Red wigglers are ‘smart as poop’ for your garden

(Doreen Manley, owner of ‘Smart as Poop’, a Red Wiggler vermicomposting business, is an expert after 10 years of research and experimenting in composting using the worms. Here, Doreen is at the family farm on Conley Road with a vermicomposting garden tower. Photos: Stittsville Central unless otherwise noted)

The Stittsville Goulbourn Horticultural Society learned a great deal about vermicomposting in September. Doreen Manley, founder of ‘Smart as Poop’ was the presenter and wriggled the audience through the process of how the Red Wiggler composting worm can convert household organic waste into nature’s most powerful fertilizer. Doreen also debunked the common myths associated with vermicomposting telling attendees that it is easy, odourless and very minimal maintenance is required.

(At the SGHS September meeting, Doreen Manley brought along a bouquet of her lovely Dahlias and garlic grown using vermicompost. She also gave out the vermicompost to members and her son displays the size of a tomato grown using vermicompost. Photos: Penny Horeczy)

Earlier this summer, Stittsville Central was invited to the 29 acre self-sustaining hobby farm that Doreen and her partner, Minh, operate just outside of Stittsville with the help of their children. Since purchasing the property 13 years ago, the couple have worked hard to develop their farm and small business on Conley Road. They also raise and sell chickens, fresh eggs, along with turkeys and a wide variety of vegetables.

As well as the farm side of life, they are now our area’s largest source for vermicomposting tools, supplies and Red Wiggler composting worms through their small business ‘Smart as Poop’. It all began 13 years ago with a season of failed crops when Doreen launched her vermicomposting journey and she hasn’t looked back. Their hobby farm is now exploding with life, Doreen says, “it is largely due to the vermicompost”.

(Just one of the garden tower levels brimming with Red Wiggler composting worms.)

The Red Wiggler is the most important ingredient in the vermicompost. The worm castings (also known as vermicast/poop) are organic and are the basis of manure for your garden. The worms consume your household waste/compost and their waste in turn is an excellent soil enricher being more nutrient rich and have a higher organic matter level. The composting of this waste provides more crop yield for plants due to the soluble nutrients and is far more cost-effective as fertilizer rather than manure.

(The Red Wiggler worms are raised in the family’s new barn that is energized by solar panels and climate controlled with a woodstove in fall and winter.)

With a background in health sciences, Doreen is on a mission to educate and introduce residents, fellow gardeners, students and educators to these “environmental heroes – the Red Wigglers themselves – and to help us all to play our part in the fight against the climate crisis”. Doreen has been visiting schools for the past year assisting teachers and students with their classroom gardening projects, vermicomposting and ECO Schools’ initiatives.

The members of the Horticultural Society gained great knowledge of the benefits when using vermicompost in their gardens. And, with a timespan of only three months, you can create your own vermicompost to be ready for the spring planting season by purchasing a start kit from Smart as Poop.

Learn how to start your own vermicompost using Red Wigglers by visiting the Smart as Poop website at www.smartaspoop.com. If you want more information, contact Smart as Poop by email at smartaspoop@gmail.com. You can also follow them on Facebook at this link.