I know i have been preaching this since day one but I finally ran across the research article that i read about this. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/environmental-science/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2019.00055/full Summary if you don't wanna read the whole thing. 1. Worms Don’t Add Life… They Reorganize It You’ll hear people say worms “add microbes to the soil.” That’s not really what’s happening. Worms take what’s already there and reorganize the entire system they change: - Air - Water - Food - Microbial activity So instead of “more microbes,” what you get is: a better-functioning microbial system 🚨 There is another research paper that proves that worms actually multiply microbes.....ill have to find that paper. 2. The Worm Gut Is Where the Magic Happens When organic matter goes through a worm, it’s not just eaten… it’s transformed. Inside the worm: - Material gets broken down - Mixed with microbes - Coated in mucus - Rebuilt into something new Think of the worm gut like a biological blender + reactor What comes out isn’t the same material… It’s a more active, more usable version of it 3. Worm Castings Are Microbial Hotspots A single casting isn’t just “worm poop.” it’s: - Organic matter - Wrapped in mucus - Packed with microbes Each casting is its own mini ecosystem So when you add castings to soil: You’re not adding nutrients...you’re adding living biology that gets to work immediately 4. Worms Don’t Feed Plants… Microbes Do This is the big shift most people miss. Worms don’t directly grow plants microbes do Here’s the flow: - Worms improve the environment - Microbes break things down - Plants access what microbes make available Worms are just setting the stage 5. Location Matters (Soil Isn’t One Thing) Not all soil is the same even in the same garden. There's the: - worm gut - castings - burrows - surrounding soil

So, last winter (January 2025) I bought jasmine officinale cuttings from an Etsy vendor. The listing was for 10 cuttings, she sent 14. I dipped them in rooting hormones (organic) and put them in a pot in a south facing window and 12 formed roots. I moved them into larger pots on the back porch when it warmed up outside and once the ground was nice and warm started putting them in the ground. Most of them are along two sides of our shed in the back yard with 2" x 3" wire fencing mesh as a trellis since jasmine can get quite large. The last one is in my front flower bed. I only lost one of the plants after putting them in the ground. They are forming flowers! Most of the buds are in the ones that are facing south, but all of the plants are greening up nicely! I am so excited about how well these are doing! I love jasmine green tea and I plan on using the flowers for tea once they really start producing!

There was a good game that happened today! Most of the bankrupts came out in the first round this time. @Julie Vigil went up again @Larry Baracco and @Jim Flach today and there could only be 1 winner. So please congratulate @Julie Vigil on another win! To check the leaderboard CLICK HERE

Question @Dennis Wichter Is the fungal-dominant and bacterial-dominant two different ecosystems... Would increasing bacteria tend to increased the bacteria predators cycling more life and nutrients in the soil without affecting the fungal world?