New business helps landscapers, gardeners

Throughout the past years, it seems that “going organic” has become an increasingly popular agricultural development, and many businesses are catering to this movement of evolving towards a greener earth.

North Texas Organics and Wormery has found its own way to give back to mother nature by establishing a business focused on bettering the earth and the people who inhabit it.

Brothers, Nate and Kevin Bruce recently established North Texas Organics and Wormery in February 2009, and the origination process was quite organic itself. Kevin Bruce’s wife, Cody Bruce, maintained a home garden of her own, but she wanted to use purely organic soil to improve the health of her plants. From this point on, Kevin and Nate made plans to produce their own fertilizer to accommodate their needs and develop a business throughout the process.

“It’s a market I never thought I would have considered, but it’s interesting and pretty cool”, said Nate Bruce.

North Texas Organics and Wormery is a worm farm located close to the Gainesville community, just outside of Lindsay. It is here that the Bruce brothers have found a way to cultivate the earth through the business of worm farming. The two brothers built their own facility in only two months and they are now operating with 16 bins that hold the worms and fertilizer.

Worm farming, also known as vermiculture, is the process of composting through the use of earthworms to create a fertilizer. Raw compost is collected and specialized worms, known as Red Wigglers, ingest the compost piles and disperse worm castings into the soil. These worms are specialized earthworms used specifically for fertilizing, and North Texas Organics receives their worms from Vermipro in San Diego, California. Nate Bruce said that this process takes only a few days, and it is a product that, essentially, creates itself from the elements of the earth. It is a operation that creates a completely organic product through completely organic methods.

“Anything that comes from the earth can go back to the earth, and that’s what we strive to do”, said Nate Bruce.

North Texas Organics and Wormery’s fertilizer offers something that store-bought fertilizers cannot. When compared to more commercial forms of fertilizers, Nate Bruce said that his product is healthier for the land. Bruce also said that most non-organic fertilizers contain chemicals such as petroleum that can do more hindering than helping when plant growth and health are considered. Nate Bruce mentioned that another benefit to his type of fertilizer is its ability to continuously prepare the soil for each season, which is something that other fertilizers cannot do. The fertilizer of North Texas Organics is said to make the plants grow stronger and produce bigger yields. “Other types of fertilizers are almost all chemicals and nothing living”, said Nate Bruce “Our product is completely organic.”

North Texas Organics and Wormery is still in the beginning stages of a blooming business, but they hope to offer a variety of their services to the land and the people.

“It’s not just healthy for the earth, but its healthy for us too”, said Nate Bruce.

The Bruce brothers collect compost from horse ranches around the area to use for their business, and in turn, they eliminate and recycle the waste produced by the livestock. They also provide fishing markets with live bait when the worms reproduce in excess amounts, but their main product of service is the organic fertilizer. They produce liquid fertilizers and compost blends of both compost and worm castings to cater to the varieties of a landscaper’s needs.

The business is hoping to provide landscapers, farmers, and “mom and pop” flower shops with a way to organically grow their products. Nate Bruce said that he has contacted landscaping businesses in the area, and their interest in North Texas Organics is peaked. “Some landscaping businesses are traveling to Dallas for out kind of product” said Nate Bruce. They also offer a home vermicompost kit for the everyday gardener. The kit includes a bin, bedding, one pound of red wigglers, and detailed instructions on how to keep your worms healthy.

The Bruce brothers hope their home grown idea can provide the area with a means to improve their own home grown. More information on this developing business can be found on the website, www.northtexasorganics.net or by contacting North Texas Organics and Wormery at (940) 594-0001.