unsung heroes

I've been digging in the veg patch for the past few days. I'm a fan of the "no dig" system, but the dandelions have been taking over. Huge rosettes of leaves with roots about a foot long. It's hard work to extricate them. While digging, I was pleased to see a lot of worms in the soil. I thought  I might make them the stars of today's blip.

What you see here are not the worms in the veg patch, though. They are the lucky residents of our Can o'Worms  wormery. Every day they get fed choice morsels - here you can see them feasting on banana skins, cauliflower leaves and some old apples. They reward us by making compost and "worm juice" - a rich plant food which helps the whole growing cycle to start again.

I had to be quick taking the photo, because as soon as the lid is opened, they glide away and hide from the light. 

Charles Darwin said that "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".