Earthworms are nature’s plows. They dig through the dirt, loosening things up and getting air into the soil. They help speed decomposition and fertilize the soil. Worms may not be pretty, but they’re a gardener’s best friends.

If you are “into” worms, or if your children are, you may want to create a worm bed. It’s a great educational project, and could provide you a few more worms and some fertilizer for your garden.

Many years ago, when my husband wasn’t quite as worldly as he is today, he decided to make a worm bed. He took an old fish tank and filled it with soil. Then he dug up a number of worms and introduced them to their new habitat (or should I say, doom?). He had counted on having a steady supply of bait for fishing — but it didn’t work out quite that way. He left the worm bed out in the rain and the poor buggers drowned.

He had the right idea, though. An empty fish tank makes a great worm bed because the kids can watch them at work. To enhance the viewing, make several layers of varying types of soils: clay; topsoil; sandy soil. Simply digging soil from various areas in the yard should do the trick. The different layers allow you to see how worms move the soil. Top it off with a layer of leaf litter, then add worms.

Stop the layers several inches below the top of the tank so your little critters won’t crawl away. And be sure there is always some leaf litter on top for the worms to eat.

Keep the soil moist, but not sopping, and keep the worm bed in a sheltered area away from rain. My dear hubby forgot one other bit of information: Worms like the dark. Therefore, a glass tank full of worms should be covered with a towel or sheet most of the time.

Since worms don’t like light, the best way to view the action will be at night. They are not bothered by red light, so stretch a red balloon over the end of your flashlight. Worms can be tricked into coming to the surface by tapping repeatedly on the tank. Because worms cannot see or hear, they respond to vibrations and move toward the surface.

You can guess which end is the head (the pointy end!) or watch how long it takes the worms to mix up the layers of soil. You can even peruse interesting worm facts. For example, did you know that it would take more than two million worms to cover a football field? Oh, yeah, the entertainment value of worms is limitless. Just ask any child!