Sorry for the confusion and thanks everyone for the advice. To clear it up, I was just trying to figure out how much soil to buy and a recommendation. I am new but learning more everyday especially from this forum. For example I wanted to know how much soil to purchase for aprox (10) plants using 5 gallons as an (example measure.) 5 plants will be in ground and I am planting the other 5 in containers or container bags.... I think I will go the container bag route (Any recommendation on Container bag brand and size for tomatoes and peppers?)..... I am aware that 5 gallon gallon containers are pushing it for tomatoes/peppers so I may get a 7 gallon bag or 10 gallon if that is not to big for tomatoes. My initial confusion was when I saw some soil advertised by cubic ft and some by the pound, but I do know now from the above responses. I also did not know that the weight of the soil played a factor on the soil moisture content as said above. Last year I was told to dig a whole and pour soil in it to help with the plant and top it with mulch. So I dug 4 holes about 12x14 and poured soil in it. The 4 plants only produced about 35 "early goliath" tomatoes about tennis ball size so I new something was wrong, I did not use anything else. For my soil, I think it could be good, I just never tested it the location is based between Philadelphia and Princeton and there tons of tomato farms in the area so I guess it couldn't be bad. So now I know not to grow organic in containers with organic soil but rather soil-less mixture? and with that said any organic soil-less mixture should fair well in containers. I hope this clears it up and I thanks everyone again for their help. And for my last question which I am still confused about has to do with..... what fertilizer to add to the soil for the plants that I just put in the ground with it's existing soil? ......and what type of fertilizer to use for the plants I grow in the containers with a soil-less potting mix? Sorry if I confused you again. And I really appreciate everyones advice and patience in answering. -Mr Beno

I don't find many worms, either. However, after a couple of rainy days I'll find 6 or so if I dig a 5 gallon bucket of dirt, but only 1 or 2 when it's dry. I do see way more Robins in my garden than peruse the grass, so I take that as a good sign. I started spraying Bayer Advanced Disease Control and Mancozeb this year (no insecticides for at least 10 years) and I have not seen a change in the number of worms, so I don't think that affects them. I have been adding 2" of compost to the garden for about three years and have seen only a small increase in the number of worms. I would like to know how to increase their numbers, also.

lemontwist, it would be hard to go wrong if you follow katxena's very thorough instructions. A couple of questions: -did you buy the worms from the same source? -how deep was your 1' x 2' wood bin? Although an 18 gal. tote is a good size, you may want to consider an 8 or 10 gal. tote to start with. The smaller area increases worm population density and should allow a pound of worms to more quickly become a 2 lbs. squirm. A smaller bin hopefully will also discourage overfeeding, but that doesn't seem to be the issue with you so far. There are many different DIY bin designs. You may want to consider Kelly Slocum's design (see link below). Â Another good source for coir is a hydroponics store. Here's another bedding prep option: -put 2-3 gal. of water in a 5 gal. bucket and let it sit for a day or two -soak cardboard & paper egg cartons in the bucket for 24 hrs. -wring as much water out as you can & shred by hand (strips or pieces will work) -add some leaves if you can find any in your area Andrew

Hey, guys, I really don't know why anybody would buy (or sell) worm tea at all. Just tell folks the simplest, no-mistake way to make it while recycling your household organic waste at the same time...here's how: OK, this post is a bit long, but you will be glad you took the time to read it. About 99% of advice and videos I�ve seen on how to make Worm Tea involve soaking the castings for 24-48 hours in a 5 gal or larger container with air bubblers going for aeration. I really don�t see the need to harvest worm castings or "brew" worm tea from castings at all. To me it seems like unnecessary waiting, unnecessary energy spent and actually less efficient use of the worm "offal". In the following, I detail a much simpler method which I think is more efficient in every aspect, and I would like to know what you and your audience think. Using this method, my garden has grown quickly without the use of any other fertilizer and severe infestations with aphids and white flies have disappeared. I also would like to know what you recommend as a mineral, etc. supplement to worm tea, or is it a complete fertilizer in itself. I built a worm bin in a 25 gal Rubbermaid Tote, I originally drilled 5/16″ holes only in the sides and ends for aeration, but NOT the top and bottom. However, I developed a problem with gnats or fruit flies coming in through the holes. So I redesigned it and I installed 4 x 4″ plastic dryer vent covers, 2 in the ends near the top and 2 in the sides near the bottom, covering them with a piece of nylon from old ladies hosiery. This solved the problem I had with gnats Then I installed a PVC drain valve in one end near the base of the unit. Next I put a bag of gravel over the drain valve intake, filled with bedding, kitchen waste and worms and wait 2 or 3 days for the worms to do their thing. I pour a 2 gallon watering can of water over the worm bin contents 2 or 3 times daily and put the can under the spigot and turn on to allow it to drain into the can. PRESTO, worm tea and it works very well. This Worm Tea (or Leachate, call it what you will) is simply the dilute and FRESH version of Worm Castings and can be poured directly over the leaves of your plants and/or onto the soil of your garden. This method avoids the 3 to 6 month waiting period during which time your worm bin matures after which the castings can be harvested. This way your worm tea can be harvested almost immediately and several times per day providing up to 6 gallons per day of effective, perfectly diluted worm tea for your garden. Using this large volume of water and not allowing it to sit in the worm bin avoids the problems I have seen others have of making the worms uncomfortable, etc. My worms have yet to "run" and are never to be found crawling on the sides or lid of the worm bin, and just appear to be very content to take their daily "worm shower". It appears that what is happening is that the water is partially dissolving the worm castings and cleaning out what other worm wastes are present (pee, poo, sweat, slime, etc.) and keeping your worm bin clean and attractive to the worms. In other words, they don�t have to crawl around in their own waste products for several weeks or months. Since their home stays nice and clean with plent of aeration and food, they have no reason to leave. It just works, plain and simple, with the absolute simplest and cheapest design, least amount of labor and attentiveness and greatest productivity of any system I have heard of. Try it, you�ll see. Michael