One of Earth’s most useful creatures

SPRING is a busy time of the year in my vegetable garden.

There is a bit of a lull at present because most of the hardy species have been planted and it’s still too early in my cold corner of the country to think about putting in anything frost sensitive. But I’ve been spending a lot of time weeding, digging and raking.

This activity has brought me into close contact with earthworms and, gardening being a relatively contemplative activity, I’ve been thinking about them. We tend to take worms for granted but they really are fascinating creatures. In fact many naturalists have spent their lives studying them. Charles Darwin devoted 39 years to his earthworm study. He said: “It may be doubted whether there are many other animals which have played so important a part in the history of the world as have these lowly organised creatures.”