A PAIR OF GERMAN DESIGNERS INTRODUCE THE PARASITE FARM, AN INDOOR GARDENING SYSTEM THAT FEEDS OFF YOUR WASTE.
Food accounts for about 13 percent of trash in the United States, the third-largest component behind paper and yard trimmings. Although composting may be the natural extension of recycling paper, metal, and plastic, many urbanites don’t have access to outdoor space or the stomach for composting in their kitchen. Two young German designers have turned indoor composting into a viable option, with an ingenious ecosystem for converting vegetable scraps into soil, which is then used to grow--you guessed it--more veggies.
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Charlotte Dieckmann and Nils Ferber’s Parasite Farm (surely not the most appetizing of names) includes a compost bin with a built-in chopping-board lid that can be mounted onto a kitchen table, as well as planters designed to fit into an ordinary bookshelf. Here’s how it works:
- Once you’re done cutting up your vegetables, simply slide the trimmings into the bin, where worms process them into humus.
- To harvest the soil, simply shake the grate at the bottom and pull out the drawer underneath; residual water is siphoned into a separate translucent tank for use as liquid fertilizer.
- Load up your bookshelf planters with soil and seeds, install some grow lights above, and you’ve got a mini farm powered by your own waste.
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The system is an alternative to tricky hydroponic gardening, albeit a slower yielding and messier one (ick, worms!). Ferber tells Co.Design that he’s looking for a partner to produce the concept, which, after several months of testing, is “working well.”
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COMMENTARY: There are obviously some limitations to what the Parasite Farm can do, so in my opinion, you would much larger growing bins those shown here for certain vegetables. Anything growing on a tree you can pretty much forget, but for herbs, tomatoes, leafy vegetables, carrots, peppers, etc., the Parasite Farm could be quite practical. I like the overall design, but I would keep my "farm" in a separate room. An unused garage would be great for this. A basement preferable over an attic. From the comments posted on Charlotte Dieckmann's website, there appears to be a lot of interest. Now let's sell some.
Courtesy of an article dated January 25, 2012 appearing in Fast Company
Is this designed to be used in the actual cooking space? something makes me find that gross, having compost rotting underneath your cutting board? thats just plain nasty. I could see you composting outside and then using the soil in your indoor garden ( not located anywhere near a food preperation area)
Posted by: Stephen | 02/28/2013 at 03:23 PM
Wow, incredible stuff and idea, are you just doing these because your are just vegetarian? or you guys just having fun?
Posted by: Kassandra | Labor Posters | 02/14/2012 at 08:34 PM