Black Gold, Wiggles & Worm Wisdom: Justin Hawrysh’s Soil-First Philosophy

This week on Yard to Table, Trevor and Ellen dig deep—literally—with Justin Hawrysh of Wiggle Room, a vermicomposting visionary and livestock whisperer redefining what it means to grow healthy food from the ground up. Raised in Connecticut and trained as an engineer, Justin bridges science and soil with a blend of curiosity, ingenuity, and grit.

He’s a compost-tea brewer, microbial matchmaker, pasture rotation strategist, and the proud co-founder (with his mom Monique Bosch!) of Wiggle Room, a company turning restaurant scraps into USDA-certified organic worm castings that are revitalizing gardens and farms across the region.

From pigs that till soil to chickens that lay through winter and sheep that cycle nutrients, Justin shares how multi-species farming and closed-loop composting make his home base—The Hickories—a sponge for biodiversity. It’s part farm science, part kitchen magic, and 100% inspiring.

Pull up a chair and a bucket of “black gold”—this is one conversation that’s guaranteed to get your soil (and your imagination) thriving.

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