Worm Factory DS5TT 5-Tray Worm Composter - Terra Cotta

by Worm Factory

Product Features

• Made with post-consumer recycled plastic, Dimensions 16-inch x 16-inch x 16-inch
• Built in "worm tea" collector tray and spigot for easy draining.
• Year Round Production
• Odor Free Operation
• Expandable up to 7 trays

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 16 x 16 x 22 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B000S6LZCS
• Item model number: DS5TT
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #917 in Patio, Lawn & Garden (See Top 100 in Patio, Lawn & Garden)
  • #8 in Patio, Lawn & Garden > Plants & Planting > Outdoor Carts & Bins > Composting Bins

Product Description

Worm composting is an incredibly efficient way to convert kitchen scraps, junk mail and cardboard into nutrient-rich compost for your garden. Master gardeners agree that compost produced by worms will produce the best results and help your plants thrive. The Worm Factory's unique stackable, multi-tray design makes it the most efficient worm bin composter around. Worms begin eating waste in the lowest tray, and then migrate upward as food sources in that tray are exhausted. By allowing worms to migrate upward, the worms separate themselves from the finished compost that is ready for the garden. Besides the worm castings that are produced through this process, the Worm Factory also produces a second type of compost. As waste is broken down, moisture filters through your Worm Factory, taking nutrient-rich particles with it. This liquid fertilizer, know as leachate is gathered in the special collection tray of the Worm Factory and can easily be drained from the spigot. Simply add a handful of worms and your organic waste to the bottom tray. The worms will start processing the food. Once the bottom tray is filled add another tray. The worms migrate upward to the newest food source leaving the bottom tray full of nutrient rich compost. As waste is broken down, moisture filters through the system taking nutrient-rich particles with it. You can drain organic liquid fertilizer right from the spigot. It's compact square design gives the Worm Factory the smallest footprint of all worm composters. The Worm Factory's tray stacking system allows it to hold the largest capacity of compost in the smallest amount of space, making it the perfect composter for anyone with space limitations. The Worm Factory is simple to operate. When full, each tray weighs only 12.5 pounds making lifting and arranging trays effortless. The included 16-page instruction manual makes setup fast and easy and gives tips on how to best manage your Worm Factory composter year-round.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

78 of 80 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Growing worms is easy, April 25, 2008

By 

Stephanie Manley (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

I have had worm farms before, but this is the easiest way to actually seperate the food from the castings. You use a system of trays, intially placing the food in the bottom tray, and the tray above it is mostly fiberous material. Then you stop feeding them on the lower tray and then start adding food to the tray up above, and then adding another more fiberous tray.

This system eliminates the feeding the worms in one spot and then pulling out the castings, trying to leave all of the worms in there you can. I like that the worms have more mobility so just in case your feeding area is too wet they can move around. I also like there is lots of air in this system so everything doesn't get too wet.

The tray system was easy to put together, it took only a few minutes. It also comes with your initial bedding of coconut husks. Ideally you will want to put your farm into place, and wet down your bedding, and then get your worms. There are instructions on the top of the lid of the bin to tell you what to feed your worms with, and a great guide that also comes with the bin. I highly recommend this worm bin.

49 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy Worm Composting, October 18, 2009

By 

Corey L. Carter (Fremont, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Worm Factory DS5TT 5-Tray Worm Composter - Terra Cotta (Lawn & Patio)

I purchased this system 6 months ago and I have been very happy with it. I previously had a homemade worm bin and I have found that this stacking system is much more efficient. I was very suprised with how quickly it was able to generate "worm tea", a very good liquid fertilizer for your garden. My system generates at least 1 quart of this fertilizer every two weeks. (In the same time period my homemade system produced less than 1 cup).

It is also very good for producing waste free castings. By the time I added the 4th tray to my system, the 1st tray was completely converted to castings. This took about 3 months.

I use the system in a very "low maintenance" fashion and it works well for me. I don't microwave any of the scraps (microwaving is completely unnecccary), and I generally don't do any extra cutting before adding food to the worm bin (sometimes I even put in whole fruits or vegetables that have gone bad). The worms eventually eat the food. The worms don't eat anything until the bacteria in the bin have broken it down. If you cut up the vegetables small, the bacterial will break it up faster, so the worms will be able to eat it faster. If you don't cut it up it just takes longer, so you might need more trays. I have found that 5 bins is sufficient to compost 3-5 lbs of vegetable waste per week using the "low maintenance" method.

I have only one small complaint about the system. The manufacturere claims that the worms will eventually separate from the castings. After 6 months I haven't found this to be true, the worms are still present in significant quantities in the 1st tray. Since the worms have greatly multiplied since adding them to the system, I'm just going to proceed with dumping both the worms and castings into the garden. I'm confident that there will be sufficient worms in the system to keep it going. If you need to have your casting free of worms, I'm afraid you'll be separating by hand.

46 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars quality (not superior but good), June 5, 2009

By 

Azazello (NYC) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Worm Factory DS5TT 5-Tray Worm Composter - Terra Cotta (Lawn & Patio)

the construction of the bin is fairly sturdy, and seemingly utilitarian--will find out the true value after steady use and gaining more experience. After a month he worms are happy but one needs to go VERY easy on adding starchy scraps!

*****what was left out of the manual:
when you set up your Worm Factory with the wiggling guest--cranky after the long trip--freshly arriving, leave the lights on for the first few days at night until they get comfortable and do not have the urge any more to find their old environmental conditions by crawling out the bin! (I had later found out that some vendors sell bins with tiny, permanently on lights over the bin to ensure that the worm stay put)

*****what was wrong/misinformation in the manual:
the spigot is to drain the _leachate_, that may accumulate if you overwater; it is NOT compost tea--if anything --it should NOT be used on plants because with the occasional drowned straggler it becomes anaerobic (you can smell it)