Worms are an integral part of our ecosystem. They play a small role in the food chain of plants and animals, but it has great importance in all of our lives.
They not only make the soil fertile and ready for plantation but also helps plants absorb more nutrients from the soil.
Many people who prepare a vermicompost or purchase manure, are curious about composting their home waste or making their fertilizer must be noted that although it is not difficult to do so, the right approach and guidance are required to know the balance in which the plants need the nutrients.
For instance, it is not ideal to create a misbalance by providing too much nitrogen to the plants. Thus, the right balance is the key.
In this article, we would see whether worms eat mushrooms and if it is helpful to the plants or in preparing vermicompost.
Worms
Worms are insects that are shaped like a small tubes, they do not have any limbs, thus they crawl and have to move their entire body to move ahead.
Worms have several kinds of species and also can vary in length. Some worms are only a few centimeters while some worms can go up to several meters in length as well.
You may be familiar with the nature and size of a worm. Worms are usually parasitic as they live off the body or nutrients of some other organism.
Some of the most popular kinds of worms include roundworms and tapeworms, which can also be found inside the body of large animals or humans.
These worms can feed off the nutrients from your body and grow big. Often the only way to remove them is through surgery.
Usually, worms are harmless in the environment, and in fact, are required to keep the nitrogen content balanced but some worms can be harmful.
Since there are millions of worms on Earth, many worms are also known to live in the sea, which is usually larger but is not found commonly.
In context to plants, we often come across earthworms. We will learn more about them in this article.
Mushrooms
We have all at some point eaten or seen a mushroom. It grows on the soil and has a bulb-like structure on top of it.
It is a generous food that people have been using in vegetables, soups, pizzas, and other dishes for a long time.
Mushrooms, unlike other plants, have spores with which they induce the growth of fungus on them. This fungus is what makes a mushroom distinctive from the other plants.
There are many different kinds of mushrooms, some are edible while some may be poisonous as well. Especially the mushrooms found in the rainforests and the wild regions, are generally not safe to eat.
The sizes of mushrooms can range from a few centimeters to a meter or more. Depending on the region they are found in, their color and shape may also vary.
One of the distinctive features of mushrooms is that they can grow in any region, and almost on any surface.
Reportedly, many mushrooms are known to sprout overnight without any required nutrients or help.
Most mushrooms are not nutritious to eat, since mostly they just contain water and some amount of carbohydrates. They are also not high in calories and make up for a great source of vitamin D as well.
Mushrooms are consumed mostly in the Asian region and some Eastern countries. Let us now see if worms eat mushrooms.
Do Worms Eat Mushrooms?
So far, we learned about worms and mushrooms individually. We also saw that both of them can be of different kinds.
Now, worms are known to be good for the soil and are also considered to be a helpful component in converting compostable waste into organic manure.
Worms when fed on these things, often release nitrogen and phosphates in a high amount, helping further in breaking down the soil and inducing the growth of good bacteria.
As a result, plants grow well and faster. Thus, worms also prefer eating mushrooms since they can be composted easily and are already enriched with fungi and water.
A thing to note here is that worms prefer feeding on decaying things, and since mushrooms are not an enlivening food, they prefer going after them.
If you are preparing vermicompost, you can surely feed the worms some good mushrooms.
However, it may not be ideal to pluck them yourself from the woods or your garden. Instead, you can go to the supermarket and buy mushrooms.
Although you may not need to worry about feeding mushrooms to the worms, you do have to take precautions while doing so.
Nevertheless, make sure to not overdo the mushrooms for worms as it can affect their lifecycle and also their diet.
A general idea is to inhibit all kinds of decaying matter and compostable things in the food for worms. Too much fungus for worms may not be a good idea.
Thus, keep the number of mushrooms in check but feel free to add them whenever you are left with some after your meals.
You can also easily grow mushrooms on a worm farm and depending on a few factors these mushrooms may also be edible.
Thus, mushrooms are indeed good for worms and can be fed to them.
Conclusion
Therefore, in this article, we learned about worms, how they work, and a few different kinds of worms.
We also learned about mushrooms and their different kinds and also their impact of them on the human body.
At last, we learned that worms can eat mushrooms and turn them into healthy and natural fertilizers for plants. It would also help replenish the soil much sooner and make it ready for the next plantation cycle.
Although mushrooms can be fed to worms, it is best to speak with a gardening and farming expert to know whether it is the right combination for the kind of plants you want to grow.
