A new, old idea, a busy week ahead, farm fun

Late last week as Mama and Kimberlyn were talking, Kimberlyn mentioned starting a worm farm. That is something I thought about while Mama and I still lived in West Virginia. In fact, until a few years ago I still had the video I ordered from the company offering a special climate-controlled bed for raising worms. Since, at the time, I did not look much further – those were the pre-internet days – it was the cost and placement of the apparatus that kept me from getting started then. Now, Mama and I are discovering that it does not take any special equipment to raise worms. In fact, it is quite simple to get started and we are doing so as quickly as possible. Whether or not it is as simple to succeed will be evident soon enough.

Right now, we are almost perfectly located to start this project. The farm provides some, if not much of the compost and other materials required to have a pretty efficient set up. We have an abundance of manure from goats, chickens and cows to feed to the worms. We have the well house to get the operation started and allow room to expand if we do succeed. We have an enormous abundance of leaves each year that the worms can feast upon in measured doses. We have a generous supply of friends who will save papers for us to shred and feed to the worms. The key in getting going is to not fall behind on the “feed” we need for the worms to consume as they reproduce. We should be able to get started this week with our first bed. From there we can help Kimberlyn get her first bed set up. At least, that is the plan.

Raising worms takes time. Eight to twelve weeks are required before either the worms or the castings they have created can be harvested, depending on the size of containers used to raise the worms. So, getting started soon is important to me. I plan on retiring next year about mid-year. So, generating an income from worm farming will take many months to achieve. Now is the time to get going and see how large an operation will be required on our part to make this work. At the very least, we will produce our own worms and organic fertilizer with little out-of-pocket cost. Everything past that is a benefit, but we are investigating how to scale this up to a small commercial business over several years. Having a profitable farm will be a dream come true for me and Mama.

Along with starting the worm farm, Mama and I are looking into getting ducks. I mentioned this idea earlier but in the past few days Mama has made some interesting contacts that will facilitate incorporating those fowls into our flocks. The ducks it seems are more pet-like of a bird. Even to the point that they can be trained to answer to specific names and be individually called out of the flock to be hand-fed treats. That should prove fun. With the additional variety of meat and eggs, they seem a good idea to pursue. Maybe next year I can look into starting a hydroponic fish production set up. I have looked at that for years as well.

Saturday, I was struck by a newer idea. That of raising peacocks. I have opposed them in the past but am giving the idea further consideration. It will take a dedicated enclosure to do so, but they could provide some income opportunity as well since their eggs sell for as much as $39 each and the hatchlings can fetch upwards of $50 - $150 each. The shed plumage of the cocks can be sold to crafters as well. Since it is difficult to tell the hens from the cocks at hatching, it is a take-what-you-get for buyers. Problematic for me and Mama, but we will over buy and hope for the best. We have two lines of opportunity to get those birds as well. I was curious if peacocks or other peafowl are edible, and it seems that they are. Reports say that they taste like turkey. That would be an interesting Thanksgiving dinner entrée. Like Grandpa said years ago, the real benefit to owning a farm is that you can eat your mistakes.

I have a full week ahead. I am teaching classes on Tuesday and Thursday. Wednesday and Friday are taken up with company activities. On Friday, those activities will include Mama. The company has planned a tailgate party for the afternoon. A great idea since many of the persons hired in the past twelve months have not met those of us who have been with the company for longer periods of time. It will be a chance for all of us to meet and greet. The only issue is that the temperature is forecast to be 105 degrees that afternoon. So, it will be a very warm meet and greet.

Meanwhile, all our evenings are filled with farm related chores – picking up hay, setting up worm beds, starting on the peafowl and duck enclosures, fixing fence in the barn lot in preparation for getting two cows of our own, cleaning equipment to get ready to harvest honey, etc.

I don’t want to make everyone jealous, but this really is fun.