Good Sweet Earth is offering a new service for West Michigan gardeners looking to take their garden to the next level this year: Your own personal gardening consultant to work with you, from the planning of your crops through the harvest. You'll have your very own Master Gardener to walk you through the entire growing season! Need help with your garden? Want to maximize your harvest? Looking for someone to answer tough questions as they pop up during the growing season? We got your back! Whether you do container gardening, raised beds or have a quarter-acre of yard space ready for planting, we can help! Here's what's included in your season-long Gardening Consultant Service: 1. An on-site assessment of your garden space-- we'll check your soil, sunlight, irrigation, space, etc. 2. A personalized plan for when and where to plant your seeds and seedlings. We'll sit down with you to go over the fruits, veggies and herbs you and your family most enjoy, and we'll map out your garden to maximize your harvest. We'll also make recommendations on different plant varieties based on your level of gardening experience, West Michigan climate and your personal tastes. 3. Season-long guidance. Questions always come up, but with Good Sweet Earth, you'll have an expert at your beck and call as you encounter pests, unproductive plants, fertilization questions, and any other curves nature can throw at you. We'll walk you through it all season long, from planting in the spring to wrapping things up in the fall! 4. Discounted soil test and analysis. We'll knock $10 off of our soil test and analysis. Testing is done at a Michigan State University lab, and analysis will give you guidance on how to effectively amend your soil for maximum results! Regular price is $50; discounted price is $40. This package is only available to West Michigan residents (Kent, Ottawa and Allegan Counties), and is only available for purchase during the months of September-April, so that we can have adequate time to come out and assess your garden space and prepare your customized garden plan for spring. Best part? It only costs $100, but the food you'll harvest will be worth it! Questions? Email Corey at Corey@GoodSweetEarth.com. Ready to purchase? Sign up here and we'll be in touch to schedule an on-site assessment of your garden space!
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How do you know when it’s time to start planting? Our weather has been more spring-like here in Michigan than wintery and if you are anything like me you have your seeds ready to go. Is it too early though? A major deciding factor is what you want to plant. It is by far too early for summer crops like tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants, which shouldn’t hit the ground until mid- to late-May. But for the spring crops*...it depends. For those marvelous spring crops that we all love to plant as soon as the ground thaws and the sun kisses the air? The deciding factor is the soil-- the soil's moisture and the soil's temperature. First, grab a handful of soil and squeeze it into a ball. If the soil becomes tight and holds its shape too well, then it's too wet to plant. Rototilling soil this wet or even walking on your crop rows at this point will compact things unnecessarily. However, if your handful of soil becomes a light ball that breaks apart easily, your soil's passed the first test of spring. The next consideration is your soil temperature. Cool weather vegetables need the soil to be at least 35 degrees for your seeds to germinate. An inexpensive addition to your gardening toolbox is a soil thermometer. A good strategy when you are unsure if the temperatures will remain warm enough is to plant only a section of your crops, then wait a week and plant more. This way, if temps drop too far, your entire crop won't be lost. Staggering your sowing also spreads out your harvest a bit-- an added bonus. Now before you put your seeds in the ground don’t forget to prepare your soil. Ready to purchase your Living Worm Compost? Click here. It's never too early or too cold to stock up on compost. Not sure how much you need? Email me at Corey@goodsweetearth.com and I'd be happy to help. (*For the record, these are really the only things you should be putting in the ground in the early spring: spring cabbage, garlic-cloves, kale, onions, peas, radishes, shallots, spinach and turnips. Those are your spring crops that are able to handle a little extra cold.) Corey Veldheer is the owner of Good Sweet Earth and has been Master Gardener Certified through Michigan State University. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Victory Garden. In case you’re unfamiliar with this bit of agricultural history, here’s a quick summary: Victory Gardens became popular during World War I as a way to ease demand on the public food supply, as well as boost morale for Americans struggling through a major war. The Victory Garden campaign was then resurrected during World War II for all the same reasons, but this time, it spread across European nations as well. The government, during both wars, encouraged families to grow fruits and vegetables in their yards, as well as in community gardens. The idea to encourage backyard and community gardens sprung from the need to increase food supply at a time when our agricultural resources were being shifted elsewhere, and transportation facilities were needed for the war effort. Every family that grew their own tomatoes, carrots, berries, herbs and cucumbers did so because they truly felt like their backyard garden was contributing to a larger cause. President Woodrow Wilson said, “Food will win the war.” So what does this have to do with us today? Is there a place for Victory Gardens in 21st century America? Well, let’s think about this: there might not be a great American war raging in the traditional sense, but what about a war against corporate greed? Unsafe farming practices? Chemicals invading our environment and polluting our water supply? An economic culture that forces us to rely almost exclusively on corporations for our well-being? Worker exploitation? What if we started fighting for the small family farmer? For a cleaner watershed? For an environment with less greenhouse gasses? For healthy soil that won’t erode when the wind blows? For produce grown in an environment that didn’t exploit labor? The more food we grow ourselves, the less we rely on corporate supermarkets, shipping companies and corporate mega-farms for our food. For every tomato we grow ourselves, that’s one less tomato that had to be trucked across the country in a hot semi from a corporate farm to a chain store. The more organic fertilizers and soil amendments we use, the less we rely on multi-national chemical companies to feed our plants (and ruin our soil). For every bag of Worm Compost, or alfalfa meal, or biochar, or fish emulsion, we use, that’s less money going into the pockets of billion-dollar chemical companies. Natural fertilizers and amendments also replenish the microorganisms and organic matter in the soil that chemicals destroy. The more we shop from local farms, co-ops, CSAs and farmers markets, the more of our money stays right here in our own community. For every bundle of radishes you buy directly from the local farmer who grew it, that’s money going to a family that lives, plays, works and goes to school within 50 miles of your own home. So, you want to do your part to heal the planet? Rely less on corporations for your food. Rely less on laboratories for your fertilizer. Rely MORE on locally-grown organic food—that either you grow or a small family farmer has grown for you. Let’s re-introduce Victory Gardens for the 21st century— the war might not be the same as it was a hundred years ago, but if we lose this one, what kind of planet will we leave for our kids? If you’d like to grow more chemical-free food for your family this year, check out these Good Sweet Earth products, or (if you live in West Michigan) hire your own personal garden consultant to walk you through the growing season. If you’d like to buy some local produce, here are a few local West Michigan sources we love that you can try out this year as well: With temps barely reaching 30 degrees it’s hard to think about your garden, but being cooped up on these long winter nights, I think this is the best time to start planning for spring! So what is a gardener to do in February? First, take a look back at your garden journal and see what worked last year and what didn’t. (Not sure what a garden journal is? Check out this post from last season that explains why a garden journal is essential to successful gardening.) Next, make a list of what which fruits and vegetable you would like to grow this year. Everyone seems to want the staples of a backyard garden—cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes, and green beans. Those are easy to grow and make a fine garden, but browse a few seed catalogs and consider branching out! One of our garden consultation clients is growing Amaranth which is a grain related to quinoa—how fun! For me, this year I am working on expanding my perennials including planting more raspberries, strawberries, additional apple trees, and chamomile for tea. Also decide if you want to start seedlings or purchase seedlings from a local nursery. Some plants are best direct sown into the soil such as lettuce, carrots, cucumbers and green beans. Others, such as peppers, tomatoes and eggplant, need a head start with our shorter growing season. We are pretty lucky here in West Michigan with many greenhouse choices to purchase seedlings, so if growing your own seems intimidating, rest assured you will have a good selection of pros nearby to get those seeds going for you (for a price). Finally, order your seeds! There are lots of great places to order organic seeds from but some of my favorites include Johnny's Selected Seeds, Seed Savers Exchange and Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. Happy Gardening! Well, the calendar has officially rolled over to October. It’s sad to say, but another growing season is wrapping up here in west Michigan. It really is amazing to be a part of a millennia-old cycle of growth, death and rebirth each year in our humble garden beds. Even as we put to rest this year’s garden, know that the next few months of rest are as critical as any for your soil’s health. So as our growing season comes to an end there are a few things you need to do to get ready for a successful growing season next year.
Finally, take a deep breath and marvel at all you experienced this year. Successes? Wonderful! Frustrations? Consider them learning experiences. Failures? Consider those painful learning experiences, but learning experiences nonetheless. Gardening, farming, growing—no one goes an entire season without hitting a few rocks or pitfalls. The important thing is to keep trying, keep growing and savor each new season. |