Have you ever heard of the book The Earth Moved by Amy Stewart? If you haven’t for some reason, it is a fascinating dip into the world of Oligochaeta and the oligochaetologists who study them. In other words, the book is all about earthworms and the…unique…people who have dedicated themselves to studying worms. You would think that earthworms would make a pretty boring subject matter for a book, but the book was so popular and got so much praise (from big shots like Anne Raver at the New York Times) that Amy’s publisher decided to re-release it. Hence the review copy I recently received.
So, how do I go from reading a re-released copy of an immensely popular book on earthworms to becoming the proud owner of 1,000 red wiggler worms? That is for another post. The very next post. I promise. But I want to share a little bit about The Earth Moved.
Normally, the books I review here have pictures. Lots of pictures. In fact, I kind of think that gardening books need lots of really fabulous pictures to be worth reading. In my mind, they’re like cookbooks in that regard. They must have pictures! This book has no pictures. It is not a “how to,” or “inspirational” book in the usual sense. Amy would probably even say that this isn’t a gardening book, and I tend to agree with her. Though it should be of interest to all gardeners.
So what is The Earth Moved? It is Amy’s exploration of the subterranean world beneath her garden, beneath all of our gardens. What the heck are worms doing down there? Amy set about to find out, and she shares her adventures, from the pages of Charles Darwin’s The Formation of Vegetable Mould (a less well known book by the same guy who first described evolution) to the role earthworms played in the banning of DDT in the U.S. in the early 1970s.
Earthworms do all sorts of fascinating things. For example, earthworms are involved in sanitizing sewage at a treatment plant in Pacifica, CA. The same red wigglers that home vermicomposters use in their bins are being used to get rid of harmful bacteria in sewage. Perhaps less disgusting and surprising to experienced gardeners, professional petunia growers also use worms in their business. They have found that growing petunias in a mix of 80% soilless mix and 20% worm castings (i.e. their poop) produces petunias ready for garden centers 1-2 weeks faster than just straight soilless mix.
There are also many fascinating types of earthworms. For example, there is a giant earthworm living in Washington state that smells like lilies. It’s called the Giant Palouse Earthworm (Driloleirus americanus). They’re two feet long! But that’s not even the craziest earthworm Amy wrote about. Keep an eye out for Amy’s story of blue worms with yellow spots. Yep. You read that right. Polka-dotted worms.
I haven’t even scratched the surface (get it?) of interesting things Amy unearthed (ha ha) about earthworms. I think every gardener, even container gardeners (especially container gardeners!), should read and will thoroughly enjoy this book. If you don’t think small-space container gardeners need worms. Stay tuned for my next post…
p.s. Amy Stewart owns a bookstore in Eureka, CA and is a passionate advocate for independently-owned bookstores. Normally when I talk about a book I link to Amazon, but I thought I’d link Amy’s book to IndieBound, a website she turned me on to for locating the books you want to read at a local, independent bookstores. Check it out and give your local shop a try!
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I received The Earth Moved as a free review copy from the book’s publisher. Here is more information about my book review policy.
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This was the first Amy Stewart book I read, and I agree with you completely! Haven’t yet brought myself to raise a flock of worms yet myself, but this book has certainly changed the way I look at dirt and its inhabitants. Wonderful review.
Lauren–Hah! “flock” makes it sounds almost dainty. This is more like a MEGA HERD of worms in my little vermicomposting bin!
When I homeschooled my eldest son many years ago, we did an “earthworm” project. We kept those guys alive for 8 years in a big bin in the cellar. After he grew older, finished school, I forgot to water them and they all died….but it was a fascinating way of composting our food scraps and kept him amused (and educated us both!)…I’ll be looking for Amy’s book myself.
Kirsty–Oh no! I don’t want to think about the mess of cleaning up thousands of dead worms!
I just wanted to let you know that I enjoy your website blog a lot. I live 13 floors up and have two balconies overlooking the Mississippi riverfront in Minneapolis. For the past ten years I have been growing flowers and vegetables in pots and on hanging window boxes with great success. I wish I had discovered your informative blog earlier. I haven’t tried worms yet…..
Hi Fern~ I ready this book last year and was immediately enchanted with Amy’s writing- never thought worms could be so interesting! Thanks for suggesting this gem to your readers.
While I haven’t read this book, I’ve been toying with the idea of getting a vermicomposting system up & running. It sounds truly fascinating. Can’t wait to read this book as I’m a huge fan of all things pertaining to soil and the life contained within it.
Looking forward to reading the book and learning all about earthworms.
I didn’t know earthworms can get rid of sewage and the harmful bacteria.
Living in our Northern climate, the winter months (usually but not THIS year!) leave those of us who compost and garden resorting to methods of indoor gardening. I have long been interested in experimenting with vermicomposters inside in the winter to once-and-for all prove to my doubting friends it can be done efficiently and effectively without odor, bugs, etc.
Can’t wait to read this book.
I read your post on the Worm Factory 360 and my husband and I were really interested in getting one. We have a large garden with raised beds and a lot of flowers around the yard and really need another source of good compost. We have a Compost Tumbler but haven’t really taken the time to work on the “recipe” that works best with it. Especially in the winter it is hard to get the food scraps out in the tumbler. This worm factory sounds great! And I’m retired now and have time.
I once had a worm farmer give me a jar full of soil that he said contained worm eggs. Who knew? Sure enough that jar turned into red wrigglers. Can’t remember how long it took. Does the book talk about the reproductive cycle of worms?
To harvest your own worms rather than buying them, leave a piece of wet cardboard (from a box)on the grass overnight and in the moring , if there are worms in the grass, when you lift it up the worms will be on the surface. Another trick is to flood a patch of grass and if there are worms there they will rise to the surface. I also go out to a swampy area near my home and dig around the edge for worms. Just watch out for other critters. Happy worming!
I grow Eisenia foetida Red Wigglers in my worm bin at home. I am getting the best vermicompost after a year of doing this activity. It is ready to harvest at just the right time. I also just started a small worm bin of European Red Worms, Eisenia hortensis, in my office to take care of coffee grounds and banana peels from lunch.
I need to find this book written by Amy Stewart. I started to read Darwin’s publication and find his writing style interesting.
Worms … will my cats try to eat them? LOL … Seriously, I’ve been wondering if there is a balcony-sized composter to help me 1) grow happier flowers and 2) not throw so much in the trash and it looks like this is the one! Look forward to reading the book.
I do love the results that worm castings have in my garden, but I didn’t realize that commercial petunia growers use those Eisenia sp. in their grows – nice! Does Amy mention the Black Soldier Fly, often found in vermicomposting set-ups? Hmmm, I’d really like to read her book!
Worm castings are such a fantastic fertlizer and a worm farm is a great way to compost, good for kids too. The book sounds like a good read. thanks for the detailed review.
Just a reminder, the regular earthworms that you find outside in your garden are not the same as the red wigglers. I have had my worms now for about a year. It’s a great way to compost, and you can put dog/cat hair in with the worms as well, so if you have dogs and cats like I do, it’s really great.
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