SHIFTING ROOTS

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How to Compost when its Freezing Outside

November 14, 2020

We all want to do our part and compost as much as we can. But how do you continue composting in winter, especially if you live in the freezing hinterland that is Canada? Does composting even work in winter? And what about when it’s minus 40?!?!

If you are looking for someone who understands what it’s like to try and continue composting during six long months of winter, you’ve come to the right place. I live in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, so I know what it’s like to trudge through 2 feet of snow to the compost bin.

By the end of this post, you’ll know how to winter compost, how it works, and what fellow Canadians do when the temperature is unreasonable.

If you’d rather watch than read, watch this video below on winter composting.. .

Can You Compost in Winter?

Yes, but it’s probably not what you think. Even though a large compost pile will create a substantial amount of heat, the average household compost pile will freeze during a Canadian winter.

Translation: Nothing is happening.

But don’t let that deter you. You can still put all of your household scraps on the compost pile all winter long. When the weather warms up in the spring, the decomposition process will start again and your pile will continue to make black gold.

Before I had a fancy compost bin, I threw my household compost straight on my garden area over the snow all winter long. Sure, it was a bit gross when the snow melted, but I just lightly worked it into the soil as soon as the ground was dry, and the bulk of it decomposed in around 2 weeks.

As long as you don’t throw in any bones or meat (and you shouldn’t be anyway!) rodents shouldn’t be a problem.

Related: Compostable Newsprint Pots

How do you take care of a compost bin in winter?

The secret? Do nothing, except add your kitchen scraps to it.

You don’t need to worry about having too many green items in it, because chances are, you loaded up your compost in the fall with lots of browns (leaves, garden waste, etc.) If you’re really worried, you can always turn your compost in the spring as soon as it thaws out.

You also don’t have to worry about mixing the compost in with the snow or scraping snow off, or anything like that. Just dump the kitchen scraps on the compost bin, and let Mother Nature do the work in the Spring. Done.

Want to see our compost bin out of pallets? Here’s how we made it.

But what about when it’s FREEZING!

I’ll admit, I don’t really want to trudge out to the compost bin in -40 either. In that case, you can keep a large plastic container just outside your door to dump all of your compostable items in. They’ll freeze, and when the temperature is slightly more reasonable, move that frozen block of future compost to the main composting area.

Some people do this method the entire winter, and never go to the main composting area. Whatever you decide is fine, as long as it eventually goes in the compost bin.

Can’t I just Compost Indoors?

Sure! I personally don’t, because I have toddlers, and things could get messy very fast if I’m not careful. If you can compost indoors, you have a couple of options.

The first: Grab a large plastic bin with a lid and store your compost in there. After every week, sprinkle the contents with a thin layer of peat moss or soil that you’ve either saved from your garden or purchased from a store. You’ll eventually have to empty it out, but you can go a lot longer between those times.

The second: Give more advanced techniques, like vermicomposting or bokashi composting a try. I personally haven’t tried them, so I won’t go into them, but they are two good ways to make your scraps into compost a lot faster.

Will you give winter composting a try? Any tips to add?

Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

1 Comment
Filed Under: Uncategorised Tagged: compost, composting, winter, winter gardening

Ten Fall Garden Chores to Do Now For an Easier Spring

October 1, 2019

Buy Soil and Mulch for Next Year

If your local garden centre has any dirt or mulch left, now is the time to get it on sale.  Don’t worry if you can’t put it in your garden just yet.  Those bags will keep until spring.

I find it helpful to store a bag of dirt, fertilizer, and my small pots downstairs so they are ready when it’s time to start my seeds in the spring.  No trekking outside to the garden shed in minus 40 for this girl!!  Not that I’ve done that before, or anything.

Trim Down Perennial Plants

If you’re short on time, you can save this chore for spring.  At the very least, pull out all of the plants in your pots and add them to your compost pile.

Related: How to Harvest and Store Onions

Mark Perennial Locations & Take Pictures

There is nothing worse in your gardening life than planting something new, only to realize its inches away from an established plant that’s going to overshadow it.  This is especially important if you’ve moved into a new home with an established yard.

Related: Gardener’s Worst Nightmares: 28 Perennials You’ll Regret Planting

Take in Bulbs for Overwintering

Dahlias, calla lilies, and gladiolas all need to come inside for the winter.  Unless you’re in USDA hardiness zone 8 or higher.

To store, dig up the bulbs and remove all dirt.  store them in a cool, dry place like a basement or crawl space.  Anywhere that won’t get below zero degrees.  Check your bulbs periodically over the winter and throw away any that are starting to rot.

Fall is here but gardening doesn’t stop as soon as Autumn begins!! Here's some good tips for beginners on what do with vegetables, perennial flowers, and annual flowers now, so that you’ll have an easier Spring.  Who wouldn't want to enjoy these gladiolus bulbs again?  #gardening #tips #beginners #fall #autumn #garden #vegetables #perennials#chores #tasks #gladiolus #bulbs

Transplant Perennials and Plant Spring Bulbs

Now is the time to transplant peonies, astilbes, bleeding hearts, Irises, day lilies, lily of the valley, and asiatic lilies.  All of these flowers can be transplanted in spring, but you’ll have a better first year of establishment if you do it in the fall.

Make sure your newly transplanted perennial gets lots of water until the snow falls.

Head over to your local garden centre for spring bulbs like daffodils, hyacinth, tulips, and allium.  Planting in spring is too late because these bulbs need the cool winter to flower..  For zones 9 and 10, you may need to dig up these bulbs and store them in a fridge over the winter.

Related: 53 Most Loved Perennials You Need to Plant

Cover Tender Shrubs

I live in a climate where no one wraps their shrubs for the winter.  However, I know in other parts of North America this is standard practice.  Here’s an old but good video showing how to wrap trees:

Winterize Your Strawberries

Strawberries are hardy to zone 2, but they require some extra care and attention in the fall to make sure they return in the Spring. Here’s what to do to make sure your strawberries don’t die.

Harvest tender vegetables before the first frost

Tomatoes, pumpkins, squash, and peppers all need to be picked before the first frost, even if they are not ripe.  Check the weather forecast daily.  Some years I’ve had to harvest everything as early as September 3rd, and this year I was able to wait until September 19th.  (The average first frost is September 15th in my area.)

Here’s a handy chart for Canadian and American frost dates.

Fall is here but gardening doesn’t stop as soon as Autumn begins!! Here's some good tips for beginners on what do with vegetables, perennial flowers, and annual flowers now, so that you’ll have an easier Spring.  Less work in the garden?  Yes please!  #gardening #tips #beginners #fall #autumn #garden #vegetables #perennials#chores #tasks

If the daily low gets to just above freezing and you live in the country or are worried about the temperature dipping lower than expected, you can cover your plants with old sheets.

P.S. Root vegetables are just fine in the ground during a frost.  In fact, carrots taste better after the first hard frost, so leave them in the ground without regret!

P.P.S.  For whatever reason, potatoes don’t follow this rule.  If you leave them in the ground during a killing frost, the taste will change and they’ll go mushy.  Go figure.

Related: How to Harvest and Process Fresh Pumpkin

Don't leave your tomatoes out in the cold! Pick them before the first frost or cover with sheets.Click To Tweet

Make Your Own Compost

I’m not talking about your compost bin.  Although if you have one, that is an excellent start.  Collect all of the leaves you rake up and leave them outside in garbage bags over the winter.  When spring comes, spread them out over your garden and rototill them in for an excellent compost.

Fall is here but gardening doesn’t stop as soon as Autumn begins!! Here's some good tips for beginners on what do with vegetables, perennial flowers, and annual flowers now, so that you’ll have an easier Spring.  I'm going to collect some of these sunflower seeds for my seed saving.  #gardening #tips #beginners #fall #autumn #garden #vegetables #perennials#chores #tasks #seeds #sunflower

Collect Annual Seeds

You can save yourself a large expense next spring if you plant heirloom varieties and learn how to collect your own seeds.  Tomatoes, pumpkins, squash, cucumbers, and peppers are all really easy vegetables to start collecting from.  As for flowers?  Here are 5 of the easiest annual flowers to harvest seeds from.  Perfect for the beginner seed saver.

Like saving money?  Who doesn’t?! Here are the Fall garden chores that will save you money next Spring.

Is there anything I’ve missed?  Let me know in the comments what you do in the fall to make things easier in the spring!

Want updates on how my garden is doing?  Follow me on Facebook or Instagram for the latest.

Pin me for later!

Fall is here but gardening doesn’t stop as soon as Autumn begins!! Here's some good tips for beginners on what do with vegetables, perennial flowers, and annual flowers now, so that you’ll have an easier Spring.  Less work in the garden?  Yes please!  #gardening #tips #beginners #fall #autumn #garden #vegetables #perennials#chores #tasks

A huge thank you and shout out to my friend Paige of Blush Beauty and Photography.  She had the unenviable task of making an almost 5 months pregnant lady look not-pregnant and feel good about herself.  If you’re in Saskatoon and looking for a photographer she is your girl.  She is also really amazing with autistic kids, as she was able to get my son to look at the camera for our family pictures.

Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

21 Comments
Filed Under: Backyard Florist, Gardening, Outdoor Life Tagged: Autumn, compost, fall, frost, garden chores, Gardening, harvest, leaves, spring, Weeds

How to Clean Up Your Garden in the Fall When You Have No Time

September 15, 2019

The vegetables have been picked, the temperatures are cooling, and fall has arrived.  You know you should clean up your garden for the year, but lets be real–you’re feeling the time crunch with back to school, a busy work life, or just plain being sick of your garden.  While a proper garden clean up is ideal, I’m going to give you my guide to what you must do–and what you can skip, so that your garden is dealt with in record time.

No time do a fall garden clean up? Here's some good tips on which jobs you must do with your vegetables and perennial flowers, and which chores you can skip until Spring. #gardening #tips #beginners #fall #autumn #garden #vegetables #perennials #chores #tasks
[Read more…]
Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

7 Comments
Filed Under: Gardening, Harvest Tagged: Autumn, compost, fall, fall clean up, garden tools, Gardening, no time, perennials, pots, time saving, Vegetables, Weeds

5 Things You Can Do this Fall to Save Money in the Garden next Spring

September 24, 2018

We’ve all been there.  Promising ourselves that this is the year we will stay on budget in the garden centre.  But $100 soon becomes $200 and then you realize that you need “just one more thing” and suddenly your best attempts at not spending too much quickly spiral into $500 on bedding plants and seeds in the blink of an eye.

So what’s a gardener to do?

Here’s 5 ways this Fall you can make a dent in your gardening budget next Spring.

Looking for a way to be more frugal in your garden? I'll share my best tips and ideas for beginners on saving money in their vegetable or flower garden. Here's to gardening on a budget!! #gardening #budget #frugal #hacks #tips #ideas #for beginners #vegetable #flower

Plant Heirlooms and Save the Seeds

The easiest way to save money in the garden is by saving seeds.  Sure, you’ll have an initial investment, but after that your cost is essentially zero.  Tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, lettuce, squash, pumpkins, and cucumbers are all really easy vegetables to start with.

When you do buy your initial seeds, make sure you get heirloom, open pollinated varieties and not hybrids.  If you plant a seed saved from a hybrid vegetable, you’ll get a plant that resembles one of the “parents” that went into making the hybrid, not the hybrid itself.

Not sure where to buy seeds?  Here’s a list of Canadian companies, and one for the US.

Looking for a way to be more frugal in your garden? I'll share my best tips and ideas for beginners on saving money in their vegetable or flower garden. Here's to gardening on a budget!! #gardening #budget #frugal #hacks #tips #ideas #for beginners #vegetable #flower

Collect Seeds From Easy to Save Annuals

Wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t have to spend a fortune to make your front yard look amazing?  Save seeds from marigolds, sunflowers, nasturtiums, zinnias, calendula, and more for an easy and cheap flower garden next year.  Or plant them amongst your vegetable garden for some wonderful companion planting benefits.

Divide and Share Overgrown Perennials

More established gardeners are often happy to share perennials plants that have grown a bit too big for their intended space.  The parent plant often ends up revived the next growing season and you end up with some free plants for your yard.  Win!

Before you get too excited, you might want to read over this list of plants that can quickly turn into a nightmare in zone 2 and 3, and this one for all the warmer zones.

Favourite plant on the list?  You can still plant it!!  Just know that if you’re not willing or able to maintain it every year, you’ll quickly have an overgrown mess on your hands.

Take Cuttings of Annual Plants and Grow them Indoors Over Winter

For years my mother has taken cuttings of her favourite coleus and german ivy plants and grown them over the winter.  Then, in Spring, she takes multiple cuttings from those indoor plants and has enough plants that she doesn’t need to buy them from the nursery.  Although lets be real. . . a new variety or two always makes it’s way into the cart.

How do you take a cutting?  It’s quite simple.  Cut the plant so that it has a bit of a stem.  Put the stem in water until it grows roots, usually in around a week.  Transfer your newly rooted cuttings to a pot with dirt.  Put them in a spot with adequate sunlight, water every few days, and repeat the process in spring.

Looking for a way to be more frugal in your garden? I'll share my best tips and ideas for beginners on saving money in their vegetable or flower garden. Here's to gardening on a budget!! #gardening #budget #frugal #hacks #tips #ideas #for beginners #vegetable #flower

Get Serious About Composting

Don’t throw away those kitchen scraps and old leaves!  They are the perfect ingredients for making a nutrient-rich compost for your soil.

If you’ve never composted before, know that composting can be a bit of a waiting game (unless you vermicompost or hot compost).  Your home compost will need to sit a couple of months and sometimes up to a year to be fully ready to use in your garden.  The time depends on a couple of factors, such as how frequently (if at all) you turn it, and if you live in an area that has extremely cold winters or not.

If you live someplace where the whole winter is below freezing, the composting process will stop for the winter and re-start in the spring.

Check with your municipality if they have a compost program.  Some cities offer free compost to their citizens!!

Looking for a way to be more frugal in your garden? I'll share my best tips and ideas for beginners on saving money in their vegetable or flower garden. Here's to gardening on a budget!! #gardening #budget #frugal #hacks #tips #ideas #for beginners #vegetable #flower

Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

4 Comments
Filed Under: Gardening, Saving Money Tagged: compost, flower, frugal, Garden, Gardening, perennial, plants, propagate, save money, tips, vegetable

Moving Towards Zero Waste

February 18, 2017

zero waste

Curious about the zero waste lifestyle?  I’ve been following the blog Waste Not YXE since it’s beginning and I’ve been dying to ask it’s founders some questions. How did you start? How do you stay on top of things? Does anyone with kids do this? I sat down with Cassandra for coffee and croissants at the Night Oven and she gladly answered my questions. Here’s my top 10 tips I gleaned from our conversation.

[Read more…]

Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Small Space Living, Zero Waste Tagged: compost, Decluttering, live with less, reduce, reduce waste, reuse, Saskatoon, saving money, waste not YXE, zero waste

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Welcome!

Hi, I'm Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

P.S. First time gardener? You'll want to download the quick start gardening guide below!

Recent Posts

  • How to Grow Eucalyptus for Cut Flowers (Even in a Short Growing Season!)
  • 26 Best Flowers to Grow for Dried Flower Arrangements
  • 17 Perennial Flowers That Love Shade
  • How to Design a Cut Flower Garden in Raised Beds
  • How to Start a Cut Flower Garden

Welcome!

Hi, I’m Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

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Got the seed starting itch? There's some things y Got the seed starting itch?  There's some things you can actually seed start now and you won't end up with crazy leggy seedlings and endless problems.  In fact, these plants require that you start now, and need to be started in zone 3 by the end of February at the absolute latest.⁠
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I've already started some lisianthus and eucalyptus, and am waiting on my seed orders to start some more.⁠
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If you're starting a luffa sponge, make sure you have some sort of eventual plan for the vine.  last year mine went over my fall windows before I was able to take them outdoors.⁠
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P.S. I've actually never started onions from seed, so if anyone wants to chin in about their experience, feel free!
Growing eucalyptus for the first time this year? Growing eucalyptus for the first time this year?  A new post is on the blog to walk you through it.  While in theory eucalyptus is easy to grow, it's challenging in my zone 3 garden for three reasons: ⁠
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➡️It needs a long time to mature⁠
➡️I have a short growing season⁠
➡️I live in a cool climate, and eucalyptus grows better when its warm.⁠
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That said, you can see by this picture that it can be done!!⁠
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Are you growing eucalyptus this year?
Oh friends, if any of my nice, curated photos sums Oh friends, if any of my nice, curated photos sums up how this last week went, I think it's this one.  Babies crying, trying to stay calm, outwardly looking like it's all under control, but feeling very overwhelmed.⁠
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This post isn't gardening related, so feel free to scroll by if you're here only for the gardening content.⁠
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Thankfully it's January, and I keep reminding myself that the Internet will not break if I don't keep to my self-imposed posting schedule.  But it doesn't make a week full of teething-and-not-sleeping baby any easier. ⁠
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Felicity slept through the night for the first time ever last Monday, then proceeded to punish us with frequent wakings and terrible sleep until Saturday.  And as tough as this is in regular times, in Covid times its extra frustrating because I don't have my village.⁠
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I can't just call up another Mama friend and go for coffee at her house.  I can't take my son out for a Mommy-and-Dominic date because everything he'd want to do isn't really much of an option.  There's no playgroup or play place to just drop in on.  And forget just taking everybody out to get groceries just for a change of scenery.⁠
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I know people have way more serious problems than this, and I hope I don't sound whiny and entitled, it's not my intention.  Please know that I'm very grateful for my family and job and that so far we've been healthy. ⁠
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A lot of you who follow me do so in part because you are also juggling life with very little people through this strange time.  I hope that in occasionally sharing my struggles, it makes you feel better about your struggles. (You're struggling too sometimes. . . right?)
Do you tend to plan out your garden to the nth deg Do you tend to plan out your garden to the nth degree, do you just wing it, or are you somewhere in-between?⁠
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I tend to plan it all out, and then when I actually get out in the field, so to speak, the plan changes a little bit. ⁠
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If you need a garden planner that's both pretty & practical, my garden planner is available in the ebooks section.  It's only $9 and has lots of upgrades from the previous planner.  Use code CANADA if you're Canadian to account for the exchange.⁠
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P.S. You can see exactly what you're getting in the video--no surprises. ⁠
P.P.S  I get my planner bound and printed at a printing place.  Lots of people just print their own and put the sheets in a binder.
Are you gardening in containers this year? When y Are you gardening in containers this year?  When you're shopping for vegetable seeds, look for varieties that have names with words like patio, tiny, small, etc.  While lots of vegetable varieties will do fine in a container, you'll have an easier time with ones that are specifically bred for that situation.⁠
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📸 by @blushbrandphotography
I'm living the pepper dream in this photo. While I'm living the pepper dream in this photo.  While these ones are a bit on the small side, who doesn't want ripe peppers in July in zone 3?!?! ⁠
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Over the years I've gotten better at growing peppers, and I promise I'll spill my secrets in February when it's actually time to start them.  Until then, get yourself all or one of my four favourite varieties: ⁠
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🌶️Carmen⁠
🌶️Escamillo⁠
🌶️Candy Stripe⁠
🌶️Hungarian Hot Wax⁠
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Do you have a favourite pepper variety?⁠
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Have you flipped open a seed catalogue lately? It Have you flipped open a seed catalogue lately?  It's so easy to get completely overwhelmed, especially if you're new to gardening.  Why are there so many varieties of everything and which ones do I choose?⁠
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Here's how I try to narrow it down.⁠
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🌤️ Short growing season like me?  Try and prioritize varieties that have short dates to maturity.⁠
🥗 What do you or your family actually eat?  While I think you should always try a couple of new things, there's no sense in planting a giant garden filled with vegetables that you're not going to cook with. ⁠
🥒 Do you care whether your vegetables are heirlooms or hybrids?  Heirlooms are the kind that have been around for 50+ years and you can save seeds from.  Believe it or not, this year we're prioritizing hybrids for some of our garden.  The Hermit @mgsraney is obsessed with production this year, so anything that's going in "his" greenhouse better be able to produce a lot.  I'm using more heirlooms in my "glamour garden" as we call it, because I want things that are pretty and I can save seeds from.⁠
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What do you prioritize when you're picking out seeds?⁠
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