POULSBO — Living in a woodshed that sits 20 feet away from Julie and Danny Fritts’ home are thousands of new Poulsbo residents. Albeit temporary, but residents nonetheless. There are so many in that tiny woodshed the Fritts won’t get to know them individually before they’re shipped off to places as far away as Alaska.

The new neighbors – who survive on scrap fruits and vegetables – are kept in two insulated 20-foot by 40-foot tanks.

It’s not a well-known operation. Danny actually calls it “Poulsbo’s best kept secret,” and he and his wife are the masterminds behind it: Worm trafficking.

It’s not illegal. Actually, the Fritts’ trillions of wriggling, writhing worms are a highly prized commodity. Their worm farm is one of a small handful in western Washington.

What’s taken eight years to perfect — as far as growing, cultivating and feeding the wriggly things — is finally working. The Fritts’ own and run their 3 in 1 Worm Ranch, a Poulsbo first.

The Fritts, who started out with 10 pounds of worms, now estimate they have between 300 to 500 pounds in each of their insulated tanks.

“One adult worm can reproduce 16 times every one to three months,” Danny said. Figuring out the multiplication and implications of that takes about just as long as the reproduction.

“The call for worms is so much, we’ll never be enough,” Julie said. Although the Fritts’ said worm farms aren’t as rare as people normally expect, they estimate only a handful are commercial farms in Western Washington.

On top of selling worms for aiding gardens nation-wide, the Fritts’ are even starting a line of products, sold in the garden department of Poulsbo’s Central Market. Their signature items, they said, are their Worm Tea and dried worm castings.

Although it might sound like a new-age, alternative, hippie treat, the tea is strictly plant food.

While most might be familiar with worm castings – the released remains of worm chow — the tea is also a direct product of the worm. “It’s actuality worm pee,” Julie said. “It’s a natural insecticide.”

Between the worm tea and castings, it’s the best fertilizer plants could ever have, the two agreed.

As orders for worms slither in from all over the country, the Fritts are starting another hot ticket item more for locals. It’s pre-started “do-it-yourself” working worm farms. The black, plastic container is about one foot by one foot. It holds about a pound of worms and contains three trays: The bottom one collects the “worm tea.”

The working farms, which the Fritts’ sell for $100, come complete with worms, start-up help, advice on weekly care, feed, and a complimentary check-up visit.

“All they have to do is feed them,” Danny said. “We are underbidding it for our business start up.”

Care and feed of the worms is pretty simple: drop in some left-over food and veggies and for dessert– if they’ve been extra special – a nice treat of manure will do just fine.

“Worms love manure,” Julie said. “A lot of farmers use worms in their composting. Farmers have all that manure. In Australia, composting of all those ranches with sheep and (other livestock) are done with worms.”

For a family of two to four, one working farm is perfect, Danny said, adding that one pound of worms eats four to six pounds of food each week. “We like to recycle and it’s a good way to take care of our leftover vegetables,” Julie said. The Fritts’ do have a specialty worm chow, however, which they lovingly referred to as “worm Purina.” The fine-powder food is the equivalent to our dietary nutrition supplement and used to fatten the worms up for harvesting, Danny said.

It’s no wonder the Fritts’ earned their new neighborhood nicknames.

“A lot of people have started referring to us as the worm doctors,” Danny said. “But after eight years of trial and error, we know what works.”

For more information go to www.3in1wormranch.com.