I Tried Mixing My Own Soil Instead of Buying Bags, and I Wouldn’t Do It Again
I spent a whole weekend digging and sifting yard soil and compost to fill a bed myself, expecting to save money and effort. Here's…
Soil & Compost
What I Actually Noticed After Years of Composting Coffee Grounds
I believed coffee grounds were some kind of secret ingredient for compost before I started saving them. After a couple of years, here's what…
The Simple Drainage Test I Do Before Filling a New Bed
A bucket sized hole and a garden hose is all it takes to check drainage before filling a new raised bed. I skipped this…
Where the Soil Level in a Raised Bed Actually Goes
Every spring the soil in our oldest bed sits lower than it did the year before. Here's what I've figured out about where it…
What Actually Breaks Down in My Pallet Wood Compost Bin
I built a compost bin out of free pallets two summers ago. Here's the honest version of how often I turn it, what disappears…
What the Layered Fill Method Looked Like a Season Later
I filled our fourth raised bed with logs and branches at the bottom and soil on top, then checked back months later to see…