Making compost is not only a lot of fun, it’s also very easy. And you can’t buy compost as good as you can make in your own backyard. One of the best parts about homemade compost is that it’s all free! I spend quite a bit of time attempting to explain how easy it is to make your own. I know there’s a lot of expertise out that that might be of value, but you don’t need a lot of knowledge to do it correctly. In the SFG system, we use a basic mix of course vermiculite, peat moss, and a blended compost made up of at least 5 different ingredients. This mix has gotten to be very costly-about $70 per 4X4′ square. But it’s only a one time expense. If you make your own compost you’ll never need to spend another cent on Mel’s mix. If you choose not to make your own compost, you’ll always need to have access to some commercially available compost. As you read from previous posts, my favorite commercial compost is made by Gardener & Bloome. It’s got about 10 different things in it, and then I add all of my extras-egg shells, banana peels, orange and lemon rinds, moldy strawberries, old grapes, potato and carrot peelings, dried grass, dried fall leaves, horse manure, etc. You can see how easy it is to get to that minimum number of 5 ingredients. If your interested in learning what you need to know about composting, there’s an easy chapter on how to do it in my ebook which you can find on my site. While at Home Depot today, I ran across this brand of compost-Kelloggs. It too looks excellent and is very similar to the ingredients found in the Gardener and Bloome product. I know there’s formulas about how much of what to add in order to make compost. You don’t need to know all of that. I’ve had tremendous results doing it the way I’ve done it for 13 years. I just layer everything together, make sure I mix it well, mash all the larger pieces, and then moisten it to resemble a rung out sponge. In 6 weeks I get a great compost blend-something no store bought package can offer. One good season of successful composting under your belt will have you asking yourself:”why haven’t I been doing this all along?” Learn how to do it so you don’t have to spend another dime on buying the commercial brands at the stores.

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Here’s a little something for you to consider growing in your SFG’s. It’s pok-choi-a popular Asian green. This particular variety is called “Win-win” from Johnny’s seeds. There’s many varieties available, but our family loves this the most of all those we’ve tried. Delicious in stir-fry’s, it can also be used as part of a mixed salad with other types of greens. It’s easy to grow-especially in cooler temperatures. If you want to grow it in hotter weather, you’ll have to water it twice as much and the pests have a tendency to attack during the warmer months. I only grow this in spring and fall. In the SFG system, you plant 4 of these per square. I’ve written much about how much money you can save by growing things at home. I think everyone believes that. The price for this in your organic produce section of the store will run about $2.50 per head. And those aren’t quite as big as these and certainly not nearly as fresh. Last of all is the quality and taste of your food out of your backyard grown in perfect soil. I haven’t spent hardly any time on this point, but the composition of your soil has a lot to do with the taste of whatever you’re growing. This stuff is great…give it a shot-you won’t be sorry.[ois skin=”below post”]