Salton Sea Farms
Manufacturers of Organic/IFOAM approved Vermigro Products
                         

Located near the North Shore of the Salton Sea in the Coachella Valley of Southern CA Salton Sea Farms is now in its 4^th year of operation.  The farm was born out of the partnership/friendship between composter, biologist and vermiculture specialist John Beerman and experienced commercial/organic grower Steve Lee. 

John has a strong track record of success in composting and vermiculture starting in the San Diego area where he grew a successful worm farm operation (or “worm herd”) beginning back in the early 1990’s.

Salton Sea Farms started with only 2,000 #’s of worms and in a few short years the farm has grown to over 100,000 #’s of worms.  This phenomenal growth is a testament to their knowledge and to the consistent quality of work by both.  Earthworm Organics, the marketing arm for Salton Sea Farms, is now in the position to offer an almost unlimited supply of the highest quality vermicompost and vermicompost tea available anywhere.

       



Healthy worms equal consistently high quality products.

Let’s take a quick tour of our operation as we show why earthworms can make the very best organic fertilizer available and also why earthworm castings and “tea” quality can vary dramatically in effectiveness.  Using high quality castings and “tea” is of great value to the soil, the plants viability and ultimately the production quality and profitability of any growers operation.

 

The first step in developing top quality vermicompost is providing only the best feedstocks to the hungry worms.  Our worms dine on only the best OMRI approved greenwaste, horse manure and fresh water fish. 

 

This clean, low salt blend is composted following PFRP (process for reduction of pathogens) guidelines.  This requires that the temperature of the compost be maintained at least 132 degrees for minimum of 30 days while turning the pile a minimum of 3 times to insure consistency throughout.

 

 Like any other living thing the quality of what is consumed equals the overall health of the being and with earthworms this directly impacts the amount of nutrients and natural growth hormone that is available in their castings.  Without properly supplying this crucial first step no matter how well everything else is done the product won’t be of the highest quality. 



Our worms currently reside in 26 separate “beds” each 1000 - 1200 sq. ft. in size as we continue to expand to accommodate our growing worm population. The beds have shaded roofs because our worm herd lives in the desert. 

Each bed has its own automatic mister irrigation system that insures our worms don’t get too hot or thirsty.


Nothing but the best for our worms!

 

Basically, a worm’s day consists of two activities:
 

(1)  Worms have amazing appetites and actually will eat the equivalent of their body weight each and every day as long as they have proper food and adequate hydration.

(2)  And worms are very “promiscuous”…..a healthy and happy worm herd will reproduce at will and can double their numbers in as little as 60-90 days.

So a healthy and happy worm herd (like ours) will create an ever increasing supply of nature’s best organic fertilizer…..earthworm castings.  Our worms eat more than 50 tons of food every day and with very little food actually used up by the worm that equates to almost 50 tons of fresh, beneficial bacteria and microbial rich castings EVERY DAY!
 

The castings are separated from the beds and put into windrows to dry.  It’s amazing to many people the castings have no odor and their rich, dark appearance resemble coffee grounds. The castings will soon be ready for different product applications such as ...

(1)  They can be used “as is” or blended with quality greenwaste compost and sold in bulk to growers of all types.  Worm castings are a prized commodity in the growing community and are usually hard to find in any significant quantity ... we have all you need!

(2)  The castings can also be screened to a smaller more consistent particle size. 
This is important for golf course applications as well as for retail and some nursery applications. 


The screened castings can be delivered in bulk or packaged in convenient 30# or 50# bags.      
                        

(3)  But perhaps the best usage for our premium worm castings is to use them for the base of our highly concentrated worm tea.  Our Vermigro Tea uses a higher proportion of castings to water creating a concentrated base.  We then add additional sources organic sources of nitrogen, iron, calcium and balanced micronutrients adding more nutritional value and higher populations of active beneficial bacteria and fungi.

And since we are the manufacturer, if your operation needs a “custom brew” with a particular mix of ingredients we will happy to accommodate you.

For more details on what is included in Vermigro Tea please click here.

Salton Sea Farms has become a very large, efficient tea brewing operation.  The “sausages” pictured here are filled with screened earthworm casting and are hung on the sides of the tanks and then the mixture is aerated. 

The process is very similar to brewing a cup of your favorite tea with aeration substituted for the repeated “dunking” of the tea bag.

We brew in a controlled environment constantly monitoring for changes in concentration, ph, temperature as well as other factors.  A balanced blend of products and micronutrients are added in specific amounts/intervals when the proper environment is established for each.

 

The end result is a highly concentrated organic liquid fertilizer chock full of beneficial bacteria, fungi, organic nitrogen as well as many other nutrients that can provide immediate benefit for any plant, crop or turf application.

 

 

Once the brew process is completed the Vermigro Tea is then filtered to insure it flows through any drip irrigation system without the danger of blocking any drip tape or emitters.  The mixture is then pumped to an outside 4,000 gallon tank to be ready for shipment.         

As our operation has continued to grow we have found that we need more than a total of 8,000 gallons of tea at high demand times.

It is highly unusual to have this need because all the tea that is brewed is shipped immediately.  But because of a few of our larger acreage commercial growers wanting product for multiple fields at the same time we decided that we needed increase our short term storage capacity to meet this large demand. 
                        

We already had the capacity in our “brew house” to produce more tea at a time so we are adding 3 more outside storage tanks that will allow us to reach an amazing daily shipping capacity of 20,000 gallons!

 
 

Certainly not all our customers require this type of capacity….. Most of our customers start out ordering much less depending on their needs.  Because the tea is brimming with diverse populations of beneficial bacteria and other microorganisms it’s highly encouraged that the tea is applied as soon as possible. So only order what you’re planning to put to use….we’re happy to brew more as you need it.
 

 

 

While larger orders are shipped in large tanker trucks 6000 gallons at a time many of our customers order 1 or more of our 300 gallon “totes”.


















And we are pleased to be able to offer our customers the advantage of any quantity size delivery. 

                             
And by combining the Vermigro tea with the Vermigro earthworm castings your plants can achieve the ultimate “1-2 punch” that enhances all growing efforts no matter what you’re producing……and for all you organic growers out there…..our products are Organic and IFOAM approved.

Contact us so we can provide the details on how it can be both beneficial and cost effective to add Vermigro products into your growing program today!