Greener Farms (and home gardens) with composted soil

A pair of regenerative farmers are hosting a workshop about soil for your garden at The Cheese Bar in Lakeshore. 

Dane and Alley cultivated everything they know to develop the Gardening For (And With) Your Soil, workshop, which is what they do at their business, Greener Farms in Kingsville. 

 It is a full-circle farming operation. For a fee, Greener Farms will pick up your food waste, break it down on their farm for composting and return nutrient-rich soil to customers. Old produce is eventually “regenerated” into new produce. This process is at least a year and a half in length.

During the workshop, Dane and Alley were there to talk about gardening soil as well as answer some beginner’s questions regarding small gardens.

One participant wanted advice on how to grow a natural garden. “Seeds are everything,” said Alley, who only uses organic seeds that come from the same climate. “If seeds are not efficient, then you have to buy fertilizer and that’s how they make money.”

Alley talked about the big county –crops that plant only one thing and rely on pesticides. She said it is much better to grow various produce in small gardens than to have big crops.

Another participant wanted advice on composting.

Dane suggests adding compost to your garden instead of flipping the soil. When the soil is layered, it acts as a mulch.

“It keeps the weeds down and feeds the bugs,” said Dane.

One beginner wanted to focus on the soil.

“Every ailment your plant could receive is tied to the soil,” said Dane.

Dane says if you have weeds in your garden, it’s probably because the soil lacks nitrogen and suggests using a compost like chicken manure. Yearly crop rotation will also recycle the nutrients.

Another beginner complained about their crop not growing properly due to elements.

Alley said snap peas are an easy, delicious, natural crop to grow. Peas and beans can be planted early in the season because they can tolerate frost and have lots of nitrogen for problem soil.

According to Dane, cherry tomatoes are also easy to take care of, but plant them as late as possible because they can’t tolerate frost and need a lot of watering.

Dane and Alley can be found on social media (@greenerfarms) or (@grownladygrows) or via email at [email protected].