If You Plan For It, It Will Come – Post #1: Worm Castings

 

When I step onto that land for the first time, one of my earliest projects won’t involve barns, tractors, or even fences. It will involve worms.

Yes—worms.

Why? Because worms are silent workers that turn waste into fertility. Their castings (essentially worm manure) are one of the richest soil amendments nature provides. If I’m serious about restoring soil, growing abundant crops, and even building a small-scale income stream, worms are the foundation.

Starting a Worm Project

You don’t need fancy infrastructure to begin. A worm farm can start in plastic totes or wood bins, scaled up later into continuous-flow systems. The key is the right worm species: red wigglers (Eisenia fetida), not your average garden worm. These little guys thrive in confined spaces, eat constantly, and reproduce quickly.

Feed them what would otherwise be waste—vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, shredded cardboard, old leaves. They eat, they excrete, and the castings become a soil builder and revenue stream.

Keeping Worms Happy & Healthy

Worms aren’t complicated, but they do have needs. Keep them comfortable, and they’ll multiply fast and work nonstop.

• Temperature: Ideal range is 55–77°F (13–25°C). Too cold, they go dormant; too hot, they die. A basement, shed, or insulated bin works well in fluctuating climates.

• Lighting: Worms hate light. Darkness keeps them calm and encourages burrowing. Even a loose lid over the bin is enough.

• Airflow: Stagnant, soggy bins kill worms. Drill ventilation holes or use breathable fabric covers. The bedding should be damp like a wrung-out sponge, never waterlogged.

• Food: Stick to plant matter. They love coffee grounds, leafy scraps, fruit peels (avoid citrus in excess). Skip meat, dairy, and oily foods—they rot and attract pests.

• Bedding: Start with shredded cardboard, newspaper, or coco coir. Bedding doubles as both their home and backup food.

If these conditions are met, worms will thrive, double their population every few months, and give back in castings and worm “tea.”

Uses on the Land

• Soil Fertility: Castings feed soil microbes, improve structure, and boost nutrient retention.

• Worm Tea: Steep castings in aerated water for a microbial-rich foliar spray or soil drench.

• Waste Reduction: Kitchen scraps and garden debris turn into income instead of garbage.

• Starter Packs: Selling worm colonies to gardeners can be more profitable than the castings themselves.

Potential Profits

Worm castings sell locally for anywhere from $1–$3 per pound. Worm tea fetches even more when marketed to organic gardeners. Starter colonies of red wigglers can bring $20–$40 a box. It doesn’t take long before the worms are paying for their keep—and then some.

Why Worms First?

Because this is about building from the ground up. Healthy soil equals healthy crops, healthy animals, healthy people. Worms are the cheapest, fastest, most resilient partners in that work.

When I walk onto my 300 acres, the first implementation will be bins full of quiet workers, already busy making the land fertile again. From their castings, everything else grows.