One of the most common questions I get asked is, “Where have all the worms gone?  I used to see millions of worms in my soil, now I never see any”! 

If this is something you’ve thought about, chances are good that your local water is treated with Chlorine.

Let me tell you a story to convincingly show just how bad chlorine is for your garden……Long ago, when we first bought our home, it had a wooden shake roof.   Companies that attempt to extend the lives of these types of roofs use various methods.  The first step to extending the life of a roof it to pressure wash it with a Chlorine solution.  Why Chlorine?  Because it kills all bacteria and fungus growing on your roof.   Want to get rid of the moss on your roof….yep, blast it with Chlorine. Think about that for a minute….professionals use Chlorine to kill moss! Is it any wonder why your soil seems dead?

Healthy soil is full of beneficial bacteria. Worms require bacteria to thrive. Take away the bacteria, and you have a sterile environment, not condusive to life. Chlorine is designed to kill living organisms. It does such a great job of killing these organisms that it can be harmful to your plants, because your plants rely on some of the very same bacteria to survive.

The healthier a plant is, the more likely it is to resist pests and disease. Highly chlorinated water can kill microorganisms in the soil that are there to protect the plant and help produce the plant’s source of food.

Healthy plants depend on healthy soil. Healthy soil depends on an abundance of bacteria. If you don’t know if your water has been treated with Chlorine, I suggest you contact your water company to find out. You may have just found the reason why your soil seems sterile!