Question: I’m having a bad problem with worm castings in my lawn. The turf is turning a lumpy, muddy mess. What can I do?

Of the more than 200 species of earthworms in North America, the common night crawler (Lumbricus terrestris) is most likely to be causing your problem. They are a dominant species in temperate regions and play a big role in the breakdown of organic matter and the development of soil.

Night crawlers produce deep vertical underground burrows and feed on organic matter mainly on the soil surface. As they excavate their burrows, these worms consume mineral soil and litter. They excrete their fecal matter, or casts, in mounds on the soil surface. Researchers estimate that earthworms carry 20 to 25 tons of soil per acre up to the surface each year. Click here to read more

Dr. Clint Waltz, Extension Turfgrass Specialist with the University of Georgia, reports that hot temperatures and low rainfall in the fall of 2016 likely sent warm-season turfgrasses into winter dormancy with depleted carbohydrate reserves. During “normal” circumstances warm-season turfgrasses accumulate and store carbohydrates from late summer through early fall.  Read more

Sustainability is arguably, one of the hottest buzz words being used today. By Wikipedia’s definition, sustainability is “the ability of an ecosystem to maintain ecological processes, functions, biodiversity and productivity into the future.” In the vernacular of the peasantry it means: do we have the ability to replenish our natural resources quicker than we use them?

Read more