Fun fact, for everyone worried about the worms "drowning", or "being too wet": worms breathe through their skin. Just like frogs. They don't drown under water, they only drown when the water has no oxygen in it. Like the video explains, the water in this system is oxygenated. The worms can breathe in it just fine. The most likely reason why people assume worms don't like water is because they see earthworms crawl out to the surface when it rains. But they don't do that because they don't like water. On the contrary, they are coming to the surface because the surface is wet, giving them an opportunity to migrate. When it's dry, they can't do that, they're often stuck in unfavorable conditions...especially in urban areas.
And how does a floating valve deal with the water both pumped to the top then taking the time to work its way down? Is the cycle SO quick only a negligible amount is added? If the water is pumped it's the float valve that I thought would cause the problem you see.
@@nandodando9695 There's a time delay. It won't try to refill after pumping the solution to the top. It takes about 20 min to get 80% run through. 1 hour to get 95% run through, 6 hours for 99% run through. After the time delay, when it tries to refill, the float valve will stop it from overflowing.
Holy cow I should know I never have an original thought. I "invented" something like this on paper just last week only to find out this guy's already improved my design, built it, and had a video made on it 5 months before I thought of it.
Without showing any statistics on the quality of the leachate (nutrients and number and species of microbes) I am forced to think that this is a gimmick and comparable to the claims by unscrupulous scammers a few decades ago about how much money people could make farming worms in their basements. Even the man promoting this on his channel is unsure about the final product (worm tea - which it aint) and doesn't recommend using it on any plants grown for human consumption. It defeats the whole purpose of farming worms.
Agreed. I wouldn't dare spend $775 USD on a worm composter unless I'm certain the resulting compost is truly rich with aerobic microbes. I sent an email to Dark Nectar Co-op asking whether the resulting compost has ever been analyzed by a soil microbiologist but I did not get a response.
It is for tea not compost, there are some concerns unfinished compost contains pathogens but it may be mitigated by aeration of tea. Pathogenic claims also unverified but suspected. My own DIY flood\collect system is highly effective, no downsides yet after 2 years but has a much higher finished compost content thus more potent liquid. I love it.
@@projectoldman3383 that was my concern also. The worm digestive system has ability to kill e coli, but in this sytem, not sure it's actually finished
Diego, will you please do an experiment for us. We all know that worms do not like light. Please open a drawer that has a lot of worms on the surface and a lot of water like at 1:45. Please leave the drawer open for 30 minutes. What will your worms do? In a composting bin that resembles nature, the worms would crawl underneath something to get away from the light whether it's compost, bedding or food. I suspect that your worms stay on the surface preferring the light more than the water.
I don't like the vagueness of his personality while trying so hard to sound intelligent while getting lost in a area we don't get all the answers... The second dude only confirms this... This was painful yet it's worm composting... Smh
Nice idea, but I'd be rather concerned about brewing rotting food scrap bacterias with a small percentage of worm castings. If there is any smell in my bin, the worm pee goes on ornamental plants only. But I'm still planning on relying on castings over leechate. Flow through is my plan.
Few points... Just a few things as background...I love the idea, 1. however i assume you sealed the wood ? In my climate the only affordable wood to use for something like this would be construction pine...and it will not last for more than a year or 2 then start rotting etc. 2. You said to hook up to "any tap", many peeps here may hook it to a municipal water supply...this would of course be a bad thing as these sources generally treat the water with chlorine and it will kill the worms and ALL microbes / bacteria (good AND bad ones) and effectively make the whole system sterile eventually. 3. The commentator guy said "never" empty, creating the impression it will never need to be emptied. You said its been going 14 months and you need not to have emptied it "yet". It will eventually need some emptying as there are small quantities of some minerals etc that are not eaten by the worms and are NOT soluble in water... 4. How does the water pass from drawer to drawer ? I assume through some type of sieve ? what size object can pass through the sieve ? Where would your worm eggs end up ? all in the bottom ? If the sieve will NOT let the worm and small worms pass through you will need to remove worms eventually to another setup (this would be a good problem to have)...so it links up with point 4...eventually you will need to empty something Otherwise awesome idea
At the present, I have some concerns with The Worm Tap. While I think the concept is convenient, novel, and there is something to build on, I think the risk of spreading pathogens is high to very high. I would not use the liquid from the worm tap directly on any food that you will harvest and consume. I think there is less risk of applying the tea to soils that don't contain edible foods or using it in a hydroponic type system. Given the risk potential, I would be cautious about using the tea unless you are confident that you know what is in it.
That's some key information you should incorporate make immediately known to interested parties. Maybe change the title: " ... for ornamental plants and trees only. Do NOT use for food or fruit production!"
The worm digestive kills e coli. It is remarkable. But yes. The circulating portion is what i'm worried about, as you can introduce bacteria that hasnt been processed through the whole system.
The worm look like they are being tortured and trying to escape from drowning. They are clearly stressed out. Worms like dark environment and breathe through their skin. There is a reason why they come above ground when it rains so they don’t drown. This looks horrible for the worms.
That's a really cool set-up. I'm a big fan of using worm castings and tea. I like how he threw in a bit of KNF, using indigenous microbiology. Look forward to your update on this system. Thank you
Thanks for introducing innovators and their systems! I’m not in the market for a worm tea factory but I learned something new here that makes total sense...Inoculating with local microbes!
There is no way the worms are doing anything in this system. The whole system appears to be a scam if you ask me. Bins are over feed like crazy. Dude, I don't even know where to start.
The plan is well designed. There is no need to lift up or down the heavy trays. However, worms LOVE a somewhat moist and warm environment. But that soil is too wet and too cold. Worms have body heat. They prefer a warm place. Having a flow of water is good. However, you may want to control that water flow to promote the population of the worms. Your design is good and convenient to people to manage. Make a little adjustment to benefit the worms; then, there should be a lot of copy cats follow your model.
Worms can drown only if the water does not have oxygen in it. They can actually live their entire life completely submersed in water if it is oxygenated. The Worm Tap only submerges the worms in a solution for about 30 mins/day. Moisture increases the mobility of decomposing organisms too. All-in-all the moisture is a good thing.
@@bennythompson1047 ...thanks for the info. Nice setup. My goal is to multiply my worms and my compost to supply my market farm with clean, free fertilizer. I see lots of people buying compost. Why not integrate the process?
The castings stay in each drawer. You aren't harvesting the castings in this system. It is primarily for tea. Occasionally as the drawers build up in volume you have to empty each one out. There aren't many openings so the worms stay put.
Dude! This is incredible! Are there plans for this? I can probably build something similar, I see that you have some for sale, but I have pretty much everything (air pump, water pump, tubing for both, lots of scrap wood, etc) minus the metal pans. Are they like hotel pans from a kitchen supply warehouse? Also, how does the water drain from pan to pan? Drill holes with screen over it? Love this so much ha. Happy Farming!!
I once destroyed a whole population of composting worms by having the bin too wet. I found out when the bottom bin was just a foul smelling bin of pink liquid. If the trays were that wet, I would add more cardboard/paper shreddings.
>I once destroyed a whole population of composting worms by having the bin too wet. I found out when the bottom bin was just a foul smelling bin of pink liquid. Being "too wet" doesn't kill worms. They can breathe in water. What killed your worms is whatever else was in that 'foul smelling pink liquid' you speak of, besides just the good ol' H2O. Probably ammonia.
Hello am in Uganda Africa, How possible is it to get technical drawings of your equipment. Food is a problem due to ignorance and poverty. It would great introducing that technology
The worms are fine. They can be in almost water as long as their skin can get some air.. Worms have been put in very wet Aquaculture and Aquaponics systems to eat the nutrient.
Wow, seems like the answer. Really love the idea, solves lots of my challenges. Thanks Diego, this video is much more informative than the darknectar website, looking forward to your updates on this solution.
This gave me an idea. I have a 4 bins system, 3 having grating in the bottom, and the bottom one collecting the juice. Instead of collecting the casting to steep in the tea, I could just flood the bins from the top and collect the tea when the water run through the system. And now I don't have to worry about collecting casting any more, just keep using the tea, similar to the worm tap system. I guess I could even run an air hose from an air pump to the collector bin to aerate the tea before using it.
Been doing the flood\collect DIY system for a couple years. Using it on 72 cell seedlings greatly expands time window to transplant from weeks to months. Plants and soil love it, undiluted or diluted. Highly recommended.
Benny Thompson Awesome idea Benny! I’m sure you’ve already done this but apply/get patents for everything ya can on this and don’t share the internal workings until you do! It’s a brilliant, “why didn’t I think of that” type design so make sure you protect all the hours of work you put into it.
@🌟༻🅹🅰🆈🅵🅰༺ ✓ • 5 years ago yes the power on the Worm Tap can be directly powered by a solar panel. (the one Diego got 1 year ago did not, but in the last 3 months all Worm Taps can be powered by 220V, 110V or any solar panel that puts out 19V, without need for any adapters. Yes, anyone could setup a rain tank feed to the Worm Tap refill.
How does the liquid that is pumped up to the top drawer...make it's way down to the reservoir at the bottom? Are there holes in the bottom of each drawer?
@@DiegoFooter Thanks Diego...We're going to start Vermicomposting on our Farm this coming March...however this unit to buy...at $650.00...is not to unreasonable. But at 85 lbs the shipping would make it unaffordable. Any possibility of being able to purchase plans from Dark Nectar?
@@JScottAudio Yes! in the spring we will release plans with a parts kit. Hardware will ship and you can pick up the lumber anywhere near you (lumber is most of the shipping weight) with a little caution, I wouldn't recommend building this unless you are an experienced woodworker. We have made about 20 of these so far, and it's not easy, it requires a bit of precision to get the flush system to work correctly.
@@bennythompson1047 Hi Benny...I'll look forward to the purchase of the plans and parts. In addition to owing and running our Farm....I've been a professional cabinet maker for 30 years...and own a Custom Kitchen Manufacturing business for the last 25 years. So yes...I do appreciate the skill it takes to build the case work. Nice job... by the way... on the cabinet and cleating for the Compost Tower. You've created an attractive unit as well as integrating it's functionality.
That's a awesome setup ! I been raising worms for years with totes and they get really heavy to move around . This would make it a lot easier for sure .
Actually, the best , the easiest and the free system in the world is the system nature has. layer compost and mulch on your land and lt rain and gravity do the composting and compost tea for you
Awesome stuff. Very informative video and fantastic idea. With new vegetable gardens in the making, that have literally no worms and after watching this video, I have started a much smaller version specifically for worm production to boost numbers in garden. Fingers crossed. Thank you much.
It looks like a well thought out design. Can you smell them when you are standing nearby? I developed several systems for black soldier flies but you can smell them with many designs and it isn't particularly nice smelling. Also, do you get die-offs?
agreed - it is the liquid escaping from decomposing content and the water being passed through the system. It is not a system I would use as worms can live in wet conditions but prefer moist medium and the freedom to travel between trays as they move toward more environmentally friendly areas.
@@ff-ti7nj biochar is very high in carbon which under a microscope is extremely porous the porous structure is very welcoming to bacteria and other microbial life to call home
Would be great if he had two identically planted beds and water one with this tea and the other with tap, to see if there's actually any detectable difference. May as well check if you've gone through all the effort...
Yes! You need to prevent it from experiencing freezing temperatures or prolonged temps (>1 week) below 40F. We have a customer in New Hampshire(where it's below freezing for about 4 months) that is keeping it in their garage. The garage temp is about 35F at night and 40-50F during the day. This is about as cold as the system should be able to tolerate. On the hot side, we know it can tolerate up to a 100F day temp. It hasn't been exposed to higher temperatures so far. It is verified oposom proof, we have a lot of those in San Diego urban area. I doubt a raccoon could open the drawer (they are not on wheels, there is a little resistance). I would say the drawer requires the strength of a 5-year old. I'm now thinking how to make it bear proof, lol.
Ok, so I'm a little confused by the daily worm bath & them not sitting in their own stuff. If it's the leachate from the entire system turning over and over, beneficial microbes or not, they are essentially getting a bath in their own urine, no? And sitting in it while it dissolves what it can before passing through to the next tray? I dig that it's cute & doesn't take up much space, those side walls are screaming for a vine though lol! The tap is also Brilllliannnnnt! (that was sing-song for those of you that don't live in my head)
Keep in mind any water would only touch the drawer contents where it drained down and along the bottom of the drawer. So any worms in that zone would not be exposed to water.
Not much I'm talented with but for some reason I have a knack for raising worms. The secret I've found is you need to have an interest in vermiculture. I check my worm bins everyday literally as I find it fascinating. Leaving if for a year and hoping for the best as you did in your video 2 years ago which has comment off by the way is never going to work. So focus on the vermiculture and you will have plenty of vermicompost.
I have moved towards a system now where I leave them in place for about a year and it turns out fine. Much easier than traditional vermicomposting. But if you are interested, do more work and check daily.
@@DiegoFooter Many ways to skin a cat as they say. For me, I focus on building the worm population as high as possible which creates Vermicompost much faster than a year. It's very easy actually and only requires checking every week or two just to make sure the environment is perfect. moisture content, enough food, good mix of carbon and nitrogen rich materials etc... As I mentioned, the reason I check daily is only because I experiment with different food sources and I find the entire process very interesting. If you only check once a year, you will never know if there is a problem. I really find Vermicompost to be an amazing amendment our raised beds so it is important to me to create as much as possible.
Is this a suitable solution for a school playground bearing in mind whether maintenance would be required over the school holidays? Also how many of these would be required for a school of 1000 students?
Yes! We just installed a Worm Tap that feeds directly into a Food Mural at Birney Elementary, San Diego. One Worm Tap can offset the food waste of a classroom of 20 students. One Worm Tap can provide the nutrients needed for 2 or 3 Food Murals which produces enough greens to make a salad for the 20 students every day of the year. So you basically get a perpetual salad machine, that runs of the waste on the classroom. It's solar powered too. I hope Diego will do a video on this set up!
thanks! It can't be aerated more than it is, because the solution already is designed to oxygen saturation....there's no way to add more oxygen when it's already at capacity. Out of curiosity, why are you interested in more aeration?
@@bennythompson1047 I thought with it only doing it twice a day it wouldn't be saturated. All of the tea brewers that you can buy maximize aeration for beneficials, that's all I was looking at it for. . . maximum tea benefit
Yes, as Diego stated, the worm population will self regulate. Also, worth noting that the Worm Tap usually has a much higher population density than other worm systems because the ammonia is being flushed out every day. Worm populations are hindered by accumulation of worm waste (toxic to worms, but beneficial to plants). So the Worm Tap flushes toxins out, making the environment healthier for the worms, population grows and consumes more scraps. You'll be surprised how fast the Worm Tap digests food scraps!
I’d like to convert a wooden multi-drawer cabinet that looks very similar to this (tall, shallow drawers, etc) - does that seem feasible if I order the parts & plans you mention will be available in the spring? Thank you!
Question. Do you have any specisific reason to use metal drawer? Because i was gonna diy similar thing with plastic drawer. just wanted to know from you if there is advantage.
In my opinion that's far too much water, you want the soil more of the wetness of a wrung-out sponge. That food should be buried so as not to introduce anaerobic bacteria.
This is one of the coolest systems I have ever seen. Thank you for making it. How does the liquid run from one drawer to the next? Can’t wait for your building plans to be sold. Again, thx!
what about operating this thing in winter? i guess it has to be inside to avoid frost damage? i would guess worms also go to sleep if its too cold. Any experience with that?
Yes, it can be done, but it's not trivial. Hydroponic system pumps can handle solids. I believe most irrigation systems need solids to be less than 200 microns, so you need to filter it first, and it's tricky to get a filter setup that won't clog. I would look into how folks do it for aquaponics. After you filter it, you open a solenoid and load your irrigation lines with the Worm Tap Tea with a low pressure pump ~2-5psi. Then you close the solenoid, then you turn your irrigations system on which will be pressured at ~25psi, and that will push all the Worm Tap Tea out of your irrigation lines. This is important because if you don't clean your lines out you will have a lot of nutrients and bacteria in your lines and they will get clogged. So all this can be setup with sequential timers so that it happens automatically daily, as 5 gallons of Worm Tap Tea is produced daily.
I thought about that, you could put it into an injection system if you are on automatic drip or something, but there is not really a need to apply tea everyday as far as I know
Great solution for having nutrients. I have a simple hydroponics system with 200 green lettuce plants on six PVC towers and a 50-gallon reservoir, so is it available to apply this worm tap to my system? And in your lowest reservoir, did you use air pump or water pump or both of them to recirculate nutrients back to the top stack? Thank you!
This is an epic design! Just converted from dollars to pounds which at the moment is £656. Mind you given the time an effort you have put into this design its worth every penny in my view! Very impressive indeed! When our pocket allows we will purchase one as its just pure genius. We have dabbled in making compost tea and the results were impressive to say the least but we wanted a more efficient system and method of making the whole process easier and less messy. Well done folks we think you have nailed it! This is like the Bentley of vermicomposters 😂! Pat yourselves on the back we love it ❤
Use a browser like Google Chrome then click "Advanced" and "Proceed anyway". Internet Explorer doesn't give that option. It kind of babies you and doesn't think you can make your own decisions. Good luck! These worm taps look amazing!
Seems like nice idea. But i do agree with others that the containers do have too much water and worms need moist environment. Imagine have water dripping down all the time. I dont think the worms will be comfortable with that. My worm bin is usually moist and worms will try to escape when its too wet. The liquid that comes out at the bottom seems too light in color. Its usually darker in color. Anyway, good luck with this system amd hope it works well for you.
Water isn't dripping down on them all of the time. Water would only drip on one part of the tray where there are holes above it. The rest of the tray wouldn't have water dripping on it. On the water color - we had drained the system a few times when making the video, so the coloration may not be representative of a normal sample.
The benefit of direct stacking is that it allows the worms to travel between layers. We want the worms to travel upwards - to eat the newer/higher layers of food, while we harvest the lower layers of (mostly worm-free and food-free) compost/castings. With a drawer system like this, or any tower that has space between the worm bins/layers, its impossible for the worms to travel between the bins. This means that, apart from the cool pump cycle system here, you may as well have 5-6 separated or non-stacked bins. However, the pump system seems pretty cool. I would consider tweaking this design to allow the worms to climb up to higher drawers. Maybe some type of "dirt ladder" on the sides of the drawers, that are high enough to touch the drawer above. I would experiment with different materials/designs to see what worms use the most. Sponge ramps? Replaceable cardboard ramps?
I think that getting castings and worm migration is not the intention of this. Every bin is a vermicompost on its own and should be populated individually and fed synchronically. The intention is to get tea for vermiponics.
can the water flushing and tea brewing system be shut off in winter time in cold climates when worm tea is not needed for at least 5 months in a year while still keeping worms fed and alive?
Yes, you can do that. It will just work like other worm bins during that time...the system won't digest as much food scraps because worm waste will accumulate, toxify the bins (as most worm bins do), slow down productivity and reproductivity. Once you start cycling it again, the system will regain productivity.
I already have a refrigerator converted into a sub irrigated worm bin but it's not very active. I think adding an airlift pump on a timer might improve the system so it's more like the worm tap. Thanks so much for posting this.
