Have you ever looked at the soggy coffee grounds in your filter and wondered... "Surely these must be good for something?" For years, gardeners have been tipping them around roses, tomatoes, blueberries and just about anything else that grows. Some swear their plants...
Turn every scrap into garden gold—fast, clean, and perfect for winter If you’ve ever stood in your kitchen wondering where all that food waste goes… Bokashi might just change the way you see everything. At VanZylStead, Bokashi is a core part of our closed-loop system....
How I Care for Our Citrus at VanZylStead Now — So Winter Rewards Us If you’ve been following VanZylStead for a while, you’ll know our citrus trees are not just trees. They’re part of our rhythm. The lemons for winter honey tea. The naartjies the kids peel on the...
My Mid-January Garden Feeding Routine (To Carry Us to the End of the Season + Prep for Winter) Mid-January is usually when I do a slow walk through the garden and I can feel what’s happening. Everything is still producing, still growing, still trying… but the soil...
If you’re like me, you hate wasting good kitchen scraps and you’re always wondering, “Can I use this in the garden?” Lately, banana water — or banana peel tea — has been popping up all over social media. Some call it the ultimate natural fertilizer. Others (especially...
Vermicompost: The Secret Ingredient My Garden Can’t Live Without If you’ve been following VanZylStead for a while, you’ve probably heard me wax lyrical about worm farms. But today, I want to go a bit deeper — right into the heart of what makes these wiggly little...
Why Every Gardener Needs a Worm Farm: A Simple Solution for a Healthier Garden If there’s one thing I’ve learned from working in the garden, it’s that nature has all the answers—especially when it comes to waste management and soil health. One of the best ways to work...
“Know Your Numbers”: What Do the Three Numbers on a Fertilizer Bag Mean? Ever walked down the garden aisle, spotted a bag of fertilizer, and noticed those bold three numbers on the front? 10-10-10, 3-1-5, 5-1-4… It can feel like a secret code that only seasoned...
What is Epsom salt Epsom salt, also known as magnesium sulfate, is a chemical compound made up of magnesium, sulfur, and oxygen. Despite its name, Epsom salt is a completely different compound than table salt. It was most likely termed “salt” because of its chemical...
Why is comfrey so good? By now, you probably heard about comfrey and its use in the garden. We love growing this hardy perennial. It grows quickly and easily, has beautiful flowers, and, best of all, it provides us with a completely free, nutrient-rich source of...
