The Worm Lady

Bonners Ferry, Idaho, resident Marciavee Cossette talks to her Georgia Redworms with the same passion that other people talk to their plants; worms are her friends and her business. Cossette calls herself “The Worm Lady,” and is the owner of an eco-friendly worm fertilizer business that harnesses the excess waste produced by earthworms and sells it by mail order and at the Boundary County Farmer’s Market. “I feed the worms; they produce fertilizer that I give to my plants. I grow the plants, harvest the crop, and the cycle starts again,” Cossette says. Worm composting is a method of recycling waste into rich soil fertilizer. It is good for the environment because it turns food waste into a resource, conserves limited landfill space, recycles nutrients, and according to Cossette, “is completely odorless.” “It has a rich earth smell, but it does not stink—it is pure,” she said. The earthworm is small and blind, but its role in the ecosystem is profound. These organisms have been on earth long before humans, largely untouched by evolution due to their nearly perfect adaptation to their role in nature. “Earthworms are nature’s clean-up crew, aiding in the production of humus-rich topsoil from spent plant and animal materials,” says Cossette. The fun for Cossette began 17 years ago when she was offered 500 worms in an ammo box from the University of Washington extension office. She brought it home and has been hooked ever since. This style of worm composting can be done year round because it is done in worm bins filled with moistened bedding. Cossette buys the worm bins, made from recycled plastic, and uses coconut coir – ground up coconut shells — as damp bedding. This is the perfect bedding for the worms to live and bury waste in. Cossettte sets up her worm bins inside her garage, which is cooled by a fan in the summer and heated by space heater in the winter. Temperatures need to be kept between 50-70 degrees for the worms’ comfort. The worms do not like hot sun, heavy rain, and cold temperatures. If the worms experience too much light, they stop working. “I have nine bins with thousand of worms in each bin,” says Cossette. “They multiply very quickly.” Two bins house fishing worms only, where Cossette fattens them on powdered milk, corn meal, wheat flour, and flax. These worms are sold to local stores for fish bait. Cossette’s worm diet consists of fruit, veggies, egg shells, coconut coir, and coffee grounds. She does not give her worm’s meats, dairy products, fats, carbs, or protein. Worms digest these wastes to create liquid worm fertilizer. “Worms are picky eaters,” says Cossette. “They don’t eat seeds, but their favorites are watermelon, cantaloupe, and small pieces of lettuce.” Cossette says earthworm composting is perfect for people living in apartments and other residences that don’t have space for a compost pile. With the help of the worms, kitchen wastes are converted to rich humus. It takes about two and half months for the original bedding contents to turn brown and earthly looking with the worm castings. At this point Cossette separates the worms from the finished compost manually by dumping the contents onto a large plastic sheet. She then mixes some of the compost with new bedding, and starts the process over. The worms also discharge a liquid “poo” which drains to the bottom of the worm bin. Stacked ring-upon-ring, each section of the worm bin features a tap drain to collect compost “poo.” This “poo” is bottled in recycled containers by Cossette and sold as fertilizer. She mixes 1/2 cup worm liquid fertilizer into one gallon water and pours it on the topsoil of her indoor and outdoor plants, fruits, vegetables, trees, shrubs, bushes, and anything else that grows. “Liquid worm fertilizer is an environmentally friendly alternative to synthetic fertilizers and does not harm the environment,” says Cossette. The fertilizer is also completely safe to use around children and pets. Cossette emphasizes that taking worms out of their natural environment means there is a human responsibility to properly care for the worm habitat, so they can do their work. “I wouldn’t be here without the worms,” she says with a chuckle, “nor would anyone else.”