Summer Thrift: Homemade Garden Soil

At our home, gardening is one of the joys of summertime. There is nothing quite like the satisfaction of nurturing plants and watching them flourish, creating both beauty and delicious food for our family. However, the expenses of gardening can add up if we are not careful.  This is especially true in the area of garden soil. Because I am hoping to expand my garden a little each year, I have recently been investigating ways to create my own high quality soil. Here are some of the ingredients I have been learning about:

* worm castings: I have been using these this year and the results have been fantastic. We purchased them from a family  business specializing in organic farming supplies. The cost was minimal, especially because we were able to travel to their warhouse in person and take our own containers to fill. There is no odor at all and they can be placed on beds that are already growing.

*rabbit manure: Years ago, my friend S. introduced me to the wonders of rabbit manure when I asked about her stunning rows of Swiss Chard. According to Spring Warner, in her wonderful book The Quarter Acre Farm, rabbit scat is "wonder manure", the highest in nitrogen, and abounding in phosphorus and potassium. Like worm castings, it can be applied directly in beds. In fact, Spring Warner says that earthworms can even be raised directly under a rabbit cage. This produces, in her words, "manure squared." I haven't called around yet, but I am sure there are numerous sources for free or nearly free rabbit manure.

*recycled coffee grounds: Spring Warner also mentions collecting used coffee grounds from local coffee shops. I had been collecting my own used grounds, but sure enough, a quick contact with my local coffee shop gave me access to large amounts of used coffee grounds...free for the asking! I just have to go on a designated day and pick them up!

* old leaves and kitchen compost: Several years ago my husband made me a rotating compost been out of a recycled barrel.  Since then we have faithfully saved kitchen scraps and old leaves.  The results have been amazing. You can read about composting all over the Internet, but  let me say that the work of saving scraps and turning the compost is well worth it! It is a great area for even the smallest children in the family to participate. We add earthworms  to our bin and my little guy thinks the business of finding and transporting earthworms is the best job ever!   If you want to make your own bin there are "How-To" videos on You Tube for many different styles of bins. We keep a small plastic box on our counter for scraps and empty it a few times a day. It works well for our family.

Although we have used some of these things to enrich our soil in past years, I am preparing to combined them all to actually make our own garden soil for next year's garden.  I would encourage you to read The Quarter Acre Farm about Spring Warner's adventure in urban gardening. Of all the things I have read on the topic of homemade soil , her description in the chapter "Dollar for Dirt" is the clearest. Pleasant ( and thrifty!) gardening!

This post is linked to Homemaking Link-up.