By Phillip Shinoda

When Texas Worm Ranch owners Heather Rinaldi and Steve Clary came back on Tuesday after the Labor Day weekend, they received a nasty surprise. It seemed warm, so Heather went to check the thermostat and got no response. Steve climbed up to the 12-foot roof. When he got up there, he found that thieves had stolen all of the copper tubing and wiring in the units and rendered them unrepairable.

                                         
                             Photos; Steve Clary 

The thieves may have taken a couple of hundred dollars of copper, but the replacements would cost upwards of $30,000. And then the second shock. Although knowing that their landlord probably would not pay for the replacement since it was a triple net lease, they were shocked that the damage was not covered by their insurance. Not only will the Ranch have to replace the A/C units but they have to install a high-tech survaillance system to deter future thefts.

Heather says that small business owners should review their lease and insurance policies to make certain that a blow like theirs would not have a catastrophic impact on the business. Not only was there a need to replace the air conditioning, but also a 40  to 50 percent loss of the worm population that will take some time to recover. (If you would like to help, Worm Ranch has a statement that is at the end of this article).    

The loss was as emotional as it was financial. Getting back to work after the theft has sometimes been difficult. However, air conditioning has been installed (although not paid for) and the production routine is starting to be restored. Heather says the social impact of their business is to make people successful organic gardeners. The social role is one of the reasons Worm Ranch pushes on. Photo Texas Worm Ranch

There is a lot of activity at the Worm Ranch now. Working to make sure that the surviving worms are fed and watered.

On a recent day there was a delivery of compostable material (garbage with only vegetables) from Recycle Revolution. Eddie and Aaron unloaded three containers, one weighing about 500 pounds. The compost gives rich food to the worms. Given the amount of garbage in the worm beds, one might think that it would smell, but it does not smell like garbage.

On the same day, NBC 5 Garland reporter Tammy Mutasa did a story that aired on Sept. 11. See the report here. There were also stories in the Dallas Observer and Dallas Morning News.  

How I can help?  Go to   http://www.txwormranch.com/

Worm Emergency!

The time is now for all good gardeners to come to the aid of their Texas Worm Ranch.

How Can You Help Us and Help Yourself to the Best Gardens and Landscapes Ever?  Many thanks to those of you who have offered donations or help, but what we really need is to earn your business now and show you what a great product we offer.  We are asking you to help us now by joining a Monthly Worm Casting CSA.  Many farmers and ranchers have Community Supported 
Agriculture (CSA) programs.  This is where the farmer/rancher asks for support to plant or grow their product, and provides a weekly or monthly basket in return to their supporters.  Would you please consider helping us in a similar fashion?  We will have a separate program for both our local customers and mail order customers, so both can participate in helping us to keep helping you.

We are also offering our very own Texas Worm Ranch logo t-shirt as part of these offers and for sale separately below.

Local Customer Program:  Monthly pickup at our White Rock Local Market booth or by appointment at Texas Worm Ranch of 10 lb bag of castings, 1 Worm Wine and our thank you gift to you, an organic cotton Texas Worm Ranch t-shirt.
$240 Yearly Subscription
Monthly Value of:
120 lbs total of worm castings ($240 value)
12 gallons of Worm Wine ($84 Value)
Total Value:  $324 plus our exclusive Texas Worm Ranch Organic Cotton Tshirt in your size 

To Buy products, go to http://www.txwormranch.com/

Phillip Shinoda is the editor of Green Source DFW. Contact him at Phillilp@GreenSourceDFW.org.

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