Pat McNally, of Cascumpec, started farming worms for vermicompost about seven years ago. He has since turned his hobby into a small business, selling both worm castings and seed-starting mixtures at the Summerside Farmers’ Market under the name New Earth Worm Castings. - Colin MacLean/SaltWire
Worm farmer Pat McNally said that a pound of his red wriggler earthworms can eat a pound of organic food scraps in a day and produce about a quarter pound of nutrient-dense fertilizer. - Colin MacLean/SaltWire McNally sells bags of both castings and a seed starting mix in many sizes. For example, a two-pound bag of castings normally goes for about $7, while a 25-pound bucket would be about $80. He is looking to start selling worm tea at some point, but that is still being developed.
“I told her I wanted worms – and she’s been regretting it ever since,” he said with a chuckle in an interview with SaltWire.“At first it was just a hobby. But I saw how fast they grew – if they were treated well, they produce quite a bit .” “ is good for food security and also for nutrition security if we could use it at a larger scale, thus reducing our carbon footprint.”Red wriggler worms are considered ideal for vermicomposting because they naturally live in the top layer of soil and convert large quantities of organic material into compost. - Colin MacLean/SaltWire