By: Bentley “Compost Guy” Christie
Meet my friend John.
He’s got worms. Thousands upon thousands of them.
So why is he smiling, you ask?
Well, it’s hard to say for sure, but I like to think it has something to do with the fact that he (accidentally) figured out how he could get even more serious about his favorite (dirty) hobby – worm composting – while making his wife even happier in the process.
Many of you worm fanatics (especially those with non-worm-composting spouses and significant others) will know that this is no small feat. Even the most understanding of partners can be less than supportive of the “habits” of a chronic worm head!
John’s lovely wife Sarah was no exception.
Back when John first caught the worm composting “bug”, Sarah was cautiously supportive – assuming (perhaps hoping?) it was just another of his crazy, wacky (but usually brief) phases of intense focus on a new odd-ball hobby – but she still gently encouraged him to keep his “hobby” fairly well-hidden.
So, where did John keep his earliest Worm Bins?
In his home office closet!
😆
The Challenges of a Growing Worm Herd
As you might guess, worm composting wasn’t just a kooky “phase” for John. Even the confines of his office closet couldn’t dampen his enthusiasm.
But he DID end up with a “problem”.
At some point along the way John upgraded from a Worm Factory to a Worm Inn*Â – thus sealing his fate as a vermicomposting junkie. He absolutely loved (and still loves) the system. But it got to the point where his Inn was getting overloaded with worms (remember, expanding into multiple systems wasn’t exactly an option).
Here is a YouTube video he posted, showing the sorts of worm densities he had in his system:
On a whim, he decided to try his hand at selling some of his extra worms.
He came up with pricing strategy ($5 for 100 worms), put a small ad up on Craigslist. And the rest is history.
It didn’t take long for his first order to come in.
The result: a somewhat smaller worm population…and $30 burning a hole in his pocket.
Clearly, starting this little worm business had been a great idea!
But it was actually John’s next idea that was much, MUCH better!
“What To Do With This Extra $30? Hmmm…”
Being the exceptionally smart man that he is, he decided to take his wife out to dinner. He had fun. Sarah had fun. The meal was $30 less than it would have been otherwise. What’s not to love about that?
John knew he was onto something.
I think you can start to see where this is going!
Yep. John continued to sell more worms…which funded even more dates with his wife!
At first it was mainly dinner, and/or movies – but he eventually started putting money towards bigger (and more significant) venues, such as concert tickets. Even an anniversary weekend getaway!
Needless to say, Sarah was impressed!
Maybe John’s weird hobby DID have some perks after all!
😉
Sarah Encourages John to Come Out of the Closet
No, no…not THAT “closet”! lol
At some point along the way, it was decided that John’s home office was going be converted into a bedroom. Obviously, this wasn’t going to be the sort of “bedroom” that also happens to have a vermicomposting system in the closet!
This had John concerned.
Was Sarah finally going to put an end to his indoor vermicomposting hobby?
Of course not.
She not only invited him to move the worms from the closet to their laundry room, but she even let him upgrade to a larger system (a Worm Inn Mega*)!
😎
Love Worms In Mysterious Ways, I Tell Ya!
Yuk, yuk!
(Thanks very much to John and Sarah for letting me share their cute story! I hope all of you enjoyed it as much as I did.)
* UPDATE: The Worm Inn brand was basically discontinued when owner Jerry Gach passed away in 2018. If you are looking for a similar system, I recommend the Urban Worm Bag or the VermiBag.