A team of university scientists led by Ekaterina Litvinova, Candidate of Biological Sciences, head of the Biogeli project, together with employees of the Faculty of Automation and Computer Engineering have created a house for worms. California red worms (a type of earthworm) they do not just live in it — they produce useful organic fertilizer from food waste.
"Our main idea is to simplify the use of vermicompost (we called it cherved) so that even an ignorant person can maintain such a house and receive fertilizer. Worms are kept in a special box, where optimal, close to natural conditions of their life are created so that they feel comfortable. The preparation of the feed itself is also important: it needs to be crushed and frozen. Worms eat coffee cake, tea leaves, skins from vegetables and fruits, watermelon, melon, pumpkin peels. They recycle any organic matter, except citrus fruits, because they do not like an acidic environment. The remains of food inside the worms are moistened with the contents of the glands, and as a result of processing, a valuable organic fertilizer is obtained — vermicompost. Properly prepared food is digested quickly enough. In general, processing takes from 2 to 7 days. The smell of humus is absorbed by a special gel, which will also preserve the useful properties of the fertilizer for a long time. The finished humus is located in the lower part of the box, it is cut using a specially built—in knife," Ekaterina Litvinova said.
Vermicompost can be used for home flowers, for growing seedlings, as well as in greenhouse complexes. Natural organic fertilizer will stimulate the growth and development of plants.
"The smart home has sensors that allow you to monitor the temperature, humidity, acidity and gas content of the soil. If the ground is dry, a sound and light signal will be received. The smart system also signals that the humus is ready. The information from the sensors is transmitted to the computer, to the data cloud. It is planned to create a mobile application where the conditions of keeping worms will be displayed," said Vladimir Trubin, head of the laboratory of the Department of Automation of NSTU-NETI.
It is assumed that the chervedom will be in three variations: small (for cottages / apartments), medium (for cottage settlements, apartment buildings) and large (for industrial vermiferms). Each of the options provides a different configuration — from minimal to extended, with an automatic humidification system, a shredder for grinding food, a set of cocoons of worms.