We recently purchased two hanging zinnias. They both looked a little rough when we brought them home, so we decided to do a little experiment. We top-dressed one pot with a half-pound of Living Worm Compost (added a thin layer of the compost to the top of the soil), and we added nothing to the other. For seven days, we watered both pots equally and sat them in the sunshine all day. At the end of the week, the difference was absolutely remarkable! Check it out: 

Ready to top dress your garden and flowers now? Check out our all-natural soil amendments.

Before we put anything into our own garden, we research it. We find out what each ingredient is for, we learn about how it's produced and we look to see if there are local sources we can use.

So we thought it would be a good idea for our customers (and potential customers) to know what goes into a batch of our Living Worm Compost (which is found at the foundation of all of our products and services). So here it is:

First we've got tens of thousands of hungry red wiggler worms, kept at a comfortable 60-80 degrees year-round. They're compost worms, not nightcrawlers or earthworms, although you'll often see other little critters in our compost bins, helping out-- roly-polies, beetles, pot worms, etc. They're all great, they're all welcome.

We feed them a wide variety of locally-sourced produce, organic coconut coir, shredded newsprint, finely crushed egg shells, coffee grounds, alfalfa meal and occasionally oatmeal. Now ask yourself: Is there anything on that short list you wouldn't want sitting on your kitchen table? Probably not, and that's the way we like it. Everything we use is "house safe." Some worm farmers feed their livestock a mixture of animal manure and chicken feed. Those are fine things, but they don't offer the nutritional variety we look for when we produce our vermicompost, and they don't meet our strict "house safe" standards..

Now here's how the composting process works with worms: When worms eat, they break down the food, but their digestive process leaves behind a lot of the nutrients found in the produce they eat. That means their compost will still contain some of the potassium from the bananas, iron from the spinach, etc. And that's good news for your soil!

So without further ado, here's a list of produce we've fed our worms recently, helping to create some of the richest, most nutrient-dense vermicompost you'll ever use:

• Avacado
• Apple
• Spinach
• Summer Squash
• Cantaloupe
• Eggplant
• Cabbage
• Romaine lettuce
• Iceberg lettuce
• Grapes
• Raspberries
• Blackberries
• Blueberries
• Parsley
• Basil
• Banana
• Cilantro
• Tomato
• Carrot
• Celery
• Pumpkin
• Zucchini
• Cucumber
• Watermelon
• Kale
• Mushroom
• Green pepper
• Red pepper
• Beet
• White potato
• Redskin potato
• Sweet potato

In short, it's stuff you'd find on your dinner table on any given evening, so you know the compost will be a healthy addition to your yard & garden. 

So, yes, we're very particular about the stuff our worms eat-- mainly because the end product will eventually end up in gardens growing food that our family and friends will eat, as well as growing food that our customers will eat. These things matter to us.

If you're interested in buying some of our Living Worm Compost for your own garden, flowers or ornamentals, click here.

When we moved into our Zeeland Township property last year, our lawn was in need of a little restoration. To be honest, some spots were in need of a lot. The thing with going organic in your yard, there are no quick fixes; it's always a process. But without chemicals lurking beneath your feet, it's always worth it.

One of the things we did was to overseed a few areas last fall that were largely bare and rapidly taken over by big, nasty, hairy, thorny, weedy plants. We spent a better part of the summer pulling those things, and then in late August we threw a seed blend down in order to begin the restoration of that part of our lawn.

And now this spring, this section of the yard is thick, lush, deep green and healthy. Those nasty plants that were sprouting up in the bare spots last year? Gone. Now we've got a nice healthy blend of grasses...plus a hefty dose of clover. And you know what? We put put those little clovers there on purpose. Yep, our seed blend was about a third Dutch white clover seed. And no, we're not crazy. Clover is an amazing ground cover! Plus, it pulls nitrogen out of the air and deposits it into your soil-- it fertilizes itself and the rest of your turf!

Honestly, a weed is only a plant you don't want. And clover is only unwanted because the chemical industry has told us we should get rid of it. But this little ground cover should be a welcome addition to any healthy, beautiful lawn.

Rodale's Organic Life magazine published a story last year which talks about both the aesthetic and scientific benefits of clover in your lawn. Here's an excerpt: 
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The secret to having a great lawn without using harsh chemicals? It's Dutch clover. For the past 50 years, clover has been considered a noxious lawn weed, but before that it was an important component in fine lawns—and for good reason. Clover is drought-tolerant, virtually immune to diseases, and distasteful to common turf insects. And it generates its own food by fixing nitrogen in the soil.

So how did this lawn superstar get such a bad rap? Blame the broadleaf herbicides introduced after World War II. Used to kill weeds such as dandelions and plantains, the chemicals also destroyed the clover that was used in many lawn mixes of the time (leaving ugly bare patches in their wake). Today, virtually all seed companies omit clover from their mixes.

But that doesn't mean that you can't enjoy the advantages of this great green. Eliminating herbicides from your lawn regime is incredibly easy. And once you do it, most clover you introduce into your back yard will thrive. Here's where to start:
Kick The Fertilizer Habit
If your lawn is already in decent shape—no big bare patches, less than 20 percent weeds—you can make it organic without adding any new clover or grasses. Conversion is not so much what you do as what you stop doing. In other words, throw out your [chemical] fertilizer...

Add Clover + Other Grasses
If you're lucky, you already have some clover in your lawn. If not, it's easy to add it by overseeding, or planting on top of what's already there. In spring or autumn, rough up the surface of the lawn with a metal garden rake. Mix the clover seed with sand or finely screened compost to ensure even distribution. Sow two ounces of clover seed per 1,000 square feet for a moderate clover cover, or up to eight ounces if you want the clover to dominate the turf. After sowing, water your lawn deeply and keep the soil surface moist until the clover germinates. The result will be a soft, cushy, deep-green lawn that stays lush through spring, summer, and fall.

If you live in west Michigan and you'd like to kick chemical habit with your lawn, get in touch with Good Sweet Earth's turf guy, Steve Veldheer at Steve@GoodSweetEarth.com. We can fertilize your lawn without one drop of chemicals-- check out our lawn fertilization service.

​Let's get the chemical industry out of our yards and go back to doing it the way nature intended!

“Treat your soil well and your lawn will look amazing.

"Apply compost in the spring and fall.”

“Don’t worry if your lawn doesn’t look like the outfield at Comerica Park. Embrace a little clover.”

“Water less frequently, water deeper.”

Good Sweet Earth lawn customers have been hearing these things from us for years. And we’re always happy when we see this type of information appear in mainstream publications. Needless to say, when organic lawn care tips appeared in the Old Farmer’s Almanac, we were ecstatic; here's an excerpt:

The more you let nature do the work for you, the easier it will be to care for your lawn. 
​
​Always pay attention to the soil! Your lawn needs nourishment.

• Every spring, apply a one-to-two-thick layer of compost to top of your lawn with a spreader. Soils rich in decomposed organic materials will do a better job of holding moisture.
• In the spring, remove the thatch or dead grass with a rake to help moisture and oxygen reach down to the roots.

Fertilizing

• As well as building your soil with compost, regularly apply a slow-release nitrogen fertilizer [like alfalfa meal] with a lawn spreader. The best time to apply fertilizer is just before it rains.
• In areas of your lawn where tree roots compete with the grass, apply some extra fertilizer to benefit both.

Watering

• Water your lawn early in the morning or in the evening.
• Water long enough to allow the water to soak in below the root zone. Shallow watering encourages shallow root growth and weeds. It will take about an inch of water to penetrate 6 to 8 inches into the soil. Set out shallow cans in the sprinkler area to measure.
• Don’t overwater. Make the lawn seek its own source of water, building longer, sturdier roots. Cut back on water especially in midsummer to let the lawn go dormant, strengthening it for fall and winter.

Weeding

• Prevent weeds with regular mowing and hand-removing tenacious weeds. Relax your stance on weeds, however, and be comfortable with letting some weeds grow in that expanse of green.
• A slightly wild lawn lets volunteer grasses, wildflowers, herbs, and even wild strawberries grow, adding color and variety to your landscape.
• Clover grows low to the ground and smells lovely after it’s been cut, and it often stays green after the rest of lawn has turned brown; dandelion greens taste great in a salad (if you’re not applying chemical fertilizers!).

Mowing

• To keep a healthy lawn, never cut more than one-third off the total grass height. Mow the lawn when the grass is dry and keep the blades sharp to reduce tearing the grass blades (which invites disease).
• Leave clippings on the lawn to filter down to the soil, decompose, and recycle nutrients back to the roots. The shorter the clippings, the more quickly they will decompose into the soil. Look into the “mulching mowers” that recycle clippings back onto the lawn.

If you're in west Michigan and you’d like to learn more about growing a healthier lawn through organic (chemical-free) maintenance, check out our lawn service options, or contact Good Sweet Earth’s lawn guy Steve Veldheer at Steve@GoodSweetEarth.com.