SURREY DAY 2026 - WORM WATCH AND WIGGLE COUNT
SATURDAY 9TH MAY 2026 AT TANHURST VINEYARD
This year’s Surrey Day theme is GOING UNDERGROUND and we’re inviting you to come to Tanhurst Estate to unearth our hidden treasures: EARTHWORMS!
DIG WORMS! Free muddy fun for all the family
Come and help us collect, count and identify our vineyard worms.
We’ll be running three sessions, starting at 11.00 am, 1 pm and 3.00 pm, and each one lasts about an hour.
THE WONDER OF WORMS
Even though they are small and wiggly, they are superheroes helping to improve the soil for our vines. Finding lots of worms will be a sign that our vineyard is thriving!
For their size, earthworms are incredibly strong—relatively 1,000 times stronger than a human!
Earthworms are expert tunnellers. As they wiggle through the soil beneath our grapevines, they make little tunnels that help air and rain reach the roots of the vines, so the plants can breathe and drink water.
Earthworms are amazing recyclers. They eat old leaves and then their worm poo (which farmers call castings) feeds the soil to help the grapes grow well.
Earthworms aren’t all the same! They live in different levels of the earth and type has a special job to do for the vines.
SATURDAY 9TH MAY 2026 AT TANHURST VINEYARD
The Surface Dwellers: worms that live right at the top in the “leaf litter” (old leaves on the ground). Bright red or stripy about the length of a matchstick. They are fast eaters! They gobble up old leaves and turn them into food for the vines very quickly.
The Soil Dwellers: topsoil worker worms live in the top layer of dirt where the vine roots grow. Pale coloured, medium-sized and often curl up into a ball when you pick them up. They spend all day eating dirt and moving it around. This makes the soil nice and crumbly so roots can grow through it easily.
The Deep Tunnellers: the biggest worms you’ll find—sometimes as long as a pencil! They usually have a dark head but a much paler, flatter tail. They dig deep vertical tunnels that act like giant straws to help rainwater drain deep into the ground.