Worms are more powerful than the African elephant and more important to the economy than the cow
Charles Darwin
Welcome to The Worm Farm
At The Worm Farm, we’re dedicated to transforming food and farm waste into rich, sustainable compost through the power of earthworms. Founded by Simon and Rosa Hill, our mission is rooted in a love for regenerative farming and sustainable innovation, honed by years of experience in agriculture, engineering, and natural sciences.
With a farm nestled on the Isle of Wight, we embrace island life and the unique opportunities it offers for cultivating resilient ecosystems. Our signature product, the Minhocasa—inspired by flow-through wormery systems pioneered in California and Australia—was born from Simon’s engineering expertise and Rosa’s lifelong passion for horticulture. The Minhocasa is more than a wormery; it’s a scalable, regenerative system that supports everything from home gardens to large farms, turning waste into nutrient-rich compost and worm tea, a natural boost for soil health.
Both Rosa and Simon have deep ties to the land. Rosa grew up amidst banana and sugarcane fields in Madeira before moving to London, where she kept her green thumb active through urban gardening. Simon, raised on an arable farm in Cambridgeshire, pursued engineering and a successful career in business before rediscovering his passion for the land alongside Rosa. In 2012, they acquired their Isle of Wight farm with the goal of giving back to the earth and reducing their carbon footprint.
Today, The Worm Farm champions regenerative farming methods like no-till and mulching, working to enrich the soil naturally. Every Minhocasa worm house supports this vision, making composting accessible and efficient, helping farms, gardeners, and households join in the movement toward a sustainable future.
Join us as we cultivate a greener world, one worm at a time.
Benefits of Worm Castings
There are many benefits to using worm castings over traditional plant food. These include:
- Excellent in starting new plants from seed or transplants.
- Improves germination and reduces transplant shock.
- Improved root growth and structure.
- Timely release of plant available nutrients (no risk of fertilizer burn).
- Improved soil structure and porosity for a better root environment.
- Improved moisture infiltration rates.
- Beneficial supply of microorganisms to surround soil and growing media.
- Great supply of water soluble nutrients to plants.
- Odourless
- Safe around children and pets and environmentally friendly
Why Worm Castings?
Worm castings, or vermicompost, is the natural nutrient-rich waste-product left after earth worms feed. It is much quicker to break down organic matter compared to conventional composting and has lower salinity levels making it better for use as a plant feed.
Worms can digest and break down many types organic matter such as wood chips, livestock manure or food waste. The castings are perfect plant food providing sustained release of vital minerals such as calcium, magnesium, nitrogen, phosphates, and potash slowly into your soil which is vital to plant growth. This also helps to improve the condition of the soil, and has been discovered that worm castings can reduce heavy metals found in waste. Composting waste though vermicompost reduces methane which would otherwise be released though landfill or incinerators.
As vermicompost contains uniformly mixed water-soluble nutrients, plants are able too easily to absorb them. Castings also contain worm mucus which helps prevent the washing away of nutrients from where they are needed into water courses, and helps the retention of moisture in the soil. Vermicompost can increase crop yield and plant growth, and improves root growth and structure.
The Worm Farm Castings
The Worm Farm use a specific species of earth worm that is fed a specially chosen food stock to provide high quality castings which we call “WIGHTCAST”.
The Worm Farm castings are processed and screened to a uniform ultra-fine 1/8” particle size for easier application and better diffusion into your soil. Worm castings will soon be available for purchase in bulk amounts that are measured by the meter, or as one ton super sacks which will cover cover approximately 1.5 acres. We also sell 5 litre and 20 litre bags for gardeners. So if you want a “Blast from the CAST” please contact the Worm Farm to discuss your soil needs.
Fascinating Worm Facts
Worms have no eyes, but are light sensitive. If exposed to light for more than an hour they can become paralysed.
Worms have no lungs. They breath through their thin permeable skin, which is covered in mucus which helps to dissolve oxygen in the air.
Worms have tiny hairs called setae on each segment of their body which allows the worm to move though the soil.
Earthworms predate all vertebrates on earth, and have been around for 600 million years.
Worms have five hearts.
There are about a million different species of worm.
Earthworms need a neutral pH to live, eating mostly soil and minerals. Compost worms can tolerate a low pH and will eat most kinds of organic waste.
Worms are able to eat their own bodyweight in a day.
One acre of land can contain 1 million worms.
Worms usually live 1-2 years, but some can live as long as 8 years.
Worms are hermaphrodites. An Adult earthworm can produce 80 eggs a year.
Contrary to popular myth, cutting a worm in half will kill it!
Send us a message
-
The Worm Farm
Oak Farm
Bartons Corner
Shalfleet
Isle of Weight
PO30 4ND
- 01983 221122
- info@theworm.farm
