Phew! I got a 72 out of 100 for that blog title according to the WordPress wizard. I won’t tell you how long I spent trying to improve my score, instead, I’ll share some history on why I’m starting my business now, what took me so long, and how it’s going.
One thing I need to get off my chest before we begin: building this website is hurting my brain and my self-confidence. It seems like it should be such a simple thing, but alas, I’m lost in the WordPress abyss resolved to write a post if I can do nothing else. And so, the worm-farmventure continues.
Lets start from the beginning. I’ve been thinking about launching a small business for, well, decades. I used to make imaginary lists of businesses I could start like lemonade stands and lawn mowing services while I was bored in school. None of those worked out, except the fact that I did mow enough yards to cover my equipment costs, but a move back into rentals resulted in me relinquishing my equipment, for free I might add. Even when I went back to college as an adult after working at some choice companies, I chose Architecture with the idea that “I could always go into private practice” and stop working for other people.
Long story short, it turns out Architecture wasn’t for me either, but all of my personal and professional experiences have been leading me toward my calling. For example, while I was in school on a very limited income, I figured out that I LOVED growing plants from seed and growing my own organic vegetables. Its that discovery that brought me “back to worms.”
I say, “back to worms” because I used to play with the worms in the backyard compost pile when I was a kid in Houston, TX. Our lawn clippings, leaves, and kitchen scraps all went into a pile in a shady corner of our yard and I would spend hours digging in the leaves to find big fat earth worms. They were both disgusting and fascinating and little did I know would wiggle their way into my heart.
Once I started gardening I discovered the amazing effect worms have on soil health and plant size and productivity. I began using worm compost and worm tea, and then finally got my own bin and a batch of worms to make my own organic elixirs. I started my first worm bin in 2012 (ish if memory serves) and kept that bin producing organic fertilizer, recycling our organic waste, and growing worm babies for years.
I had contemplated starting a commercial worm farm on our two acre property in 2016, but life took a decidedly unexpected turn. My father died, our family instantly expanded by four little kiddos (my half siblings), and I continued the corporate slog to keep up with the new structure of my responsibilities and get through that transition. We ended up selling the property, getting a more traditional house in town and I focussed my energy on converting the back yard into my garden oasis, always with worm tea working it’s magic.
Then, COVID happened, and our family again went through transformation. We moved from Austin, TX to Bellingham, WA, and I resolved to start my business, one step at a time. Now though, I knew what I loved and how I wanted to spend my time. I want to be a worm farmer so I can share the amazing impact that the microbes and nematodes living in worm castings can do to restore soil, grow productive plants, and process waste productively.
I’ve started my first worm herd of Night Crawlers this fall and am working on installing breeder shelves in our mechanical room to grow out the heard so we can stock our commercial bins with hungry wormies.
The plan is to start small and build the farm production systems piece by piece, so the business can be self-supporting and scalable. The long term plan is to buy some land and purpose build a worm farm designed to supply the gardens and farms in our local community with high quality local living fertilizers for sustainable farms and gardens.
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