Agrotonome outdoor terracotta worm composter, small model, with its bag of wood shavings for composting

Large outdoor Agrotonome worm composter in perforated terracotta, with lid and bag of wood shavings

Four outdoor worm composters in terracotta, in different sizes, set among a flowering border

Gardener burying a terracotta worm composter in a raised vegetable bed, among cabbages and aromatic plants

Buried wormery Compostino in terracotta

Name: Buried wormery Compostino in terracotta
Brand: Agrotonome
Price: 46.9 EUR
Availability: OutOfStock

46,90 €

This clay pot is buried in the vegetable bed or in a planter with the lid flush to the surface: your kitchen waste decomposes in direct contact with the soil, and the compost feeds the surrounding roots without any need to transport it. Depending on the capacity chosen from the six available sizes, it absorbs between 1.5 and 18 kg of organic waste per year.

Wormery

Liter : 1 liter

1 Liter

2 Liters

4 Liters

6 Liters

8 Liters

12 Liters

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The summary

What it takes in: from 1.5 to 18 kg of food waste a year, depending on the capacity you choose.
Where it lives: buried in the vegetable garden or in a planter, with only its lid left visible.
What you receive: the pot and its lid, a bag of sawdust and the composting guide.
How much effort: add the waste, cover with a handful of sawdust, close the lid; the annual harvest is optional.
The space it takes up: from 12 to 28 cm in diameter and from 15 to 42 cm high, entirely below ground.
How it arrives: with a lead time of 1 to 4 weeks in France, depending on the capacity.

Terracotta pot to bury in a vegetable bed or planter, in six capacities

The Compostino in-ground worm composter, a terracotta pot, is placed in the vegetable garden or a planter, with only its lid remaining visible. It is perforated, so the worms can move freely between the pot and the surrounding soil. Depending on the capacity chosen from six models, it absorbs 1.5 to 18 kg of kitchen waste per year, or about 1.5 kg per litre.

A surface composter requires two steps: filling it, then removing the compost and carrying it to where it is needed. This clay pot designed to be buried, the Compostino, makes the second step unnecessary. Simply install it in the middle of a growing bed or planter with the lid flush with the surface, and compost forms in direct contact with the soil where your plants are growing.

🌍 Composting in the ground

The wall of the pot is perforated, so what decomposes inside it stays in contact with the surrounding soil. Peelings stay moist there, which speeds up their decomposition, and there is less nuisance than with composting on the surface. Compost worms move between the pot and the neighbouring soil: they take refuge there when it is too hot in summer or too cold in winter, then return to the fresh material. Nothing needs turning and nothing needs carrying, and composting carries on continuously, season after season, at the foot of the crops it feeds.

Dig in the right spot

Place the pot in the middle of a bed or planter, within reach of the hungry plants.

Bury it up to the lid

The body disappears into the soil, leaving only the lid visible and accessible.

Seed with worms

A handful of compost worms gets the colony going as soon as the pot is buried.

Place and cover

Add peelings, coffee grounds and eggshells, then a handful of sawdust.

📏 Capacity and inputs

The capacity determines how much the pot takes in over the year, at roughly 1.5 kg of organic waste per litre per year. The 1 litre model, 15 cm tall, therefore takes 1.5 kg, and the 12 litre model, 42 cm tall, takes 18 kg. A small capacity is enough at the foot of a herb bed or in a planter, whereas the peelings from an entire kitchen call for a large capacity, or several pots spread around the garden. The volume settles constantly, since it takes about 20 kg of peelings to make 1 kg of compost: you keep adding without ever emptying it. Just check that the soil is deep enough to take the pot along its full height.

A handful of worms to get the pot started

A batch of compost worms, with its adults, juveniles and eggs, ensures rapid decomposition from the moment it goes into the soil, whereas a pot without worms composts purely through bacteria, and therefore far more slowly. This is all the more true in a planter or a container sitting off the ground, which garden worms cannot reach on their own. A pot started at the beginning of the season is already enriching the soil of neighbouring plants before the season ends.

What doesn't fit in the pot

To avoid unpleasant odours, the pot should only receive raw or cooked peelings without sauce, coffee and tea grounds, and crushed eggshells. Meat, fish, dairy, oil, bread, citrus fruit, garlic, onion, and leek should be kept out: some attract unwanted pests, while others act as vermifuges on the worm colony.

The balance of the pot comes down to a single habit: a handful of coarse sawdust after each deposit of peelings. The peelings supply moisture and nitrogen, the sawdust supplies the carbon and aeration they lack, and these successive layers keep the compost odour-free. The 400 g bag supplied with each pot covers the first few months; once it is empty, a bag of coarse sawdust or dead leaves can take over. Avoid corrugated cardboard, whose glue would end up in the soil of your plants. A bad smell signals an imbalance, which you correct by adding sawdust.

🌿 The kitchen garden next door benefits too

Because the pot is in contact with the roots, you do not need to spread its compost: the fertility spreads into the surrounding soil as the material breaks down and the worms move back and forth between the pot and the bed. Ideally, install it before the season's planting, then arrange your rows around it. If you also run an aquaponic system, this pot processes kitchen peelings directly in the open-ground vegetable garden, without adding anything to the fish water. The article on worm compost as a fertiliser details what this material brings to a soil.

❄️ Winter and harvesting

The pot can stay outdoors in the ground over winter. It came through outdoor tests without damage, with several days of hard frost, down to -7 °C for 3 days, thanks to its sturdy lid and unglazed clay; in a region with harsh winters, a layer of mulch over the lid is enough to protect it further. Composting worms are most active between 15 and 25 °C: during the cold season they retreat into the soil and activity slows down, so you naturally space out the additions and pick up your usual rhythm again in spring.

You do not have to dig up the pot, since its compost already benefits the neighbouring roots. If you want to collect this compost for your seedlings or pots, an opening at the bottom allows you to extract it once the pot has been dug up, a job usually done once a year, in spring, before replanting. The compost is ready when you can hardly find any worms in it. The pot then goes back in place, and the cycle starts again with the peelings of the new season.

Technical specifications

The essentials

Composting capacity: 1.5 to 18 kg per yearThe ratio is consistent: roughly 1.5 kg of organic waste per year per litre of composter capacity.
Material: Clay A porous mineral wall that stays in direct contact with the soil throughout the year.
Installation: Buried, flush-fitting lidThe compost benefits neighbouring roots; a low-level opening allows it to be harvested once a year.
Height: 15 to 42 cmThis is roughly the depth of soil required, since only the lid remains visible.
Diameter: 12 to 28 cmWorth checking if you are fitting it between plants already in place.
Weight: 1.6 to 8 kgClay is heavy: the large model requires both hands to carry.

To budget for separately

Compost worms: A handful to get things startedEssential in a raised-bed planter, where garden worms cannot reach.
Dibbing tool: Spade or hand augerA hole to the pot's dimensions, so that the clay is in contact with the soil over its full depth.

In the box

1 clay worm composter with its lid, in the chosen capacity.
1 bag of coarse sawdust, 400 g.
1 instruction leaflet including the composting guide.

Annual capacity by volume, material, dimensions, frost resistance, and package contents: manufacturer's values from Agrotonome, recorded on 07/10/2026.

Estimate your
delivery time

A clay piece, fragile and heavy: from 1.6 to 8 kg depending on the capacity, packed accordingly. Lead times are longer than for the rest of the catalogue and vary by capacity. Exact shipping costs are displayed in the basket once the delivery address has been entered.

Frequently asked questions

8 questions

6 key questions, 8 in the detailed view

Which volume to choose?

Start from what you throw away: each litre absorbs approximately 1.5 kg of organic waste per year, and the height of the pot determines the depth of substrate required.

Volume	Ø x height	Organic waste per year
1 L	12 x 15 cm	1.5 kg
2 L	16 x 22 cm	3 kg
4 L	20 x 26 cm	6 kg
6 L	22 x 32 cm	9 kg
8 L	25 x 38 cm	12 kg
12 L	28 x 42 cm	18 kg

Do you need to dig it up to harvest the compost?

Is the clay pot at risk from frost?

Will the worms escape through the holes?

Should you add worms, and why?

Can citrus peel be added to it?

Is this small bin sufficient for all the food waste from a household?

Can it be installed in a raised bed or a planter?

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Buried wormery Compostino in terracotta

The summary