Getting Up And Running

 I have been plugging away on the worm farm. I produce cocoons every day. Well, the worms are... I just provide the bedding!

I am still working out a system to make money and keep up a growing population but I still need to list worms for sale.

I will list worms on eBay and see how that goes.

I may use Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist.org too but I must choose one to start with.

I have so many ideas and I never quite get any of them to the level I want because I can't sacrifice the potential and it is costing me everything.

How about a literal business in a box?

I am going to focus on that angle, a "business-in-a-box" to sell worms and make money.

I don't have to set up the breeder bins until I make a sale.

I can set up a breeder bin, a smaller one than I have now, and measure out a set quantity of worms and place it in a bin. I can give a daily update and check in on the bins and offer each bin for sale until I establish a consistent growth in customer base.

Back to the biz in a box idea... The breeder bins will be small enough to fit into a 27 gallon tote. The biz kit will include the breeder bin, bedding, worm chow for the breeders, bedding for the 27-gallon bin, and instructions on how to set up your own worm farm.

Even if you only use the large bin to compost your kitchen scraps and slowly add in the worm chow you will end up with an effective way to convert your kitchen and garden waste into a great soil amendment.

I study marketing, using Youtube and Google, and a few other books from professional copywriters and marketers. One thing I was recently reminded of is the idea of offering different products at different price points to maximize profits.

I could offer larger packages where you will get a fully operational farm, delivered to your doorstep, all the way down to 100 worms.

To start out, with the amount of worms I have and the experience I have actually sending out worms, successfully, in the mail, I am focusing on listing 1/4 lb. of worms for sale.

We put in an order for breathable bags to ship the worms in today so I need to list some worms for sale today.

I have to get some thought out before they go away and I need to state the things I must do to move forward in my worm business.

Cool Way to Use Worm Factory

 The Youtube channel, "Vermicompost Learn by Doing" has a unique method for rotating the worm trays in his stackable worm farm.

He uses the Vermihut and I use the Worm Factory.

His method starts with a tray full of inoculated bedding and some worms.

Under this one, he will place another tray of shredded cardboard to be inoculated and probably a third and maybe a fourth.

The system works well with 3 or 4 trays.

The first cycle starts with 4 trays full of bedding - shredded paper and cardboard.

The top tray will be fed and worms will be added.

After the top tray is full of castings the bottom tray will be rotated to the top to become the feeding tray.

Once the first feeding tray is going to be the bottom it gets harvested for castings and new bedding is added to be inoculated and start the cycle again only there is no need to add worms again.

As time goes on the population will max out and you will know how much your bin can consume in a certain amount of time.

You could make a DIY stackable worm farm pretty easily with some 7-gallon plastic plant containers and 2 plant saucers one for the top and one for the bottom.

Just set it up and rotate it as described above. Of course, you need to make sure to have the proper moisture levels and make sure you feed the right amount.

This is a good system for cycling your kitchen waste and getting a harvest of castings every few months. It will do a great job of getting rid of waste though. For producing more castings you will need a larger system or more systems and more food sources.

Next up see how to generate more castings and how to explode your worm farm population!