Soil: The Tutorial

Last month, when I posted the raised garden bed tutorial, I promised a follow-up tutorial on making soil. It's a bit delayed, I know, but it is definitely not too late (especially for those of us in northern parts).

If you are going through the trouble of building your own raised bed, you're going to want to fill it will the best stuff you can. Hauling a few bags of garden soil from the hardware store can get expensive and is not necessary. I promise you there are many ways to source materials that will form the best growing matter for your plants. Read on!

I have to apologize in advance, as photos of soil, in various stages of decomposition, are not exactly what one might consider eye candy...

Step One: Turn the top soil over. You want to flip under whatever is currently growing in the designated spot, so that it is completely buried. A pitchfork works well for this.

Step 2: Add any and all organic matter you have into the bed. Composted manure, straw or hay, sphagnum moss, regular ol' dirt, and partially composted clippings and leaves are all great to throw in the mix. Use a metal landscaping rake or hoe to evenly distribute and combine it all.

The best thing I had was the top layer of dirt from the chicken run. This was completely composted pine shavings, food scraps, straw, and chicken manure, and it equaled black gold.

If you happen to have some chickens hanging around, make them earn their keep. They will scratch and dig (and poop!) in that heavenly pile, working it into a rich mixture.

Step 3: Wait. And flip, mix, and stir the soon-to-be-soil once a week. By planting time, it will be a bed full of organic, nutrient-rich, free (!) earth.

Here are a few suggestions for obtaining free organic material to help fill your bed:
•Find a horse stable. Many of them offer manure for free, so long as you do the shoveling
•Ask a neighbor if you can dig out some of their compost. (I have neighbors who compost their yard waste but aren't gardeners, so they have little use for all that good stuff.)
•Check Craigslist or Freecycle to see if anyone is offering compost or manure
•Check to see if your town/municipality has a central dumping site for yard waste, and see if they offer compost to the public
•Dig out the chicken coop/sheep pen
•Use this as an opportunity to knock down any raised or uneven portions of your yard, add that to the bed

Flowering, Budding

Oh, it is truly a cause to celebrate. Spring! My mind is flowering, and ideas are budding. My thoughts are brightly colored with...

All things garden

Spring-time crafts (Just paper mache a balloon, then cut out an opening. Stuff with some grass and give a pompom chick a new home!)

Tiny baskets, filled with goodies

...and Cyclops Bixters. Apparently, they come in sets of six, packaged neatly in egg cartons. Heh.

What's sprouting in your mind?

Backyard Beauties

While some parts of the country have recently had some wild weather, the Northeast has been enjoying a string of glorious days of sunshine and warmth.

I thought this would be a nice time for an inspiration spread, as we emerge from our homes and enthusiastically begin moving our lives outdoors again. Enjoy these photos from my own backyard.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

It's a great time of year. Spring is upon us and the seed catalogs are showing up in the mailbox. It's a time of anticipation and hope for gardeners, and the time of year I turn to my favorite books for renewed inspiration, insight, and advice. So now seems like the right time to share my favorite reads on sowing, growing and attempting to live more sustainably.

I have so many "favorite" books on this topic, but one, in particular, stands out:

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
This is what the book's official website says about it :
"Part memoir, part journalistic investigation, this book tells the story of how our family was changed by one year of deliberately eating food produced in the place where we live."
...and I'd like to add that it is packed full of fascinating tidbits about gardening, delightful reflections on family, and insightful observations on politics.

If you like that book, you'll like these ones as well:
This Organic Life by Joan Gussow
The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan