Resources
Explore our sustainable gardening resources and discover how our living compost enriches soil, supports plant growth, and brings your garden to life.
The Best Time To Add Compost: Fall!
Adding compost to your garden plot or containers in spring at the beginning of the season is something most people do – but did you know that adding compost after the growing season in the fall is as important, if not more so?
It's true! After our long, hot summers here in the city, your soil needs some TLC so it's ready for next year! Our compost is natural, created using traditional, time-tested methods, and filled with life. Odds are you'll find a few wigglers and busy bugs in your bag – but that's just the tip of the iceberg. When you zoom into the microscopic level, there's even more going on: countless millions of beneficial microbes hard at work! Together, this crew will get to work on your soil, replenishing and balancing it throughout the winter so you're ready to get growing come spring.
Ultimately, the decision of a spring or a fall application shouldn’t be a big one. A lot of growers choose to add compost in the fall because the soil is dryer and easier to work with, and because generally in the growing world the end of the season is a less hectic time than when you’re just getting started in spring. There’s also the chance an extended winter may cause the soil to stay frozen longer than expected, crunching your planting timeline. So do what makes sense for you and your schedule and don’t be hard on yourself!
Bennett Compost customers are eligible for 2 free bags of compost each year - in the spring or the fall. Good news: if you get your compost at either time and aren’t able to use it, it will be just fine until the other end of the growing season!
Here's our step by step guide to put your garden to bed each fall:
Start by removing any dead plants or annuals (plants that don't come back year to year).
Pollinator/native gardens can be left alone and cleared out the following season if your space permits. These overwintering plants provide a lot of habitat for little critters!
Add a 2" top dressing of compost to your growing space
You can additionally cover with straw, leaf mulch or plant a cover crop
Visit our How to Use Compost page to figure out how much compost you need.
Grow Your Own: Seedlings
If you're reading this in January or February, you still have time to start your seedlings for this year's garden! (If you're reading this later in the year, don't stop reading: you probably still have time to catch up!)
In addition to saving a TON of money, starting your own seedlings is a much more sustainable option than buying seedlings from the garden store. For example: think about all the packaging (much of it plastic) required to ship seedlings, potting soil that uses non-sustainable ingredients like perlite and peat moss, and the carbon footprint of shipping a heavy product across long distances - it all adds up!
The good news: when it comes to growing your own, it's easy - and inexpensive - to get started! All you'll need are containers with drainage holes in the bottom, our potting soil, and seeds! When it comes to containers, you can opt for a ready-made option, or use an upcycled solution. Items like small yogurt containers and cans tend to be a good size - just remember to carefully add drainage holes in the bottom before planting! Here's a list of some of our top picks for starting indoors:
PLANT IN JAN. / FEB.
bell peppers
eggplants
rosemary
oregano
thyme
cabbage
PLANT IN FEB. / MARCH
lettuce
kale
kohlrabi
sage
basil
You can see the full planting and transplanting chart for the Philadelphia region on the Farmer's Almanac here!
If this option isn’t the best fit for you – or if you’re getting started later in the season and don’t have time to grow your own – consider buying from a local garden center who grows their seedlings from scratch!