Library

Raising Earthworms Successfully

Summary

Earthworm growers can make money by selling earthworms and vermicompost or from tipping fees (charging to have organic materials normally disposed of in landfills "tipped" by a dump truck onto the worm grower’s site, to be fed to the earthworms). Vermicomposting is the process of turning organic debris into worm castings (manure). The focus is on processing the waste rather than creating ideal conditions for raising earthworms. Earthworm size and their reproductive rates are frequently lower than those of the same species raised in vermiculture systems. Large vermicomposting facilities typically make money primarily from tipping fees, followed by sales of castings, and then, in a distant third place, by sales of earthworms.