Pat Quinn, Governor
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Pat Quinn, Governor |
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Our EarthshipWorms Help Recycle SoilWho turned on the light!! It is too bright! I will just crawl under this nice leaf. Ah, that's better. Let me introduce myself. I am Captain Earthworm, and I cannot stand bright sunlight. I live in the soil where it's nice and dark.
The part of the soil that is good for growing things is called topsoil. The layer under it is called subsoil. Topsoil is very important and takes a long time to make. It takes nearly 100 years to break down enough rock pieces and decaying things from the subsoil to make a layer of topsoil about as thick as a popsicle stick. And it takes another 500 to 800 years to make just one inch of topsoil! We earthworms like to live in topsoil. We pull pieces of leaves, grass and other living things into the soil. When we eat our way through the soil, we leave tunnels where water and air can move. The things that have gone through our bodies also go back into the soil. I guess you could say we earthworms recycle soil!
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Soil
is not just "dirt". Soil is made up of many, many things. One
little teaspoonful of soil contains more little living things than you
could count in your lifetime even if you lived to be a hundred. Soil is
made up of minerals from rocks that have broken down into tiny, tiny pieces.
It is made up of pieces of things that have died, like leaves and grass
clippings. It is also made up of air and water. Good soil needs all these
things. When plants die, they decay and become part of the soil again.
Then other plants grow from it, and become food for insects and animals,
and even for you.