Se Grass clippings Se Shredded newspapers Water A Shovel What You Do 1 Ask a grown up to drill many large holes all around the pail This will allow air to get into the compost The bacteria and fungi that will be working to break down the matter into soil need the oxygen from the air just as we do 2 Place a layer of soil or peat moss in the bottom of the pail Sprinkle with water 3 Next add a layer of grass clippings or shredded newspaper Water Repeat the layers until you have filled the container at least halfway 4 Stir the contents of the pail about every two weeks Add enough water periodically so that the lay ers do not dry out Keeping the layers moist will make the container like the forest floor It will also keep the container from becoming too smelly After about a month or two you will have some dark rich soil to add to your garden The Worms Go In and the Worms Go Out
Worms worms worms It seems like worms are everywhere doesn't it They really are Earthworms the worms that we're most familiar with belong to a group of worms known as segmented worms There are over 9 000 species of segmented worms in the world and that is only a fraction of all the worms that are in the world You probably see the most worms after a rain has drawn them out of the soil They slither along on driveways and roadways in puddles and on sidewalks More worms are in the soil out of view There can actually be millions of worms living in your backyard Many of the worms in the rainforest do the same thing that the earthworms do in your backyard They ingest or take in dirt as they move through the soil and excrete or eliminate it after it's finely ground in their gizzard and lime from their stomachs is added to it If you want to find worms at work use a stick to poke around moist areas of decaying leaves in the evening You might catch a worm pulling the leaves into its burrow The leaves flowers and other plant matter that it pulls into its burrow help enrich the soil as these items decay Rainforest Reflection
The tiny earthworms you find in your backyard are just a fraction of the size of some tropical earthworms which may grow up to six feet 1 8 m in length Imagine an earthworm as tall as a man Now that's something to hook a fish with Funky Fungi Have you ever eaten a mushroom Mushrooms are a type of fungus Fungi are the mega decomposers of the forest floor Many mushrooms in the rainforest grow on top of rotting leaves but there are also other types of fungus that grow in threads among and below them These threads become like a strong web that feeds on the plant tissue The threads release a substance that can break down tough plant material Many fungi live most of their lives underground except for occasionally flowering and fruiting above ground Fungi flowers don't look like what you might picture They are odd shaped and most smell awful Not all fungi are decomposers Some of them actually form a mat around the roots of plants that is helpful to the plant Instead of the fungus killing the plant the fungus obtains nitrogen and sugars from the plant roots while the plant absorbs minerals from the fungus This relationship is called
which means that both the fungus and the plant ben efit from the relationship Make a Fern Print T Shirt Few plants are able to live on the dark forest floor and the ones that can are adapted to live in these low light humid conditions Among these few species that can survive among the tree roots fungi and decaying matter on the forest floor are ferns and ginger There are over 12 000 species of ferns in the world many of which grow in tropical rainforests Native people of the rainforests often use the beauti ful leaves or fronds of ferns to adorn themselves adding them to a headdress or wearing them around the neck as they do in parts of Australia Here's
