Overview: Carolina Worm Castings is a source of organic soil additives for the home gardener as well as the commercial green house and landscape companies. We can provide the worms and worm bins for anyone wanting to start composting their food scraps or yard waste.

If you think you want to start a garden we have the needed soil and additives to make your garden a greener experience for your plants. Chances are the top soil was been removed from your yard when your house was built and what is left is” North Carolina Clay”. Our Garden Potting Soil has everything your plants need to grow and flourish. Top dress the plants with worm castings once a month and watch out! All your plants will grow well beyond your wildest expectations!

Why should you buy Carolina Worm Castings?

Because it is the right thing to do for your health, food, plants, the environment and supporting a local small business helps our local economy. The big fertilizer companies have convinced themselves and most Americans that by following government regulations their products are safe for humans and the environment. Their products work, but there is a hidden cost to our health and the environment. We believe it is time we take responsibility for what we choose to use, make, sell, buy, eat and support.

Ben Reckendorf: Founder & Owner

Ben Reckendorf started Carolina Worm Castings in 2009 as a way to get back to basics. He was impressed with the many benefits of Vermiculture and wanted to live his life promoting it. Composting with worms and using the casting to grow food is healthy for us and for the planet, reducing waste put into landfills and runoff pollution of our rivers, streams and drinking water.

Born in North Carolina and raised in rural Maryland, Ben spent his junior high adolescent years in the mountains of North Carolina in Celo Community attending the Arthur Morgan School. His ties to Arthur Morgan School have remained strong throughout the years. In the early 70’s he spent a year as a staff member and dorm parent. He has worked diligently for their fundraising efforts for their scholarship fund and helped organize several alumni reunions. Currently Ben is serving his 3rd term on the Board of Directors.

In the 70’s Ben visited a former Arthur Morgan School staff in Freedom, Maine. Ultimately, Ben purchased 30 acres of adjacent land in Freedom and weathered the Maine winters for 12 years, returning to North Carolina in 1988.

Ben currently resides in Apex, N.C. with his wife and daughter. He often visits with his extended family members who live throughout the Triangle area. When he is not working he enjoys spending his time back in the mountains of North Carolina or at the coast relaxing and fishing.

Didi McGuire: Staff Assistant (& Ben’s sister)

Didi McGuire,  six years younger than Ben, spent her childhood in Maryland and also attended the Arthur Morgan School in the North Carolina mountains.  She then moved to Chapel Hill where she attended Carolina Friends School and graduated from Chapel Hill High School.  Didi spent many years working in the restaurant business in Chapel Hill and the RTP.  She worked for several years at the Charles House Adult Day Care (founded by her mother and named for her grandfather, Reverend Charles Jones of Chapel Hill).

Didi thought she’d found her calling and spent 12 years as a legal assistant with a small Durham law firm until the economy forced a change in 2009.  She then took advantage of the opportunity to slow her pace of life and get back to basics as well.  She spent time volunteering at Spence’s Farm where her daughter was taking riding lessons and when an office position opened up she joined the staff at the farm.   In December 2010, Ben asked Didi to join him in January as Carolina Worm Casting’s first employee and she eagerly accepted!

Didi currently lives in Hillsborough with her husband and their 13 year old daughter.  Didi enjoys reading, cooking and watching her daughter ride horses.  She also enjoys spending time at the beach relaxing and surf fishing.