As many of us living in small spaces know, composting kitchen scraps can be a challenge. Though there a few small units designed for use in the kitchen, most of those designed for outdoor use are large and bulky, making composting a challenge for folks with only a small outdoor area available. If you are looking for an outdoor composting system that won't occupy your entire balcony or terrace, this expandable unit with a small footprint might be just the ticket.
The Worm Factory is designed to convert kitchen scraps, junk mail and cardboard into nutrient-rich compost for your garden. The stackable, multi-tray design is supposed to increase efficiency- worms begin eating waste in the lowest tray, and then migrate upward as as they break down the material. Because the worms migrate up, they separate themselves from the finished compost in the lower trays saving you a step.
If properly managed, the Worm Factory is supposed to be virtually odorless to allow for use on a balcony or porch.The Worm Factory houses eight to twelve thousand worms that consume 5-8lbs of food per week, and is expandable up to 7 trays. Each 16" x 16" tray weighs only 12.5lbs when full, making them easy for most users to handle.
We would love to hear from any readers who have used this product- is it too good to be true, or does it make small space composting easy?
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I started my Worm Factory back in January, and it works extremely well. Everyone is always surprised by how quickly the worms digest the food (about 1/2 pound per day) and that it does not smell . The spout at the bottom of the structure makes it very easy to collect the liquid fertilizer (worm tea) that the worms produce. It is a bit pricy ($100) and someone could probably build one themselves with a bit of ingenuity. However for me, keeping the worms inside my small apartment, I wasn't ready to try building it myself. I highly recommend the Worm Factory to anyone- it was worth the investment.
We've had our Worm Factory for nearly two years, and it works beautifully. We have numerous visitors and none of them even know we have a composter, let alone it resides inside our home! We have harvested several times and our plants have been happy with their nutrient-rich food. Like the previous commenter said, it is very easy to collect the worm tea thanks to the spout. When we purchased our unit, it was $70 and we think it is worth the price.
My roommate had one and it was swell, although I would have a hard time finding a space for it in our teensy place now.
It never smelled bad ever at all - we kept it in the living room.