I had a choice of presenting an innovative idea for my biotechnology class, so I decided to go with a vermiponics system. I have the schematics and the worms, and all I need is some constructive criticism, so that I don't have a Red Wiggler massacre.

Materials:

4X 200 gallon barrels- Two of these barrels will be cut in half longitudinally and inverted to create 3 grow beds and one water tank. These grow beds will be filled with 3/4 inch gravel (or whatever is close that I can find at the nearby park).
The other two will be used as rain barrels. One should suffice for this system though, so the other barrel is for expansion later on.

12X yogurt containers- these will have 1/2 inch holes drilled all over it- these containers will be filled up with organic waste (paper, banana peels, stuff you'd normally throw away in the green bin). All this waste will be ground using a grinder, and the mixture will be poured onto the yogurt containers. I kinda don't get how the worms are going to get to the food, but I've read that worms don't actually eat the decomposing matter itself, but the bacteria that grows from it. That being said, would it be a bad idea to have a slow fill, fast drain recirculation system? Would the worms have a chance at eatin' the bacteria before they get flushed away from the fast drain?

Red Wiggler Worms- Got these from an elementary school who was doin' a vermicomposting project. Maybe they missed their little buddies, but a $40 pizza party later, they don't seem to care one bit. Right now the worms are raised in a conventional peat moss/newspaper/banana peel composting bin. Most will be transplanted when the system is finished, leaving a few for a nursery/feed cushion (better to underfeed than overfeed).

5X magnetic drive 400GPH pumps- you only need 2 to run the basic system (1 if you get kinky with the bell siphon), but a good deal- and a desire to get this to work as easy as possible before this assig is due, made me use 5. 3 goes for the grow beds (1 for each growbed), and one will be used to water conventional soil based potted plants (pots = ice cream containers; supplier=my diabetic dad). The last one will be added to the rain barrel, to pump water to the vermiponic tank when water runs too low. Of course, these pumps will be hooked onto dollar shop timers, so no over watering.

0.75 inch tubing + screw in pipe clamps- to create a tight network for 'worm tea' and water transport.

Plants- Easy fast growers; I'm going to cover half the planting area with seeds, and the other with seedlings- I only have one month's growing time. This isn't so as much to set food on the table as to get an A on this presentation- but I do want to keep this system for years to come, and that's when I'll start experimenting with harder crops.

I will upload my schematics after I'm done drawing and scanning them. But please comment on the general idea; what are the holes? What can be done to improve this system? What would you do differently to ensure success of the system?

I'm going to make a video presentation of everything (to present to the class), including the benefits of the system, and how to build it, step by step. It will also be posted on youtube once its done, along with updates.

So stay tuned.