The Collected Seed Blog /

My thoughts on a variety of garden topics. Favorites include: vegetables, native plants, heavy clay soil, composting, and gardening with ornery dogs.

The Collected Seed

Jan 24, 20222 min read

Safe or Not Safe to Compost: Pantry Purge Edition

As a gardener, I don't spring clean. I New Year's clean. It's too cold to be outside, and it's still a little too soon to be starting...

The Collected Seed

Sep 10, 20203 min read

What's your favorite countertop compost bin?

I need a compost bin to keep on my counter, what do you recommend? Or, is there a good countertop compost collector that will keep fruit...

The Collected Seed

Dec 17, 20196 min read

Skip the peat moss and the coir - make leaf mold!

Truth be told, I haven't given leaf mold a fair shake. I didn't think I had enough leaves in my tiny yard to have much of an impact on my...

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The Collected Seed

Dec 4, 20195 min read

Sustainable and compostable wrapping paper!

Sure, traditional wrapping paper is recyclable and gift sacks can be saved and re-used, but there are other very attractive and...

The Collected Seed

Oct 8, 20193 min read

Brown compostables from around the house

Compost leaves they say. They're a great "brown" they say. I'm in central Oklahoma which isn't exactly know for dense forests. That's not...

The Collected Seed

Jun 13, 20195 min read

Closed composting can reduce risks of roaming pests on small lots

As the attendee at a soil health class last summer, I listened in disgust as a local urban farmer chastised a woman‘s question about...

The Collected Seed

May 11, 20191 min read

ICAW | International Compost Awareness Week

While composting may seem like a contemporary entry into the sustainable gardening dialog, the science to support it actually dates back...