Rocky Mountain Worm Company.

• Author: Peterson, Eric
• Position: HOME AND GARDEN

Jay Williams graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University and came home to Colorado Springs in 2010. His green-thumbed father, Ken, had started using compost in the garden, but something was missing: worms.

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"You need a lot of worms to keep your garden healthy," says Jay.

It follows that Ken and Jay bought a Worm Factory 360 and set up a home-based worm farm. After navigating the learning curve, it was time to scale up and go pro last year.

Today the Williams' Rocky Mountain Worm Company sells worms, worm cocoons and worm-farming equipment, but its primary product is worm castings--"worm poop," explains Jay. "That's the staple of the business.

"When you feed worms decayed compost, they digest it into something that is almost perfect compost," says Jay, touting its pH neutrality and vibrant microbe population. "It turns into a living product."

The father-son team first sold worm castings in 2012 and opened a retail store this year. The...