Are you out there, Bencjedi? Would love to hear a report on how your worm cast fertilization observations turned out. I'm kind of assuming that your worm castings included little worms and eggs, right? If we use 'soil' rather than 'mix', it gets too heavy because there are no worms for aeration. The 'mix' to me means dead soil, and not best for the plants to thrive. I'm following with interest the Australian 'wicking worm beds' where a worm feeding station is incorporated into the planter. You can check it out at http://www.easygrowvegetables.com/html/easygrow.html I sure would love to have some of you folks try the worm stations in your EarthTainer systems and let us know how it affected plant growth.

Jodik says: The coir might look dry on top, but down in the center of the pot, it could be quite moisture-laden! I have found it helpful to insert little wooden skewers carefully into the soil to about root level, and leave them there... I take them out and press them against my cheek to test for dampness... if they feel at all damp, I wait to water... but if the skewer comes out dry, it's time to water. My coir is 4" deep in a closed pot. I put the skewer to the bottom of the pot. When I take it out how many inches of bone dry top "soil" should there be before it's time to water again? Is it 1", 2" or 4"? I just went 10 days without water and only 1" of the top was dry so am I supposed to water this direct sun pot once every two weeks or so to avoid over watering, really? And how much water for my 6" closed pot? I had been watering 1 1/2 cup or so once a week and my plant was fine but I'm now worried that was too much so I'm re-evaluating. I know what conventional wisdom says (water deep, not shallow) but that advice doesn't seem to apply to my situation. Also how long should it be before I see new leaf growth in the summer time (first season outside)? My 18 month old Red Lion so far has only grown new leaves once a year. At potting and at dormancy end.

The link you posted to the video is partially faulty. Below is one that works. The extreme pressure drop when the pump stops is puzzling. Is your pump submersible or jet? Based on your description, either the Schrader valve could be leaking or the bladder could be faulty. Check the Schrader valve by spitting on your finger and rub it on the end of the valve--look for active bubbles. But those do not explain the drop to 45 when the pump stops and then the pressure holding there. Here is a link that might be useful: Video This post was edited by bus_driver on Fri, Apr 19, 13 at 15:26

That split is normal. The cap consists of two metal layers, with a rubber piece in the middle. Tightening the bolts compresses the rubber and seals and pushes it out to seal around the pipe and well casing. You don't want to take the bolts out - just loosen them. You really don't want to drop the bottom plate into the well. If one doesn't want to move, you may be ok - the cap may come up anyway but you may have to pry it a bit. You need two strong folks to pull the pump and maybe one more to walk the pipe out into the property as it comes up. It's not possible to do with one. You are going to pull it up and one of you is going to hold it while you get a grip again down lower. Really quickly you will need to start walking the pipe out into the yard - without kinking the pipe. If you kink the pipe, you will replace it - or at the least you will cut out the kink and splice with a steel splice. You want to replace the well cap, and take a good look at the wires also. A broken wire isn't uncommon. Don't put iffy stuff back into the well - pulling it is a pain. While you are at it, replace the pressure switch and put that splice above ground in a weather tight box. Replace any stainless steel hose clamps and double clamp each fitting. You will use water-tight wire connectors at the pump end. Find the right part and do that right. Be very aware that you don't want to let "stuff" fall into the well while you are pulling the pump or putting it back. It will lodge between the pump and the well casing and can make it impossible to pull the pump out. Clear the area around the pump of anything that could get tangled up and fall down in. I speak from experience - as I was putting a pump back the wires got my rachet wrench and down it went.