Category Archives: Composting

Prepping your square foot garden for winter and….

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Setting you up for major success in the next growing season. While my work for making compost is done for the year-at least the active part-there’s one last item that I’ve done for years to continue improving the tilth of the soil. 

If you live in an area where there’s freezing temperatures but can still work your soil it’s not too late. I remove 4-5 inches of soil, add a layer of fall leaves, and then put the soil back on top. When you come back in the spring to plant, you most likely won’t be able to find any leaves. The earthworms have been doing their job all winter long. 

This is a great way to continue improving your growing medium with a free and natural resource. Don’t throw those leaves away! Save and use as many as you can and then use the remainder next year to make the best compost around.

If you’d like to learn more about how to make that compost, you can find the recorded class available on this site under the “shop” section. You won’t be sorry. When you learn how to do it you’ll never need to buy another fertilizer again. Ever. 

The importance of compost in the square foot garden

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I learned how to make great compost over 20 years ago while interning with Mel Bartholomew. He was the inventor of the square foot garden. Since compost is 1/3 of the magic soil formula, it’s pretty important for it to be high quality. What I learned while with him was invaluable. I’ve never had to buy a fertilizer or commercial chemicals for my gardens for over two decades. It’s easy to do once you learn a few basics. The most important thing? You can never buy it as good as you can make it. The benefits are enormous.

I’ll be having a virtual composting class this upcoming Saturday, January 30th at 10:00 AM MST. The class is 90 minutes long and you’ll see how I’ve been able to feed neighbors, restaurants, and family with the greatest of ease. Contact me if you’re interested in attending. More information is on my blog right over there. <—- Winter is a fabulous time to start collecting things. Make it so they can’t sell you anything 🙂

What you can be doing in the winter to make great compost

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One persons trash is another persons gold. As in black gold. The growing medium that everyone wants in their gardens. Many people in harsher climates may not be aware of what they can be doing during the winter months to prepare to make compost in the spring. For me, it’s only 9 weeks away before I start to actively make compost.

Those who have taken classes at my home and seen my gardens can vouge for my gardening success using 100% compost. Everything grows in my garden. I’ll soon have available a presentation I gave for the community of Park City a short time ago. I’ll show you how I do it and why compost made at home is superior to anything you can buy at nurseries or garden shops. It’s not even close. The benefits of composting speaks for itself. Stay tuned if you’d like to learn more.

How many carrots can you grow in 1 square foot?

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SFG instructors usually teach 16, and for the beginner SFG’er, thats a good way to start. After a while, you continue to learn how to make your SFG even more efficient. There’s 25 of the sweetest, overwintered carrots you’ll ever taste right there. I’ve got a few more left and thats it for the winter carrots. The summer carrots will be direct seeded in about another 2 weeks or so. They don’t taste as sweet as these but still better than what you’d get at the super market. These are Napoli’s, and they are very good.
Give a look at the two classes I’ve got coming up in the next little while. Learn how to be a great square foot gardener, and then learn why Mels mix is a one time expense if you want to make your own compost. Just a few things to learn and you’ll be off to the races. You can’t buy fertilizer as good as you can make at home. And, it’s not even close.

Bag and save those leaves!

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Try to bag as many leaves as possible if it’s not already to late. I’m able to get about 15 of them which is a few more than I actually need. I like to push back a few inches of growing soil and then add a layer of dried leaves. By the time spring arrives they will be gone. They’re a great soil amendment, and the best part? Its free!

I’m also sure to cover my bagged leaves with plastic. When rain and/or snow get in from the top the leaves get messy and soggy. You can still use them but it gets to be a lot more work. For those looking for a way to make extra money for kids at home, contact me. It might be too late for this year, but you can certainly start next year.