Worm Farming as Extra Income

A worm farm could be a great investment for a little extra income as a first business for a young entrepreneur.  A young person with access to a big backyard, who lives in the country or a young person who lives on a farm might find worm farming a great way to get their first experience with business management.  Even a child who lives in the city can start a small worm farm if they have a flower bed-sized area to begin.  Town folk like to fish and garden, too.

Suppose you're looking for something to occupy your spare time during your retirement years?  Worm farming on a small scale may be just the thing to keep you busy, to give you an activity that keeps you close to nature, can provide extra income, and can be less demanding physically.

Worm farming could be a great interest to share with your young grandchild.  You could try it as a way to gain popularity among your fishing buddies or with your gardening friends.

Shelter for your worm farm is important for several reasons.  Shade from the sun, cover from the rain (you wouldn't want your investment to drown or be washed away), and protection from reptiles and birds are important reasons to have good shelter.

Worms go dormant in the winter.  You'd have to keep them in a controlled environment to sell them year-round.  Sheds, barns, or basements that allow for temperature control are some ideas.

Make sure you consider packaging costs.  The right packaging for your worms, their castings, or the tea you can make with the drain water could help improve your businesses chance for success.  Informative and/or attractive packaging can help spread your trademark to solidify your image in the public eye.  But when you first start out, you'll want to keep your overhead as low as possible, so choose your supplies wisely so your extra income will be more lucrative.

Plant nurseries, feed stores, or hardware stores are some ideas for places to contact about allowing you to sell your products from your worm farm.  You may be able to sell on a consignment basis.  You could rent a booth at a flea market to get a start on selling your products.  To make extra income, you have to be willing to let go of some first!

You might try making a deal with a local livestock farm to trade some fishing worms for manure to help feed your worms.  Just make sure there's no residue left in the manure that would kill your worms.  If the animals have been wormed recently, or if they have parasites of the wrong kind, it could wipe out your stock.  Chicken manure may be the least attractive manure since it tends to be "hot".  Also, remember not to use fresh manure.  It's better if it has aged for a few weeks.

Some people enjoy worm farming as a way to manage their stress levels.  They find it relaxing to harvest the worms.  Just as people find relaxation in gardening or bird-watching, worm farming can relieve tension and give you an outlet to focus on.  It may even be a way to help your child make new friends with the kids on the block!

Worm Farming Can Be Fun

Image via WikipediaYou may think worms are boring.  After all, they just lay there and wiggle.  They don't do any tricks that you can watch.  They don't make cute sounds.  But worms are an interesting, beneficial part of our world.  They have several uses that make them worthwhile to our existence.  You have to look beyond the obvious and appreciate the results sometimes to get the most benefit from an experience.  That's where worm farming comes in.

Have you ever heard of worm grunting?  Not many people have, it's apparently a dying art.  It's a way of harvesting worms that's still kept alive in Florida.  One small town has a yearly worm festival and gets visitors from all over to partake in their fun.  Professional worm grunters entertain guests to this event.  The worm grunters use a simple method to create the kind of vibrations that bring the worms to the surface of the ground for gathering.  You could practice worm grunting on your worm farm for your little visitors' delight.  Many small children get their fun from grossing out adults, so going to a worm farm or festival would be a great adventure trip for them.

Now before you think, "That's it.  I don't have to start a worm farm.  I'll just gather my worms from the wild woods or people's yards!"  You must know that when you take a beneficial part of the environment away from other places, it also takes the benefit of what it does for that area of the earth.  That's why re-planting of trees is encouraged, if we take away from the environment we must also return something to the environment or we all eventually suffer the consequences.

Even if you don't find any fun in worms, you could raise them for the benefits you are able to get from them.  Songbirds like grub worms.  Grub worms are white with a red head, a C shaped body, and are about as big as the end of a thumb.  If you have a grub worm farm, you can encourage song birds to visit your home property for your entertainment and bird-watching pleasure.  So, while you may not consider raising the worm farm to be fun, you can still get your pleasure knowing you are getting more feathered visitors!  Your bird-watching friends can gather at your house and enjoy the fun with you.  They'll be thankful for your worm farm, too.  (Be aware that grub worms do eat plant roots and leave dead, dry patches of grass.  So, just encouraging their existence in your yard is not the best idea.  You'd want to contain them in their own areas for the safety of your other plants.)

You may get some fun from cooking with worms from your own worm farm; this way you will know no pesticides or diseases have tainted them or their flavor.  You could entertain children at the local library by using some recipes specifically including the worms for ingredients.  If the local librarians aren't open to the idea (some people have an irrational fear of worms and some are just plain grossed out about eating them), you could try a demonstration at the nearest zoo.  Flour can be made from the worms to use in recipes.  Some worms are eaten raw, but most Americans aren't open to the experience.

How to Build Your Own Worm Farm

So you've decided to take the plunge and set up your own worm farm.  Perhaps you're looking for a natural way for composting waste, are interested in the nutrient rich fertilizing substance produced by the worms, or are looking to provide a constant supply of live bait or live food for exotic pets.  Regardless of the reason, you're going to need to set up a bin.

Various models are available for purchase at worm farming supply companies and garden centers.  These come in different shapes, sizes and colors and each have their own benefits.  The frugal approach is to build your own. 

The first thing to consider is how big of a container you're going to need.  To figure this out, you'll need to first measure out approximately how much waste you are going to need to use for feeding.  For each pound of waste, you'll need one square foot of space in your bin.  Depth should be at least six to twelve inches. 

A plastic tote or container works well as do wooden boxes.  Metal containers should not be used as irons and chemicals can leach into the soil, harming the worms.  Many worm farmers prefer wooden boxes over plastic as wood is more easily aerated. Plastic can cause more moisture to build up than wood, which can be both good and bad.

Once a container of the appropriate size has been chosen, it'll need to be prepared.  Holes should be drilled or punched through the top of the container to allow for air flow.  There are two ways to address the bottom of the container. 

One method is to drill or punch holes into the bottom of the container to allow excess water and other liquids to drain out.  Another is to install a spout at the bottom of the container.  When liquid begins to fill up in the bottom, the spout is turned on and releases the fluid. 

If using a spout, a raised shelf should be added within the container.  This shelf should be the same width as the container, but be allowed to sit a few inches above the bottom.   This will allow the empty space at the bottom to fill with liquid and prevent it from sitting in the soil and bedding.  This raised shelf should be made of slats or have several holes to allow liquids to drain into the bottom of the container.

If a raise shelf is not used, screening should be installed over the holes to allow liquid to run out of the container but prevent worms from squeezing through.  Screening should also be attached to the top of the container to prevent escape. 

Some thought should be put into what will be used for bedding material.  Soaked and shredded newspapers, cardboard and even dampened leaves can be layered in the bin.  Regardless of the material used for bedding, a small amount of soil should always be mixed in. If using the raised shelf system, bedding should be layered on top of the shelf.

The container should be put in a location that will ensure optimal conditions. Temperature should remain between 72 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit.  The bin should not be placed in an area of the yard that will gain excess rain water, either. 

Once the bin has been constructed, bedding has been added and the perfect location has been found, the next step is to add the worms and begin your own worm farm.  Worm farming is rewarding whether it is done for a profit or a hobby.  Constructing an appropriate home for these guys is your first step towards becoming an authentic worm farmer.