This niche is crawling with opportunities

The spirit of enterprise isn’t squashed under a “big box” outlet. It’s actually alive below it, as well as in turf from sea to shining sea. I’m talking about worms, the bait that keeps on wriggling despite the best efforts of lure manufacturers and manifest pavement destiny.

This guide to earthworm hatcheries in the U.S. connects you to a rollicking world of worm distributors doing what made this country great, making up nicknames for products and pitching their superior qualities. You’ll find dealers for “huge, strong California redworms” and “the European Nightcrawl- er,” a name given to one robust strain discovered by a wholesaler on a trip to Azerbaijan.

But there’s more than cheap bait on the line here. From worm bin rejuvenators to a book by rabbit expert Howard “Lucky” Mays on the exciting niche of raising worms under rabbit hutches, you may just feel the earth move under your feet at the prospect of a career in vermiculture.

-- Joe Robinson