the environment than the actual worms. Understanding the worms’ threat can be pivotal in helping with the health of farms and gardens. “Making sure you know when to plant what and how to best take care of them,” said Abigail Acosta. “Crops are our food supply, so making sure our food supply is matching our demand and making sure it’s the best quality and we’re able to continue to create that supply.”
The UVM team says you can avoid the invaders by checking for them when you buy plants and solarizing imported compost before adding it to your garden.