Worm Composting. Underground! Subpod Review
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Date: 2022-07-18
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Comments and reviews: 15
Stephen
Hey guys,
I have some issues and any advice would help.
So my potting soil is made out of 40% garden soil, 40% peat moss and 20% vermicompost and I've also made an organic fertilizer mix and added the proper amount later so, in a separate box I mixed:
2000g Vermicompost
1000g Bone meal
1000g Neem cake powder
500g Epsom salt
500g Phosphate
Total NPK is around: 35-49-21
(Looking back at it, there's too much Phosphate in that mix)
From this fertilizer mix, I've added to the soil mix, the proper amount based on a study that I've found online.
(If you have some points for me there I would appreciate it)
So I transplant my citrus lime tree, and here is where I've noticed some issues.
I gave it water but nothing came out of the drainage wholes at the bottom, so I waited a few hours and gave it some more, still nothing so I left it a day, and then added some more water and finally water came out of the wholes.
Now, the soil has been moist for quite some time so I got weary about improper drainage/soil consistency.
I took my tree out and did some digging and this foul smell, sort of like drainage mixed with garbage and corpses, instantly came at me.
Keep in mind I'm a new gardener, barely 1 month in to this.
So turns out I've over watered my soil hence the ammonia smell.
My questions to you guys are:
Can this extremely bad smelling soil still be used and how?
How can I make, my sort of but not really clay\dense soil drain better, I've heard adding more compost, sand, leafs and even cardboard can help but I'm not sure.
Also, this would be the 3rd time in a month that I've transplanted this tree( first time is when it came from nursery, second time is when I've mixed the correct, or so I thought correct soil mix, and here I am doing it again)
Can you over transplant a plant? (Over do it)
What I'm thinking of doing is, making an almost 50-50 soil mix of vermicompost and garden soil and a little bit of peat moss that I have left, add some fertilizer with a lower phosphate value and a slightly higher nitrogen value to help it grow some leafs back.
I really need some help on those things and would appreciate some advice.
reply
Hey guys,
I have some issues and any advice would help.
So my potting soil is made out of 40% garden soil, 40% peat moss and 20% vermicompost and I've also made an organic fertilizer mix and added the proper amount later so, in a separate box I mixed:
2000g Vermicompost
1000g Bone meal
1000g Neem cake powder
500g Epsom salt
500g Phosphate
Total NPK is around: 35-49-21
(Looking back at it, there's too much Phosphate in that mix)
From this fertilizer mix, I've added to the soil mix, the proper amount based on a study that I've found online.
(If you have some points for me there I would appreciate it)
So I transplant my citrus lime tree, and here is where I've noticed some issues.
I gave it water but nothing came out of the drainage wholes at the bottom, so I waited a few hours and gave it some more, still nothing so I left it a day, and then added some more water and finally water came out of the wholes.
Now, the soil has been moist for quite some time so I got weary about improper drainage/soil consistency.
I took my tree out and did some digging and this foul smell, sort of like drainage mixed with garbage and corpses, instantly came at me.
Keep in mind I'm a new gardener, barely 1 month in to this.
So turns out I've over watered my soil hence the ammonia smell.
My questions to you guys are:
Can this extremely bad smelling soil still be used and how?
How can I make, my sort of but not really clay\dense soil drain better, I've heard adding more compost, sand, leafs and even cardboard can help but I'm not sure.
Also, this would be the 3rd time in a month that I've transplanted this tree( first time is when it came from nursery, second time is when I've mixed the correct, or so I thought correct soil mix, and here I am doing it again)
Can you over transplant a plant? (Over do it)
What I'm thinking of doing is, making an almost 50-50 soil mix of vermicompost and garden soil and a little bit of peat moss that I have left, add some fertilizer with a lower phosphate value and a slightly higher nitrogen value to help it grow some leafs back.
I really need some help on those things and would appreciate some advice.
reply
Don
Scanning comments here, but maybe already said. Three thoughts:
1) Seems to me it may be practical in smaller spaces to (a) make the underground bin able to support a person walking on it and then (b) embed it into the path between beds, rather than take up planting space. If it's the right width with holes on two sides, then the only way out for the worms is into one bed or the other. (Or keyhole setup, with three sides connected to beds)
2) As long as the bin area has food available for the composting worms, I am skeptical how much they would venture out of the bin. A lot depends what is in the soil of the planting bed, I suppose. But perhaps having a couple smaller underground bins in other parts of the bed would encourage emigration, if the main bin is left without food for a while. (At least until worms are discovered in the satellite bins. Wonder if the worms can be trained to venture from one to the next. Perhaps if it's more of a line of very small bins, rather than a long venture. (I'm thinking almost like a subway system)
3) Similar to #1, for a more agile person (or a person with long arms, one can have a 7 ft x 7 ft x 1 ft (deep) planting raised bed (for instance) with a small square worm bin in the middle. (Say 2 ft x 2 ft. The more agile person can squat on worm bin, when closed (again, needs to be able to support the weight, or the person with longer arms can reach to feed the worms. The hole in the middle of the planting area isn't perhaps ideal, but it would help to prevent plants from shading each other out, similar to when a fruit tree is pruned to empty out the middle of it. For a person especially agile or who has especially long arms it may make sense 8x8 ft or even 9x9.
reply
Scanning comments here, but maybe already said. Three thoughts:
1) Seems to me it may be practical in smaller spaces to (a) make the underground bin able to support a person walking on it and then (b) embed it into the path between beds, rather than take up planting space. If it's the right width with holes on two sides, then the only way out for the worms is into one bed or the other. (Or keyhole setup, with three sides connected to beds)
2) As long as the bin area has food available for the composting worms, I am skeptical how much they would venture out of the bin. A lot depends what is in the soil of the planting bed, I suppose. But perhaps having a couple smaller underground bins in other parts of the bed would encourage emigration, if the main bin is left without food for a while. (At least until worms are discovered in the satellite bins. Wonder if the worms can be trained to venture from one to the next. Perhaps if it's more of a line of very small bins, rather than a long venture. (I'm thinking almost like a subway system)
3) Similar to #1, for a more agile person (or a person with long arms, one can have a 7 ft x 7 ft x 1 ft (deep) planting raised bed (for instance) with a small square worm bin in the middle. (Say 2 ft x 2 ft. The more agile person can squat on worm bin, when closed (again, needs to be able to support the weight, or the person with longer arms can reach to feed the worms. The hole in the middle of the planting area isn't perhaps ideal, but it would help to prevent plants from shading each other out, similar to when a fruit tree is pruned to empty out the middle of it. For a person especially agile or who has especially long arms it may make sense 8x8 ft or even 9x9.
reply
Ashley
I have the original Subpod and raised bed and love it so much. Here's one tip I would recommend for gardeners who are in places with cold winters. I garden on the eastern end of Long Island, New York, so we get a lot of wind and sub-freezing temps in January-March. I had my Subpod against the wall of the raised bed as you do in this video, and was how it was recommended to be installed (their idea was that the Subpod could also be used as a garden bench, so you install in by the raised bed wall so you can sit down. That said, when it was predicted to be super cold (teens--20's) in January of this year for an extended period of time, I ordered a cold frame to install over the subpod, so that my worms wouldn't freeze (I had been feeding them since last May, so really didn't want them all to die. Well, the cold frame wouldn't fit between the Subpod and the wall of the raised bed, so I had to dig a trench behind it in order to move it back. Not fun when the soil was frozen, and it was so cold! I dug it out, moved it back about 3 inches, installed the cold frame, and the snow was kept out and the temp inside was warmer. All that to say this--I LOVE the SUBPOD! I love being able to compost almost all of my food waste (not meat, not onions, garlic, citrus, I love being able to feed a lot of my cardboard and food packaging and junk mail and old magazines to the worms. But for folks in cold weather environments, install the subpod back from the edge of the raised bed, in order to cover them in winter.
reply
I have the original Subpod and raised bed and love it so much. Here's one tip I would recommend for gardeners who are in places with cold winters. I garden on the eastern end of Long Island, New York, so we get a lot of wind and sub-freezing temps in January-March. I had my Subpod against the wall of the raised bed as you do in this video, and was how it was recommended to be installed (their idea was that the Subpod could also be used as a garden bench, so you install in by the raised bed wall so you can sit down. That said, when it was predicted to be super cold (teens--20's) in January of this year for an extended period of time, I ordered a cold frame to install over the subpod, so that my worms wouldn't freeze (I had been feeding them since last May, so really didn't want them all to die. Well, the cold frame wouldn't fit between the Subpod and the wall of the raised bed, so I had to dig a trench behind it in order to move it back. Not fun when the soil was frozen, and it was so cold! I dug it out, moved it back about 3 inches, installed the cold frame, and the snow was kept out and the temp inside was warmer. All that to say this--I LOVE the SUBPOD! I love being able to compost almost all of my food waste (not meat, not onions, garlic, citrus, I love being able to feed a lot of my cardboard and food packaging and junk mail and old magazines to the worms. But for folks in cold weather environments, install the subpod back from the edge of the raised bed, in order to cover them in winter.
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Marco
I have worms. I put no money into it. I put almost no effort into it. The worms are happy. No foodscraps get thrown away. The vermicompost is good.
I keep my worms in the big woven plastic bags that my dogs food comes in. It just sits on the ground in a shaded area. It doesn't smell. I have never had to add extra water. It can sometime leak a few drops but thats probably a good thing.
When it is time to harvest I make sure to feed the worms from the top and wait a week or so. Then I put the bag flat on the ground, push a little to divide it into two and cut the bag in half with scissors. The top part contains most of the worms so that goes straight into a new bag. The bottom part might contain some worms. If I happen to see one I will put it with the others, but I am not going to fuss about it.
Can it be easier and cheaper than that?
reply
I have worms. I put no money into it. I put almost no effort into it. The worms are happy. No foodscraps get thrown away. The vermicompost is good.
I keep my worms in the big woven plastic bags that my dogs food comes in. It just sits on the ground in a shaded area. It doesn't smell. I have never had to add extra water. It can sometime leak a few drops but thats probably a good thing.
When it is time to harvest I make sure to feed the worms from the top and wait a week or so. Then I put the bag flat on the ground, push a little to divide it into two and cut the bag in half with scissors. The top part contains most of the worms so that goes straight into a new bag. The bottom part might contain some worms. If I happen to see one I will put it with the others, but I am not going to fuss about it.
Can it be easier and cheaper than that?
reply
Connecticut
I'm wondering if the thickness of the pod or the mini is thick enough to keep out chewing shrews. They've been a problem in my garden every year. I had a (notice the word had ) triple thick horse tackle outdoor storage box with a locking lid and the shrews chewed through it like it was nothing. I had shrews get into my outdoor worm bins the last two years and devoured so many. Is the plastic on the subpod thicker than any of the outdoor storage boxes / deck storage boxes? I'm thinking not because it has so many holes it would be easy for the shrews to simply connect the holes and make entry. Thoughts?
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I'm wondering if the thickness of the pod or the mini is thick enough to keep out chewing shrews. They've been a problem in my garden every year. I had a (notice the word had ) triple thick horse tackle outdoor storage box with a locking lid and the shrews chewed through it like it was nothing. I had shrews get into my outdoor worm bins the last two years and devoured so many. Is the plastic on the subpod thicker than any of the outdoor storage boxes / deck storage boxes? I'm thinking not because it has so many holes it would be easy for the shrews to simply connect the holes and make entry. Thoughts?
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Mike
been doing in ground Vermiculture for 10+ years. I have a 5 gallon bucket with a lid in each of my raised beds with the bottom cut out and holes drilled in the sides. Looks like a bucket takes up less space than those boxes and I'm sure it is a lot cheaper. I don't harvest castings from the bucket though, when I'm rotating crops like moving from spring to summer plants I pull the bucket out of the ground, cover what is there and move the bucket to a different location in the raised bed. It's been working great.
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been doing in ground Vermiculture for 10+ years. I have a 5 gallon bucket with a lid in each of my raised beds with the bottom cut out and holes drilled in the sides. Looks like a bucket takes up less space than those boxes and I'm sure it is a lot cheaper. I don't harvest castings from the bucket though, when I'm rotating crops like moving from spring to summer plants I pull the bucket out of the ground, cover what is there and move the bucket to a different location in the raised bed. It's been working great.
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Gibby
I live in a really cold climate, so I'd probably just get 2 of those collapsible storage bin containers that have the little holes in them already. Pack of two is $40 on Amazon, then all I'd need to do is make a lid. It'd work better for me, because I could take them out of the ground in fall, rinse them off, collapse them flat, and store them away until spring. I wonder if I even have to buy worms? I like this idea a lot, so definitely going to incorporate something like this for myself in the future.
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I live in a really cold climate, so I'd probably just get 2 of those collapsible storage bin containers that have the little holes in them already. Pack of two is $40 on Amazon, then all I'd need to do is make a lid. It'd work better for me, because I could take them out of the ground in fall, rinse them off, collapse them flat, and store them away until spring. I wonder if I even have to buy worms? I like this idea a lot, so definitely going to incorporate something like this for myself in the future.
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HerculesBelle
Do you see yourself building an African Keyhole garden? I've researched different versions, and have found a few that are modified to collect worm castings under the composter. I find the design of the Keyhole garden to be easy to build. I just finished building one for my spring garden. Also, Keyhole gardens are designed for dry areas, and for water conservation. You should research it if you already haven't. Also, with the Keyhole design, you get more planting space.
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Do you see yourself building an African Keyhole garden? I've researched different versions, and have found a few that are modified to collect worm castings under the composter. I find the design of the Keyhole garden to be easy to build. I just finished building one for my spring garden. Also, Keyhole gardens are designed for dry areas, and for water conservation. You should research it if you already haven't. Also, with the Keyhole design, you get more planting space.
reply
Sarah
Hi Kevin,
I really enjoy your videos.
I am wondering, why do we need a big hunk of plastic in the garden? I think back on my German grandmother who just dug a hole in her garden where she put all her kitchen scraps. It was covered with a board with a rock on top. Each year she moved the hole. I'm sure you could add some bedding if needed and. the worms would be free to come and go.
Sometimes I think we make things to complicated. She always had a beautiful garden.
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Hi Kevin,
I really enjoy your videos.
I am wondering, why do we need a big hunk of plastic in the garden? I think back on my German grandmother who just dug a hole in her garden where she put all her kitchen scraps. It was covered with a board with a rock on top. Each year she moved the hole. I'm sure you could add some bedding if needed and. the worms would be free to come and go.
Sometimes I think we make things to complicated. She always had a beautiful garden.
reply
kafetrina
Hello! The soil here where I live is quite compact, dry almost like clay, but not corrosive so it's quite hard soil. Was wondering if it's possible to just dig a compost pit (a hole underground without the need for an actual container/bin) and add worms in it (with a lid on top to keep the rain away? Can that work or will worms just escape/dig through the hard soil? or will they die/suffocate? (I have african nightcrawlers)
reply
Hello! The soil here where I live is quite compact, dry almost like clay, but not corrosive so it's quite hard soil. Was wondering if it's possible to just dig a compost pit (a hole underground without the need for an actual container/bin) and add worms in it (with a lid on top to keep the rain away? Can that work or will worms just escape/dig through the hard soil? or will they die/suffocate? (I have african nightcrawlers)
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HAL
I guess I'm pretty ignorant, because I'm having difficulty understanding the use case. About every 2 weeks, I put kitchen scraps directly in the ground adjacent to my planted areas. My worm population is are crazy over the top. I totally love those worms doing the tilling for me: ) The reason I spread a layer of soil over the top is to prevent discovery by rodents, and it seems to work since I don't have a rodent problem.
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I guess I'm pretty ignorant, because I'm having difficulty understanding the use case. About every 2 weeks, I put kitchen scraps directly in the ground adjacent to my planted areas. My worm population is are crazy over the top. I totally love those worms doing the tilling for me: ) The reason I spread a layer of soil over the top is to prevent discovery by rodents, and it seems to work since I don't have a rodent problem.
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Fox
I can see these being useful for composting outside food composting in edible gardens. I make something similar out of empty plastic cat litter containers. cut out the bottom, drill holes in the sides and top, bury by ornamental/non edible plants. They break down my dog and SOME cat waste quickly without smell. Can't use it that way on edibles at all but I can see these working for pet waste composting.
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I can see these being useful for composting outside food composting in edible gardens. I make something similar out of empty plastic cat litter containers. cut out the bottom, drill holes in the sides and top, bury by ornamental/non edible plants. They break down my dog and SOME cat waste quickly without smell. Can't use it that way on edibles at all but I can see these working for pet waste composting.
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krisej31
I just put one of these systems in this morning. I'm just hoping I didn't stuff anything up and they survive. It's my first composting system ever. I hope it was okay that I already put in some food. Some cardboard from the box they came in and some partially decomposed plant trimmings. All damp (but not soaked as the sureounding soil is quite moist from earlier rain.
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I just put one of these systems in this morning. I'm just hoping I didn't stuff anything up and they survive. It's my first composting system ever. I hope it was okay that I already put in some food. Some cardboard from the box they came in and some partially decomposed plant trimmings. All damp (but not soaked as the sureounding soil is quite moist from earlier rain.
reply
n4b1k1
I currently raise quail, and keep them on my fallow beds during the winter instead of mulching. Not mulching is one of the main garden mistakes that I have been making for the 5 years or so that I've been gardening. Is keeping the quail on the fallow beds a decent substitute? They eat the bugs and I hoe their poop into the bed about once a month.
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I currently raise quail, and keep them on my fallow beds during the winter instead of mulching. Not mulching is one of the main garden mistakes that I have been making for the 5 years or so that I've been gardening. Is keeping the quail on the fallow beds a decent substitute? They eat the bugs and I hoe their poop into the bed about once a month.
reply
spraycanart72
I have a problem with roaches eating all my worms in buckets or raised composting systems. Usually i vita mix my food scraps w/ water and pour it someplace in the yard. I like this idea because you can harvest the castings! Sorry, not buying the product, I'm unemployed. but i got a milk crate. I'm going to throw something together. Thanks
reply
I have a problem with roaches eating all my worms in buckets or raised composting systems. Usually i vita mix my food scraps w/ water and pour it someplace in the yard. I like this idea because you can harvest the castings! Sorry, not buying the product, I'm unemployed. but i got a milk crate. I'm going to throw something together. Thanks
reply
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