Does anyone out there do worm farming on any level? I've been hearing a bit about some people in my area starting up small part time ventures doing this type of thing. I've done some reading and think I get the basics on what it takes to start things up, but who buys enogh of the worms or generated compost to make it worth while? I'm interested in this to make a little extra $$ on the side. I don't have time to do this 40 hrs./week, strictly a weekends after work type thing.
So if anyone can shed some light on the subject it would be a help.
Ive done lots of reading on the subject. One of the reason is because i was going thru so many fishing myself. It sounds inexpensive to get started. It just takes a bit to get your farm going to the point of volume sales. The worms create alot of compost, another benefit. Where you will make your money is thru mail order and to bait shops in your area. If you want to get up for the early bird fisherman and open a bait shop you can make a few bucks there depending on your location. My dream is to run a home plant, tree nursery and bait shop. Sad thing is i am a tool and die maker for a company with pay and benefits to good to through in the hat. The way the guys are i work with [img]/forums/images/icons/mad.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/confused.gif[/img] sometimes i wish they would downsize and id'e get caught in the fire so as to push me into it. Anyways good luck to you. All i can say is do lots of research on how to grow,breed and sell worms and you'll do just fine.
Good luck Larry [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
<font color="blue"> sometimes i wish they would downsize and id'e get caught in the fire so as to push me into it. </font color>
Funny, that is exactly what happened to me. And I'm actually glad that it did. I'd been living in "The Cubicle Farm" for way too long and hating it. Yeah, the money was good, but not worth it.
I've been looking at how to make money on a small farm. I have 10 acres and plenty of equipment (have to take care of it whether you make money or not). We already grow pears and plums and I'm finally considering not killing more of the blackberry bushes this year [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img].
Worms look like a Good Idea even if you don't try to sell them. I think you're right - they are cheap to get going (although where do you get your "seed crop"?). And they're the best soil improvement you can get.
Now I'm thinking that I should get going on this. If anyone can point me towards a resource I'll go ahead and start keeping some and let y'all know how it goes...Chris
Email this address for info: gvanhill@yahoo.com
He is a whole sale seller of breeder worms and
will help you thru the process of getting started
all the way thru marketing. Hope this helps some
Larry
Chris,
Yeah keep me updated on what you find in your search. Ide like to hear your turning over about 50,000 worms in 7 months [img]/forums/images/icons/cool.gif[/img] Myself i got the perfect location for road side sales and area for a worm farm but, i really dont have the time. I do alot of odd repair jobs in the huge mobile home park my inlaws live in. Its a senior park with about 500 units and my name is golden down there. Ive done alot of repairs for fixed income people there and have often thought about that full time as a escape from my tool and die job. I also till gardens, bush hog and posthole dig on the side. Do me a favor...make a big go of the worms and convince me to go for it also. I think there is a easy additional income of 10-15 grand a year with minimum work involved and the right sales outlets. Good luck to ya
Larry
larry, have you given a thought to opening up your own machine shop?
i got burned out bout 15 yrs ago, wanted to change careers, but instead started my own shop and competed head to head with the man i quit working for....
doesnt really take much, i started with a used mill and a lathe that MSC financed for me...then added on as I made some money ....
I was contacted by Gil, who you had referred to me. I've gone ahead and bought (well, working on it - he doesn't have a web site to order them so I have sent in an order form and a check) some worms.
I've gone with a pound of "Red Wigglers", that I could probably find and propagate on my own property (except that I haven't actually done so). I also ordered some "European Bait Worms", that are quite a bit larger. I'll grow both and see what happens.
Startup costs for all are about $75, without any equipment or container considerations. I figure it can't hurt - at the worst it'll be some really expensive fertilizer (hey, dead worms have gotta make tomatoes grow, right? [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] )
So far so good. This is something I've wanted to check out, so I'll keep you posted but there probably won't be much news for a while...Chris
Yeah i thought about my own machine shop. My son is a machinest also. He is just getting started though. He works for a different company than i do. There is a real good opportunity for small mom and pop shop here in my area. The start up cost was allways my concern and the learning of quoting jobs. I wouldnt have to compete with the company i work for. All the molds and dies we build is all for our company. I just broke the 20.00 p/h mark plus the benifits we get would be real hard to walk away from. It scares the he#$ right out of me thinking about it. Can you give any details on your experiance so far on your own? Any advice would be great,
Larry
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