Worms!

There are new members in the Mountain Aquaponics System-- and they go by the name of earthworm. Worms are detritivores, which are organisms that consume detritus (decomposing matter) as nutrients. Since there has been lots of rain going on these days in Vancouver (aka Raincouver), the worms have been coming out of the ground. We at Mountain Aquaponics have seen this as a perfect opportunity to go out and collect some of them to put in our system. Although earthworms may not directly affect growth efficiency of the plants, they do play quite a large role in enriching soil, or in our case, the media rock. Other than consuming the detritus, they burrow holes into the ground, loosening the rock so that the roots of the plants have a place to grow. As well, they shift the position of the rocks, which can mix around the bacteria in different areas for an even distribution of the nutrients in the growing bed. Lastly, the organic waste that they produce add to the bacteria in the growing bed, creating an even more nutrient-rich environment for the plants go grow in.