james shaw
9-12-08
Life on a Worm Farm is very enjoyable. Basically our week in divided into two sections; Tuesday thru Friday is for the caring of the worms. Saturday thru Monday is our picking, sorting, packing and mailing days.
Farming Red Worms is just about the same as farming on any other livestock farm. The Red Wigglers must be fed, watered, and tended to on a daily schedule.
My day starts at 7:00 AM with a heaping hot cup of black coffee and usually 2 eggs over easy with toast. Next is a good conversation with my wife and farm hands about anything going on and the tasks that need to be done for the day.
Ok once food and socialization are over its time to get started working! First all e-mails must be answered, sometimes this can take 2 or 3 hours! Any question imaginable about worms is usually asked. At times this in itself seems like a full time job.
Next the job of feeding the worms, we feed our worms our own special mixture of grains. Every bin is fed, watered and examined. A good red worm bin must have the correct moisture level and Ph levels. The soil should be loose and the worms should look shiny, fast and healthy. Each bin is treated and cared for on an individual basis. The quantity of feed and watering differ with weather conditions.
While all the tending and feeding of worms is going on, part of our staff manages the warehouse and office. They answer questions, take and trace orders. It sounds simple enough but that's about it for Tuesday thru Friday. Between e-mails, feeding, tending to worms, and answering calls, we put in 12 hours days working the farm.
On Saturdays the shipping cycle begins. The red wigglers are all picked, this takes a full day. There is nothing too exciting about it; a twelve hour day of picking worms.
Sundays we sort the red worms from the dirt and compost and pack them. We sift the soil and bedding from worms to be pack in 500, 1000 and 2,000 increments. Once the red worms are sorted they are packed in breathable cotton bags with a couple handfuls of our special packing bedding to survive a trip through the mail. The worms are then boxed, labeled and stored for shipping on Monday morning.
Monday, all the packages are loaded on the trucked and dropped off at the post office for delivery!
