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The Soil Maker™ is a handcrafted stoneware in-ground composter made in two pieces.

The bottom piece is buried in the ground. The top piece rises above the soil. You drop food scraps in the top. Worms and microorganisms break them down underground. Over two to eight weeks, the scraps become living soil that feeds the garden around it.

No electricity. No turning. All natural.

Handcrafted stoneware. Two pieces. No plastic. No metal. No synthetic materials of any kind.

Natural clay fired into stoneware sits cleanly in the ground without leaching anything into the soil. The material is part of why it works — it breathes, it ages, it belongs in the earth.

The bottom piece is a round chamber with small holes around its base. It sits underground. The holes allow worms and microorganisms to enter from the surrounding soil.

The top piece is a tall narrow neck with a wide open bowl at the top. It sits above ground. You drop food scraps directly into this bowl and they fall into the buried chamber below.

No. A regular compost bin sits above ground and requires turning, mixing, and managing moisture. You maintain it actively.

The Soil Maker™ is buried in the ground. The worms and microorganisms that already live in your soil do the work. You drop food scraps in. The earth handles the rest. The composted material feeds the garden directly where the vessel sits — you don't move it, bag it, or spread it. It becomes soil right there underground.

You bury the bottom chamber so its holes sit below the soil line. Worms and microorganisms enter through those holes from the surrounding earth. You drop food scraps into the wide bowl at the top. They fall into the buried chamber. The worms break them down. Over two to eight weeks, the scraps become living soil that feeds the garden growing around the vessel.

Two to eight weeks. The range depends on:

• What scraps you're adding — softer scraps break down faster
• The season — worms are more active in warmer months
• The worm activity already in your soil
• How much you're adding at once — smaller amounts break down faster

No. The decomposition happens underground, away from air and sunlight. When used correctly — the right food scraps, not overfilled — there is no smell.

No electricity. No turning. No daily maintenance.

Think of it like sourdough — you feed it regularly, and every few months you empty it out and spread the composted soil around the yard. This does two things: it stops the chamber from getting too full, and it spreads living soil across a wider area of your garden. Over time, as you move and spread from multiple spots, the underground networks connect — the worm activity and soil life from each vessel start to reach each other across your yard.

Feed it consistently. Empty it every few months. Spread what comes out. The yard gets more alive over time.

Every few months. When the chamber starts to fill, you lift the top piece, scoop out the composted soil from the buried chamber, and spread it around your yard or garden beds.

This is the maintenance rhythm — similar to feeding and refreshing a sourdough starter. You're not just emptying it to make room. You're spreading living soil to a new area. Each time you do this, you extend the reach of the underground network. The worm activity and soil life from the vessel begins to connect with the rest of your yard, building a larger, healthier system over time.

Worms eat the food scraps. As they eat and move through the chamber, they break the organic matter down. What passes through a worm becomes worm castings — one of the richest natural fertilizers that exists. That material feeds the soil directly around the buried chamber, which feeds the roots of whatever is growing in your garden above.

Microorganisms — bacteria and fungi — do the same work alongside the worms, breaking down matter that the worms haven't reached yet.

• Vegetable peels
• Fruit rinds
• Coffee grounds
• Eggshells
• Leafy greens

Yes. Citrus rinds and peels break down fine in The Soil Maker™. In small amounts they're not an issue. If you're adding large quantities of citrus regularly, balance it with other scraps — citrus in large amounts can slow down worm activity temporarily.

Plain cooked vegetables are fine. Avoid cooked food with oils, sauces, meat, or dairy — these can attract pests and create odor.

The simplest rule: if it's a vegetable or fruit in its natural state, it goes in. If it's been cooked with other ingredients, leave it out.

Add scraps gradually rather than all at once. Drop in what you have from a day or two of cooking. Let the worms work through it before adding a large new batch. The chamber has a natural capacity — if you overfill it before the worms have broken things down, it slows the process.

Think of it like feeding — consistent small amounts work better than one large weekly dump.

• Dig a hole deep enough for the bottom chamber to sit below the soil line, with the holes in the base making contact with the earth
• Place the bottom chamber in the hole
• Fill soil back around it so it sits firmly
• Place the top piece on — the neck rises above the ground
• Drop food scraps in through the wide bowl at the top

Put it where you want the soil enriched. The composted material stays underground near the vessel — it doesn't spread across the whole garden. So wherever you plant it, that area gets the benefit.

It works in garden beds, lawn areas, near trees, or anywhere you have soil. It doesn't need sun or shade specifically — though avoiding spots with compacted or clay-heavy soil helps worm activity.

Yes. The Alchemy Pot Initiative is bringing The Soil Maker™ into middle school classrooms and school gardens across the US as part of a national pilot. Students drop food scraps in, watch the garden grow, and learn directly how soil is made.

It works in any outdoor space with soil — school gardens, community gardens, parks, courtyards.

Worm activity slows in cold months — they move deeper in the soil and eat less. The system still works in winter, just more slowly. In climates with hard freezes, the breakdown rate will be slower in the coldest months and pick back up in spring.

You can continue adding scraps through winter. The vessel will process them as conditions allow.

$1,200. Free shipping anywhere in the USA.

Available for pre-order now at alchemypot.shop

US pre-order is open now at alchemypot.shop with free shipping anywhere in the USA.

The Soil Maker™ is also licensed and manufacturing in Indonesia through waste4change — the country's leading responsible waste management company, whose clients include IKEA, Nestlé, and the World Bank.

The Soil Maker™ was invented by Derek Richard Thomas and co-founded with Lizzie Loch through Alchemy Pot LLC, California.

Derek is also the author of How To Make Soil™ — endorsed by Kevin Espiritu (Founder of Epic Gardening), Gabe Brown (Author of Dirt to Soil), and Josh Tickell (Director of Kiss The Ground and Common Ground).