I was chatting with a friend the other day and she asked me if I’d ever heard about worm farming. I said, “sure, like to compost in your apartment, right?” And she said, “sure, but did you know that you can actually make money with worm farms?” Huh. I did not know that.

My Friend’s Worm Farming Story

She had been out and about running her daily errands. In a parking lot, she saw someone pull up to a woman’s car that was beside her and call out, “hey do you have any worms?” How could you not be curious about such an interaction! So, she got to talking to the woman. She found out that she’s a worm farmer for a living. The woman raises about 8000-10000 worms. She sells them to gardeners and farmers and even to the city.

Occasionally, she faces battles you would never think about if you weren’t a worm farmer. For example, her worms got taken over by centipedes and she lost most of her farm. She had to start over. How do you write off that loss on your taxes at the end of the year? The whole thing is so fascinating. And it got me wondering what’s really involved in becoming a worm farmer.

Worms Are Good For Gardens

There are, of course, many different types of worms. Not all are ones you would want in your garden. But there are lot of benefits to worms in garden, particularly earthworms. And actually, most worms are earthworms. If you see worms in your garden, then it’s often a sign that your garden is healthy. And if you want a healthier garden, you might choose to add worms to your garden.

Worms help gardens by:

• Processing your soil and compost and turning it into nutrients. They essentially compost for you in a super effective way. As a result, they make your soil healthier and improve garden growth.
• They also move the earth around. They create tunnels in the soil that improve air and water movement as well as growth opportunities for the roots of plants.

So, I see two main benefits to worm farming:

1. The worms help your own garden to grow.
2. You can sell the worms to other people who want their gardens to grow.

You Can Make Money Worm Farming

In our conversation, my friend mention a pilot in Sonoma who made his money worm farming. So, I did my research and learned about Jack Chambers. The story goes that he put some worms into his compost, left for five days, and came home shocked to discover rich soil where the worms were living. He fell in love with worm farming (called vermiculture, by the way) and turned it into a business. He’s raised millions for his company, which sells the worms to farmers. In Sonoma, that means a lot of vineyards, too.

It seems like you could start this kind of business with relatively little investment. The Savvy Smallholder says that it can be a part-time or full-time job. Seems like something you could start small and see if you like it. At the very least, you will probably improve your own garden’s soil in the process. They explain that if you aren’t ready to raise worms to sell, then you can start with vermicomposting: “worm farming for recycling waste.”

Apparently you can sell worm castings, various worm products, and the worms themselves. Worm castings are basically earthworm-created manure or fertilizer. As for the worms themselves, in addition to selling them to farms, you can sell them for bait. It’s a business to think about!

How Much Do Garden Worms Cost?

I’ve never bought worms. Therefore, I was a little surprised to learn that you can buy them on Amazon for your garden. One pound of red wigglers, which seems to be about 1000 worms, sells for between $40 and $100 there. That said, there are lots of options at various price points. I would imagine that if you sell directly to small gardeners, and perhaps you use organic gardening techniques, then that would change your price. Likewise, if you have a huge worm farm and sell in bulk to big farms, that would change the price. So, I can’t tell what kind of profit you could make. But you don’t seem to pay anything for worm upkeep since they’re doing their thing in the compost and soil, so most of it must be profit.

What do you think about giving worm farming a try?

Read More:

• How to Get Free Worms For Your Garden
• DIY Compost Using a 5 Gallon Bucket
• 5 Reasons to Use Fish Amino Acids on Your Plants

Composting is an economical way to recycle household waste like kitchen scraps and yard refuse (dead leaves, grass clippings, etc.). It requires minimal effort, and in return, you get free fertilizer for your garden! 

Using your homemade compost in place of commercial fertilizers is not only cheap, but it’s also better for your garden. Compost delivers nutrients to the soil, conditions it, and increases the overall health of your garden environment. Healthy soil makes for healthy plants! 

Traditional composting is a worthwhile endeavor, but if you’re looking for an extremely efficient and effective strategy for turning your kitchen and garden waste into black gold, why not try your hand at vermicomposting?

With the help of hungry worms, you can convert organic material into a nutrient-filled medium for your garden. 

How To Get Free Garden Worms

If you’re starting your compost pile, worms won’t immediately be present. It’s possible to purchase red wigglers to add to your bin, but if you’re on a tight budget or simply want to save some money, try the following to attract free worms to your compost area:

• Feed them. Continually add kitchen scraps to your compost pile or bin. As they munch and crunch on the kitchen waste, they leave behind castings (worm poop), which is excellent for your garden.
• Sprinkle cornmeal. Whether you want to attract worms to your garden or compost, use cornmeal to bring forth the worms. 
• Add ground-up eggshells. This is a bit of a controversial suggestion, but some swear by it. Shells help worms digest their food. The drawback is that eggshells don’t break down like other types of kitchen waste. Always grind them up, don’t add them in chunks. 

If you’re trying to attract worms to add to your elevated compost bin and want to transfer caught worms, it’s possible to fashion a type of worm trap using a bucket.

Drill some holes into the bottom of a bucket and pop it into a shallow hole you’ve dug in the ground. Fill the bucket with food for hungry worms (fruit and vegetable scraps are a good choice). Add a bit of soil and cover with some type of lid. The lid keeps other critters from getting into the trap. Continue to add food scraps, and over time, you’ll find yourself with a sizeable worm population that can go straight into your compost pile.

What worms don’t like

You can add all the worms you want to your garden or compost, but they won’t stick around very long in an inhospitable environment. Here’s what to avoid when attempting to attract worms to your garden and compost bin:

• Keep the chemical fertilizers and pesticides to a minimum or banish them altogether. 
• Try to minimize how often you till the soil to prevent disturbing these little creatures.
• Use organic mulches in place of synthetic options.
• Avoid overwatering. Whether you’re moistening your compost pile or watering your thirsty plants, be careful not to flood out resident worms. Underwatering is also a no-no.

An Important Note

The worm you catch this way may not all be red wigglers, however, but it’s doubtful that you’ll introduce any harmful bugs into your compost this way. 

Some things that attract worms also attract pests (rats, flies, etc.). If adding worm bait to your compost or DIY trap, be sure to properly secure the lid to prevent other critters from finding their way inside. 

Note that in most cases, worms will find their way into your garden and compost bin if the conditions are right. If you see worms hanging around, it’s a good sign! 

Want a visual guide to building a DIY worm farm? Watch this video that demonstrates how to create your own worm trap and catch worms for free without having to spend a dime.