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If you have purchased store bought bags of soil to fill your raised beds or to add to your rows then you know how costly it can be.  If you have thick clay soil and have bought a tiller, likely you have had to use it year after year.  Likewise, if you have sandy or hard soil you might have experienced only temporary improvements from soil amendments that you add each and every growing season.   Here are some tips on how to fix your soil problems for the long haul.

Clay

Tilling is the usual response to clay soil.  But if you have grown in clay soil repeatedly you probably found that you had to till over and over again.  This is because tilling breaks down the soil structure rather than improving upon it.  When it gets wet, or walked upon, it will simply compact down again.  Instead of tilling, (or if you must, in addition to tilling this time) add a thick layer of wood chips.   This will improve drainage, water retention, create air pockets, and add food for organisms that will naturally till the soil for you like earthworms.

Sand

Sandy soil can be low in nutrients and dry out quickly, but sandy soil is perhaps the easiest to fix and offers the best chance for quick results.  Composting and mulching with a thick layer of wood chips will increase nutrients, increase beneficial organisms, and increase water retention.

Hard Dry Soil

Soil that is hard, dusty when dry, floods when wet, and is grey instead of black or brown lacks organic material.  With an absence of organic material the soil will not sustain the food web necessary for healthy soil.  Hard soil may not change quickly, but a sure fire way to fix it long term is add organic material.  Compost it heavily, and mulch it heavily with (can you guess) wood chips.  As life returns to the soil, the organisms will spread the nutrients through the compact soil underneath and soften it in the process.

Did you notice a theme?  If you have problems with your soil it is because the organisms that participate in producing and maintaining healthy soil don’t want to live there.  Make it a desirable home for them by adding tons of organic material.  Anything other than repairing the food web or your soil will be a temporary fix at best.  Adding compost and wood chips will allow nature to do the rest of the work for you in almost every situation.

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The nutrition you can grow on your homestead is not limited to your garden! Fermenting is great for gardeners not only because you can use the excess vegetables in your garden, but also because it is a way to preserve vegetables that increases the nutritional value of what you are preserving.

Fermenting is basically growing beneficial bacteria, and it’s been done for thousands of years, all over the world.

Sauerkraut is a type of fermented vegetable that you’re probably familiar with already, it’s a popular condiment in Germany and much loved in the United States as well.

It’s very easy to make at home on your countertop, either with cabbage from your garden or of course from the store. The important thing is to use organic cabbage; the pesticides in conventional cabbage can interfere with the fermenting process.

What you need:

• 1-2 large heads of organic cabbage
• 1 quart mason jar
• 1 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
• caraway seeds (optional)
• fermenting weights or a small jelly car and clean rocks
• Cheesecloth or paper towel
• Rubber band or twine

What you do:

1. It’s always good to start with fully sanitized equipment. Wash your cutting board, knife, and jars with hot water and soap
2. Slice up your cabbage, as thin or as thick as you prefer.
3. Put the cabbage in a large mixing bowl, and sprinkle the salt over the top
4. This is the most labor-intensive part. Begin to massage the salt into the cabbage leaves. You can use a potato masher or meat cleaver too to gently pound the cabbage leaves. Do this for about 5-10 minutes. The cabbage leaves will wilt considerably, this is what you want. The liquid from the cabbage will slowly become released through this process; this is the liquid you will use to preserve the cabbage. Once they are significantly and uniformly wilted, move on to the next step.
5. If you are using the caraway seeds, mix them in while the leaves are still in the bowl.
6. Stuff your cabbage leaves into the jar, punching them down to the bottom of the jar as you go, so that the liquid rises above the cabbage (it won’t stay that way, but just keep pushing it down as you add all your cabbage to the jar
7. Weigh the kraut down. As you will notice at this point, no matter how much you stuff the cabbage in the jar, it will always try to slowly pop back up, so you will want to weigh it down so it remains submerged in the liquid. You can use either fermenting weights or a small jelly jar with a few rocks in it. Cover the kraut with a paper towel or cheesecloth and secure with a rubber band.
8. Over the next 24 hours, check the kraut from time to time and press the cabbage down further if needed.
9. Over the next 3-10 days, let your kraut ferment in a dark, cool place. After three days you can start to taste; it’s virtually done when the taste is to your liking.

Enjoy!

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Herbal tea can be very calming, invigorating and of course, healing. These days, however, a lot of major herbal tea brands that have become staples in homes and health food stores unfortunately have added ingredients like natural flavors and soy lecithin. The good news is, there’s several easy and delicious options for homemade herbal tea!

Mint

Mint is the most obvious and a lovely option for tea. Tea made with mint leaves can help with upset stomachs and other digestive issues, and it is also very calming and refreshing. It grows best in well-drained soil and shade, and it crawls so it’s a great ground cover. It also repels bests so it’s perfect around your garden beds.

Lemon Balm

Lemon balm makes for a delicious tea with a lovely flavor, and it’s very medicinal too. Perfect for treating colds, it is a wonderful natural sedative for restless children or patients. It’s an easy and low-maintenance herb, that can get very big very quickly, so it’s perfect for tea as you’ll want to cut it back often.

Dandelion

Dandelion tea, either from the roots, leaves or flowers, is wonderfully medicinal and also quite flavorful. The root even can be used to make caffeine-free, liver-supporting coffee. Odds are you already have dandelion growing in your lawn or pasture, but it can be easily grown in gardens as well.

Chamomile 

Chamomile is a classic herb tea that’s a lovely bedtime treat. It is wonderfully medicinal, benefiting chest colds, inflammation, eczema and allergic reactions. Best grown outdoors in the ground, it can be a lovely option for mass planting and the pretty little flowers are a great landscaping choice as well.

These are just a few options for herbal tea-there’s many more out there! Home-grown and home-brewed tea is the best you’ll get, for taste and for health, so consider some of these wonderful tea herbs today!

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