AT THE back of Wyatt Muhling’s garden, just behind the cubby house, stands a large black tub filled with compost and worms.
It may seem innocuous but it’s the beginning of Wyatt’s empire because the seven-year-old sells worm juice and is turning quite the
profit.
When Natalie and Scott Muhling’s eldest son said he wanted the latest LEGO City set, they knew the price tag put it out of reach as being a ‘just because’ kind of gift.
The set he had his eye on costs upwards of $100 and it appeared unlikely young Wyatt would be able to start building his dream set until Christmas.
December may only be a few months away but to a child, a few months seem forever.
Wyatt had seen videos of children who kept worm farms and had been asking to start one of his own.
Mr Muhling knew the value farmers and gardeners placed on worm juice and thought perhaps keeping worms and selling their ‘juice’ would teach his young fellow some valuable lessons while enabling him to earn money towards buying the LEGO set he wanted.
The pair went to the hardware shop and purchased a large black container on legs to keep it off the ground. It has a tap at the base so all the fluid from the working farm’s ecosystem could be drained directly into containers.
The liquid the worm farm produces is called worm juice, wee or tea. Once Wyatt had his little farm situated, his dad decided more lessons in business were needed if this was to be a success.
Along came branding and in no time at all, Wyatt was the sole director of Wyatt’s Worm Wee. The family went even further and helped him create information brochures detailing what worm wee was and how it worked. These were printed and laminated, as were labels. Nothing was done in half measures. Empty plastic soft drink and juice bottles were meticulously rinsed, original labels removed and filled with the amber juice that flowed from the worm farm tap.“When they do a wee, this goes down through the soil and food scraps and stays at the bottom until we turn on the tap,” Wyatt explained of the process.
“We give them lots of scraps like eggshells, banana peels, pumpkin seeds but they don’t like avocado seeds.”
Wyatt’s mum said the family did research on how best to capture the worm ‘wee’.
“You can’t just use it straight from the compost bin, you have to filter and dilute it,” explained Wyatt.
Alongside the learning of new things and discoveries, something else happened ... Wyatt started making money.
It turned out worm juice is rather sought after by local greenthumbs. His dad helped him to set up a roadside stall complete with signage, laminated information cards and labelled bottles.
Once word got out, scores of folks made the trip to the Muhling’s Boonah house to pick up a few litres of Wyatt’s Worm Wee.
Every cent earned goes into a savings tin. The tin is getting heavier by the day and Wyatt is getting closer to his goal.
“They don’t just get what they want, they need to work for it,” said Mrs Muhling of her three young children.
“We are happy to help them however we can, but they need to learn money doesn’t just grow on trees and they need to work for it."