Iowa Worm Farm

08/31/2026

I skipped my cold plunge this morning.

I know.

Scandalous.

It left me thinking about one of the phrases I repeat whenever I want to quit:

“You can do hard things.”

I still believe that.

But what if working hard has never been my problem?

I’ve always believed I could become the best in the world at something. I haven’t done it.

That hurts to admit.

I can look back at an enormous amount of work. I can also see my attention spread across a hundred different things.

Right now, I believe my best opportunity is perfecting Iowa Worm Farm’s extraction and brewing process for lawns.

Doing that may require something harder than lifting another bucket or working another long day.

It may require choosing one process, observing it carefully, and allowing 99 other interesting things to remain unfinished.

Maybe focus isn’t only choosing what to work on.

Maybe focus is deciding what you’re willing to leave undone.

Read the full post, “The Hard Work of Being Patient”:

https://iowawormfarm.com/blogs/field-notes/the-hard-work-of-being-patient

Hard work can become a distraction. Here’s what brewing soil biology is teaching me about patience, focus, and giving one process enough time.

08/25/2026

I always thank people when they offer to help with Iowa Worm Farm.

And then I keep carrying the buckets myself.

Last week, that caught up with me.

It was about 90 degrees with no wind, and I was loading the first bin of my new compost system—105 five-gallon buckets and roughly 3,000 pounds of material that needed to be prepared and lifted by hand.

Eventually, I sat down on a bucket.

When I tried to stand back up, I couldn't.

You might think that would have been the moment I decided to stop.

It wasn't.

Apparently I'm still learning the difference between being *able* to do something myself and needing to do everything myself.

But the experience uncovered something else that I'm a little nervous to admit:

**What if I ask for help and no one comes?**

And maybe an equally scary question:

**What if somebody does?**

That's what this week's Field Note is about.

Maybe accepting help isn't admitting that I can't carry the bucket.

Maybe it's recognizing that I don't have to carry every bucket myself.

https://iowawormfarm.com/blogs/field-notes/what-if-no-one-comes

I’ve always been good at doing things myself. But building Iowa Worm Farm is forcing me to ask a harder question: What if I actually ask for help?

08/17/2026

“No one is going to believe this.”

Both glasses contain water from the same well at my Iowa Worm Farm shop.

The orange water came directly from the hydrant. The clear one passed through a gravity-fed filtration system I built using layers of rock, sand, and pyrolyzed charcoal.

The visual difference is incredible—but I’m waiting for the laboratory results before drawing conclusions about what the filter is actually removing.

Building the system also taught me something I wasn’t expecting.

The hardest part was washing 300 pounds of sand, approximately 20 pounds at a time, until the water ran clear. I repeatedly wanted to decide it was “good enough” and move on.

But if the filter didn’t work, I would always wonder whether the design had failed—or whether I had compromised it by rushing.

Somewhere in all that rinsing, I realized I was treating the task as time standing between me and the finished filter.

But washing the sand was the work.

And those hours were my life, too.

This week’s Field Notes is about doing the work correctly, staying present while doing it, and what 300 pounds of sand managed to teach me.

Read “Until the Water Ran Clear”:

https://iowawormfarm.com/blogs/field-notes/until-the-water-ran-clear

Building a gravity-fed water filter taught me that doing the work right matters—but so does being present for the slow, repetitive work along the way.

08/16/2026

The guy I bought these from thought I would only get one in the truck.

I got four.

Each of these IBC tote stands is roughly 50 inches by 50 inches by 24 inches. Once we had them stacked, he stood back, looked at the truck and said:

“I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t seen it myself.”

Then I caught him sneaking a picture when he thought I wasn’t looking.

He wasn’t the only one with questions.

My neighborhood group text started with this photo and a pair of peering eyes. The early reviews included:

“How is that even possible?”

And:

“It’s like Jenga.”

Building Iowa Worm Farm continues to require skills I never expected to develop. We can now add “advanced truck-bed geometry” to the list.

And yes, everything was secured before the truck moved. 😆

08/16/2026

A great day and a great event. Proud to play a part in any possible solution that improves water quality in Iowa and at the same time improves small farm profits by reducing inputs.
My favorite part of the day was watching my Dad speak and share his perspective.
I had so many great conversations and was able to raise awareness about the work we do to keep more waste out of the landfill.

08/13/2026

Four different kinds of mushrooms. One customer’s lawn. And one very happy worm farmer.

I was making a foliar application last week to help this lawn handle the stress of the summer heat when I started noticing mushrooms. Then another. And another. By the time I finished, I had found four distinctly different kinds growing throughout the property.

This is the customer’s first year using our worm casting extracts and nutritional applications to support the health of the soil and turf without synthetic fertilizers or pesticides.

Did our work cause these mushrooms to appear? I can’t honestly say that. They may have shown up without anything I’ve done.

But mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of fungi living beneath the surface. Seeing this much variety suggests there may be active fungal networks in the soil—and I take that as a very encouraging sign.

The goal isn’t simply greener grass. It’s helping rebuild a living system beneath it.

Sometimes that progress pops up where you can actually see it. 🍄

08/10/2026

Most days, progress doesn’t feel like progress.

It feels like unfinished projects, too many ideas, too many commitments, and not enough time.

Last week gave me a few moments where I could actually see how much of the Iowa Worm Farm journey is starting to come together.

I finished building my first Johnson-Su-style bioreactor on my own.

I found four different species of mushrooms growing in a customer’s lawn where I’ve been working to support soil biology.

And I harvested my first cabbage, added carrots I also grew, and turned them into sauerkraut.

None of these things are huge on their own.

But together, they made me stop for a minute and feel proud.

I’ve spent the last couple of years learning about worms, compost, fungi, soil biology, plant health, fermentation, and regenerative agriculture.

For a long time, they felt like separate projects.

Now I’m starting to see the system.

This week’s Field Notes is about that feeling of looking at how far there is left to go… and finally remembering to look back at how far you’ve already come.

Read the full post here:
https://iowawormfarm.com/blogs/field-notes/evidence-of-progress

Building soil, supporting biology, growing food, and learning as I go. A reflection on progress, pride, and seeing how far Iowa Worm Farm has come.

08/08/2026

The grass around a public pool probably doesn’t get much attention.

Until it starts disappearing.

The turf surrounding the North Liberty Aquatic Center deals with summer heat, heavy foot traffic, wet towels, chairs, coolers, and a lot of bare feet. Keeping it full and dense makes the space more comfortable for guests—and helps keep mud and loose soil from being carried into the pool and its filtration system.

I was there early in the morning applying a foliar nutrition treatment designed to help the turf remain strong and resilient during one of the most stressful parts of its growing season.

This wasn’t an application of herbicide, insecticide, or fungicide. It was a dilute treatment made with micronutrients, living algae, and a fermented botanical preparation.

That distinction matters to me.

Kids and families walk barefoot, sit, and lie directly on this grass. I used to see the little signs landscape companies placed after an application and mostly think of them as advertising.

I see them differently now.

I remember walking my dog around treated lawns. I remember keeping my own kids off our grass after I fertilized it. At the time, that seemed normal.

Today, my goal is to care for turf in a way that doesn’t make me feel like people need to avoid it.

I’ve even considered making my own sign:

“Everyone Welcome.”

The goal isn’t simply greener grass. It is dense, resilient turf that remains welcoming to the people who use it every day.

It may only be the grass beside the pool.

But the grass matters too.

Thank you to the City of North Liberty for trusting Iowa Worm Farm to help care for another of our community’s shared spaces.

08/06/2026

Lavender, lemonade, worms, and a whole lot of curious kids. That makes for a pretty good morning.

On July 29, our whole family joined Calyx Creek Lavender & Lodging for its Lavender Littles summer program. I had the opportunity to introduce kids—and quite a few adults—to the worms that help Iowa Worm Farm turn food waste into something useful for the soil.

Caitlin also gave us a look at how Calyx Creek processes its lavender and distills essential oil. They were actively distilling while we were there, and I’m not sure these photos can adequately communicate how incredible the entire place smelled.

We also continued a conversation about whether some of the byproducts from their lavender operation could eventually find a useful second life in our composting system. It is an idea we’ve discussed for a while, but the goal is to find something that works without adding unnecessary time or difficulty to their already-busy process.

Most importantly, we met a lot of great people, answered a lot of worm questions, and helped a few more kids see food scraps as something other than garbage.

The boba lemonade received unanimous Schechinger family approval, and Leo has already requested a stay in one of the treehouses for his birthday.

Thank you to Denise Schechinger, my boys, Taylor, Caitlin, and everyone at Calyx Creek for inviting Iowa Worm Farm to be part of such a fun morning.