How to Sell Worm Castings
As word spreads of growers obtaining solid results by adding worm castings to garden plots, vegetable beds and even golf courses, worm "poop" becomes a natural sell. Worm castings contain more minerals--delivered safely--than alternative chemical fertilizers, and plants produce well, according to studies by university agronomists and engineers in Georgia and New Mexico. Owners of successful vermiculture businesses stress the need to study your local market before attempting to sell worm castings.
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Things You'll Need
- Established worm bin or farm
- Worm castings sifted through 1/4-inch screen
- Plastic bags
- Labels
Instructions
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"Do a little homework in your local market," advises Kanti Somani of Worms.com. "You can lose profit in shipping" due to the weight of worm compost. Make sales calls on nearby nurseries, golf courses and arboretums. Time these sales calls so that you are prepared for actual sales, which tend to arrive cyclically, in the early spring through summer and fall.
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Take advantage if you have a dairy, pig or rabbit farm. If your homework reveals local demand, create a large-scale vermicompost operation to use your readily available manure to create, with the help of red wiggler worms, valuable worm castings. Contact golf courses, landcapers or commercial grow-mix companies to discuss contracts to provide castings in bulk. Bag up retail quantities in gallon- and quart-sized bags of compost to take to garden shows, farmers' markets and state and county fairs.
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Expand your operation. If you have several worm bins with trays, such as in a typical home or small-scale operation, sell surplus castings not needed for your garden. Bag worm compost in quart- or gallon-sized Zip-Loc bags for sale at garden clubs or to neighbors. Advertise small quantities on Craigslist and neighborhood listservs.
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Act as a middle man, if you prefer, by buying a cubic yard of worm castings from a commercial vermicompost operation. Expect to pay about $220 in 2009 prices, according to Dave Heafner of the Da-Le Ranch in Lake Elsinore, California. Package the castings in gallon bags, a size that garden club members can carry home, and price at $10. Label simply with a note that the bag contains "Worm Castings" as well as your contact information. Sell the bags at garden clubs, organic food coops, community gardens, master gardener meetings, nurseries and Earth Day and green events. Also, offer to fill a five-gallon bucket for $30, with the customer supplying the bucket.
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Consider setting up a website providing contact information and pricing for your castings, as well as links to numerous studies on the benefits of worm castings. Note that the odorless castings readily provide nutrients to plants without "burning" their roots, and tell potential customers how to work the castings into the soil or as a lawn topdressing.
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Tips & Warnings
Start small. "I've had customers who wanted 200 lbs. of worms. I've told them to find their market first and buy 10 lbs. instead," reports Kanti Somani of Worms.com.
Screen your castings through a 1/4-inch screen to remove chunks of organic material and create a pleasing, uniform appearance to the castings.
Avoid labeling your worm castings as fertilizer or making outlandish claims of its benefits. The Environmental Protection Agency and state agriculture officials may be forced to investigate your fledgling business.
