Earthworms chow down on seeds

A new study has shown that earthworms sometimes chow down on garden and greenhouse enthusiasts seeds.

According to the research from Germanys Georg-August-University Gottingen, the little creatures do more than just ventilate the soil.

It discovered that worms actually eat seeds and seedlings at the radicle and cotyledon stages of development, causing them to die, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) reported.

Head of RHS horticultural advisory services Guy Barter assured growers that there is no need to go out and start bashing worms heads in as they are still beneficial for the soil and responsible for only a tiny proportion of seed deaths.

"Earthworms do far more good than harm," he explained. "They are of vanishing unimportance compared to other things that predate seedlings – gardeners really dont need to worry."

Meanwhile, the RHS recently revealed that new research has shown Ivy to have a protective effect on old buildings stonework.