Charles Darwin dedicated over 60 years to studying earthworms and concluded:

“It may be doubted whether there are many other animals which have played so important a part in the history of the world.”

Worms are soil’s original recyclers. Every burrow, every cast, every movement they make transforms the ground into fertile, life-giving humus.
Their casts contain five times more nitrogen, seven times more phosphorus, and 11 times more potassium than surrounding soil.

Healthy soils can hold up to 1,000 worms per square metre, quietly shifting 10 tonnes of soil per acre each year, mixing, aerating, and feeding your plants naturally.

But here’s the truth: just adding worms won’t fix dead soil.
Worms only thrive where there’s organic matter, microbes, and moisture.
If your soil is compacted, sterile, or bare, they’ll either go deeper or disappear.

That’s why our approach is always regenerative — helping you create the living conditions that worms need to do their work.

Healthy soil is alive. It’s a bustling network of roots, fungi, bacteria, and worms.
Worms create the physical channels that roots and microbes use to move, breathe, and exchange nutrients.

There are 31 native species of worm in the UK, from surface feeders (Eisenia) to deep burrowers (Lumbricus terrestris). Together they:

• Improve drainage and soil structure.
• Mix organic matter through the soil profile.
• Support fungi and bacteria that cycle nutrients.
• Lock up carbon in humus.
• Feed birds, hedgehogs, frogs, and toads.

Unfortunately, they face modern threats — pesticides, tillage, and the New Zealand flatworm (Arthurdendyus triangulatus), a non-native predator that can decimate populations.
The best protection? Healthy soil with abundant organic matter and microbial life.

Wiggly Tip:
If you see worm casts after rain — celebrate! That’s a sign your soil is alive and well.

At Lower Blakemere Farm in Herefordshire, we farm regeneratively — measuring our success not by yield but by life in the soil.
Each year we take worm counts across our fields as one of our key soil health indicators. When worm numbers rise, so does carbon, structure, and biodiversity.

We grow seed crops, raise cattle, make Live Bokashi Bran on the farm, and return compost and worm castings to the land. Everything we do revolves around the soil.

Our Lumbricus terrestris are a native British species, responsibly redirected from the global fishing trade for beneficial use. Some come from established rearing systems in Ontario, Canada, where our worms were introduced centuries ago and still thrive.

They arrive in sterile, peat-free carriers, fully plant-health tested and DEFRA-certified before being carefully packed on our farm.
We don’t boast about their journey — what matters is their new purpose: rebuilding British soils, one garden at a time.

Adding worms is like inviting guests to stay — they’ll only stick around if the home is right.

1️⃣ Loosen the soil first
Use a fork to aerate compacted soil. Worms breathe through their skin — air pockets are essential.

2️⃣ Dig small, decent holes
About mug-sized every square metre. Add compost, Wiggly Vermicompost, or leaf mould, then place 5–8 worms in each.

3️⃣ Cover and mulch
Replace soil and top with Wiggly Woolch, compost, or leaves. This keeps moisture in and provides food.

4️⃣ Choose the right season
Add worms in spring or autumn when it’s cool and moist. Avoid heatwaves and frost.

5️⃣ Feed the microbes
Worms work best alongside thriving microbes. Add Bokashi pre-compost, worm compost, leaf mould, or compost teas to build microbial life.

6️⃣ Keep the soil covered and living
Bare soil is a worm desert. Keep living roots, mulch, or ground cover all year round.

Wiggly Tip:
For raised beds, mix 50 earthworms with 250 g composting worms — composters work the top few inches, while garden worms tunnel deep.