Worms livin' large in Hartsville

Not many think of worms as being amorous, but then there’s Paul Duchock, who raises nightcrawlers for a living at VermiDirt Farms near Hartsville.

Duchock’s involved in vermi composting, or the raising of worms in order to have them process organic material. He collects the worm castings.

“These castings are basically worm poop,” he said. “This poop contains highly concentrated nutrients that will help you grow more healthy plants without the use of artificial fertilizers and pesticides.”

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Paul and Wanda Duchock harvest "worm poop" at their property in Hartsville. Morning News photographer Angela E. Kershner takes you on the guided tour.

Duchock said earthworms are born to clean up after nature. They help in the production of rich topsoil from spent plant and animal materials. They have been enjoying the earth for hundreds of thousands of years — longer than humankind.

Duchock orders the worms, red wigglers and European nightcrawlers, and they are delivered to his house in burlap bags filled with peat moss.

He places them in bins filled with a mixture of compost consisting of chemical-free grass clippings and shredded newspaper. There they “graze” to their hearts’ content.

But there’s more than just grazing. In short, the compost is worm utopia.

“I place them in all that bedding material and just let them do the three things worms love to do the most,” Duchock said, “and that’s eat, make love and poop.”

Duchock said the worms are the best workers in the world because they never sleep. They do their thing around the clock.

After the worms have done what they do best, he takes the bedding and places it on a vibrating screen, worms and all. Castings fall through the screen and the worms and undigested matter meet each other in a separate bin. The lusty worms are given additional bedding and sent back to work.

The worm castings are placed in 20-ounce plastic bags and taken to the Pee Dee State Farmer’s Market. Duchock and his wife, Wanda, have a booth (No. 63) they operate there on Fridays and Saturdays.

“Our mission is to educate everyone that the health of the soil governs the health of the human race,” he said. “Man can undo God’s work, but man can’t redo God’s work.”

But how do worm castings help plants?

Duchock used a simple illustration. He said it is nearly impossible to suck an ice cube through a straw. If the ice melts, then the water from the ice can pass through the straw.

“Using that example, think of the nutrients in the soil and worm castings as the ice cube and the roots of the plant as the straw,” he said. “The bacteria in the worm castings acts not only as the heat that melts the ice cube, but also makes the straw stronger. The bacteria makes the nutrient pieces smaller and the plant roots effectively larger by inducing the plants to grow a more fibrous root system.”

Duchock was a senior nuclear operations instructor before finding himself unemployed. He learned about things nuclear while serving 11 years in the Navy on and off nuclear submarines.

“I had to come up with a method to earn a living,” he said. “I researched worms and here I am. I’m starting to make a little profit. I’m beginning to get some repeat customers who come back with praise for this product.”

Duchock has a Web site, www.vermidirtfarms.net. His business telephone number is (843) 332-1859.