My husband has been collecting bags of ugly produce from our local grocery store. Think: wilted chard, ripe bananas, and bruised apples—it's astounding what they get rid of! The scraps are meant for composting, but we also use them to give our chickens something to do in winter when there's not much to forage in the yard.

We chop it all up and dump everything into a raised bed that we built specifically for composting, and the chickens do all the work of turning the scraps while getting some exercise and feeding on a variety of nutrient-dense greens at the same time.

Some of this stuff also gets laid on top of the raised beds in our vegetable garden, which we then layer with fallen sticks and branches, pine cones, brown packaging paper that we put through the paper shredder, spent coffee grounds, old straw or chicken bedding, ashes from the wood stove, pretty much anything that biodegrades.

I'm a big fan of composting in place, especially in winter when the weather takes care of breaking things down for you.

We often get paralyzed by all those composting "rules" and think we need to maintain three different bins and rotate through different piles... but this "lazy" way of composting has worked well for me, even in a climate that drops down into the single digits and gets snow as early as November.

Once spring rolls around, I simply top off my raised beds with a fresh layer of aged, crumbly compost or a compost/soil mix, and anything that hasn't broken down yet will continue decomposing underground.

This is just one of the many ways I make my own soil, and I've never had better soil in my life! (I started doing this more seriously five years ago.)

Making your own soil is very easy and often more economical too. If you want a more methodical way to make soil, I also recommend trying my no-dig garden but starting it now, if you can. That way, your new soil will be ready to go in spring!

Where I live, several kinds of businesses offer customers free compostable materials just so they don't have to trash them: juice bars, coffeeshops, raw food and vegan restaurants. It doesn't hurt to ask if they can part with a bag of scraps for you to take home.

As they say... one man's trash is another one's treasure!

Seasonal Tips

42 Surprising Things You Can Compost Right Now Read more

7 Edible Cover Crops That Provide Food While Building Your Soil Read more

How to Use Perlite to Improve Soil and Boost Plant Growth Read more

What Soil Does to Your Brain When You Breathe In Mycobacteria Read more

5 Super Early-Blooming Bulbs That Don't Care If It's Still Winter Read more

How to Grow Mother of Thousands: A Unique Succulent That Sows Itself Read more

This weekend I'm placing my next seed order at Botanical Interests, and they just so happen to be having a President's Day sale! Spend $50 and get $15 off, or spend $100 and get $30 off.​

Here are a few of the things I've got in my cart:

• ​Mouse Melon cucamelons - One of my favorite cucumbers (although not technically a cucumber). The tiny fruits look like mini watermelons and have a satisfying crunch. They're also perennial and can be overwintered in the garage. (I wrote more about them in this post.)
• ​Lemon cucumbers - These are actual cucumbers, but look like lemons! I like them fresh or pickled, and my kids love eating them straight off the vine like apples.
• ​Minnesota Midget cantaloupes - Short-season melons are hard to find, but this variety did really well for me last year and ripened in less than 70 days.
• ​Caraflex cabbage - I'm intrigued by this compact cabbage variety, which is full size at just 2 pounds. So, you can plant them closer together and harvest a reasonable head of cabbage that's perfectly sized for a meal or two.
• ​Tetra dill - This is a bushy, slow-bolting variety that gives you more fronds through summer. Grow this dill for ample leaf production, not seeds.
• ​Purple Emperor nasturtiums - I typically grow the orange and yellow varieties, but want to try this blend of purple and pink nasturtiums. They're one of my favorite edible flowers!
• ​Oriental Nights sweet alyssum - Did know alyssum is in the brassica family? The low-growing, edible flowers have a mild mustard flavor and attract tons of pollinators, making them a great ground cover choice in edible gardens.

P.S. Start making your own nutrient-rich garden soil now so it's ready by spring!

P.P.S. Take advantage of Botanical Interests' President's Day sale before it ends. Spend $50 and get $15 off, or spend $100 and get $30 off.​