The Wonderful World of Worms and their Contribution to Composting
Project by Lauren Costello and Rhonda Hall
Natural Science 104/105F5
Spring 2001

Introduction
We conducted an experiment with redworms and leaf composting. We set up several bins with equal amounts of soil and leaves, and then introduced the worms into half of them. Over the course of three months, we allowed the leaves to undergo decomposition, while we aided them only with water to keep them moist. At the termination of the experiment, we removed, dried, and weighed the leaves to see how much they decomposed on their own and with the aid of the worms. We also counted a sample of the worms and tested the pH levels of the soil.

Leaf Results
We started with about 109 grams of leaves in each bin, and ended up with the following weights in grams.

Worm Reproduction
We counted out four sets of 50 worms and placed each set in four of the bins. During the twelve weeks, as we periodically checked in on the worms, we noticed egg casings that had been laid. When we ended the experiment, these same casings had been hatched and were dried-out shells.

To see just how much the worms had reproduced, we removed ¼ of the soil in one of the bins. In that sample, we counted 350 worms, which would make the estimated number of worms in that bin 1,400. This is twenty-eight times the number of worms that were first introduced to the soil.

pH Levels
When we ended our experiment, we took the pH levels of each of the bins. Our results indicate that the worms added more acid to the soil than the leaves by themselves.