The best process to follow for seeding (or reseeding) your lawn: 

1. Rake existing bare spots across entire desired coverage area.

2. Get a seed spreader and spread those seeds.

3. Spread ¼ inch of Full Circle’s BOOST (crucial).

4. Water newly sown seeds twice a day, for six minutes per cycle. If possible, set morning timers to 8 a.m. and afternoon timers at 3 p.m. Remember, you have to keep the seeds wet for two weeks. Then water per your normal watering schedule.

Now, get your lawnmower tuned up because you’re about to be trimming your lawn in as little as three weeks.

The best process to follow for laying sod (or resodding):

1. Rake debris out of the desired area.
2. Flatten any aggressive soil bumps you’re not thrilled about having in your lawn.
3. Spread ¼ inch of BOOST on soil surface (crucial).
4. Lay that sod!
5. Watering: Your sod provider will have some tips based on the type of sod you purchased. Most sods will appreciate a good watering two times per day in the establishment phase.

With the above methods, there’s no need for starter fertilizer. BOOST will give the transplanted grass all the nutrients it craves, and your new sod will hook up to your soil in about two to four weeks. BOOST helps dramatically increase mycorrhizal colonization because Full Circle adds both endo- and ectomycorrhizae to BOOST. Mycorrhiza is a beneficial fungus that grows in a symbiotic relationship with the turf grass roots. Recent findings on the use of mycorrhizae with compost show improved turf grass establishment, root growth, fertilizer utilization, and water usage. This has encouraged many turf managers to include mycorrhizal inoculations when establishing a lawn.

It really can be that easy. If you’re starting right now, you’re taking a gamble with Mother Nature because she could still send us a freeze and prohibit you from using your sprinkler system. It’s a gamble every year, guessing when she’s done with her cold shoulder and is ready to help growers get a leg up on the upcoming growing season. Our best suggestion as to when to reseed or sod is mid-April to May.

Here is a quick video of the steps: https://www.instagram.com/p/BCdLYqix6ZI/?taken-by=fullcirclecompost

Here is a quick video of how to spread BOOST with the spring fling: https://www.instagram.com/p/BDvWPBkR6fW/?taken-by=fullcirclecompost

KICK it up a notch: Filling raised beds

Full Circle’s plant-loving KICK garden soil is jam-packed with nutritious topsoil, composts, microbes, and other all-natural goodness that make it one of the best filler soils on the market (if we do say so ourselves). KICK is perfect for raised beds, so fill that bed with 8 to 12 inches of Full Circle’s KICK Garden Soil (leave room for drenching with water).

This amazing garden in Gardnerville, Nev., was grown in just eight inches of KICK Garden Soil. After seven years of growing, it is still going strong.
All you need is to replenish the KICK with a little BOOST one or two times a year.

Even though KICK has enough nutrients to give you amazing results for an entire season, if you end up growing an eight-foot-tall tomato (this happens a lot using KICK), it’s going to love eating up nutrients. You can replenish any lacking nutrients with a ¼-inch layer of BOOST to the soil surface of KICK garden soil and water it in.

Growing in containers with last year’s soil? Use BOOST to replenish nutrients.

Rather than throw out your potting soil from last year, you can replenish nutrients by putting two cups of BOOST per square foot on the soil surface of your pots. In the picture below, we have not changed our potting soil in the flowerpots for more than five years. We just use a little BOOST and grow beautiful flowers and big tomatoes. Recycling your soil by replenishing the nutrients with BOOST can save you lots of time and money.

Containers growing big in Full Circle SOAR Potting Mix. These plants have been growing in the same potting mix for about seven years!
Rather than throw it out, just add a little BOOST to replenish the living soil.

 

If you need to fill any new pots with a high-quality potting mix that does not need any extra nutrition in the first year, try out Full Circle’s SOAR Potting Mix. It has an incredible amount of all-natural nutrition to grow stunning container plants. It even contains a Nevada-made peat moss replacement made from recycled Lake Tahoe materials.

Starting seeds indoors.

You ever seen 8 to 10 seedlings in a one-inch seed starting cell? We have! This is only possible if your seed starting mix is super nutrient dense.

If you’re like us, you plan to start your seeds indoors before planting time. In the video below, Farmer Craig shows off a creative way to make your own recycled seed starting kit: https://youtu.be/cKxs8XsG72s.

Here are his steps:

1. Use a plastic egg carton (like in the video) with three flaps.

2. Cut the bottom off the top of the carton for a drip tray

3. Poke holes in the spaces where the eggs sat.

4. Fill the cells with Full Circle’s SOAR potting mix, which takes water so well.

5. Water it!

Life of the tomato, part 1: Preparing your garden for tomato planting

Tomatoes love sunshine, so be sure to pick a spot where your plants can soak it up for six or more hours a day. If you’re growing next to a fence or a wall of your home, know that those areas soak in heat and insulate the areas somewhat, which tomatoes and peppers love.

 

Three hundred pounds of tomatoes from four plants in a 16-square-foot raised bed. Holy happy growing glory! This is possible in Nevada!

Got clay? Or some tough, dry, salty Nevada soil? We highly recommend raised garden beds. This gives you a nice contained garden that’s elevated off the ground. Make a four-sided box or rectangle by securing four pieces of lumber or reclaimed wood together. Set this wood frame on the flat growing area of your choice and fill it with eight inches of the uber-nutritious garden soil, like Full Circle’s KICK.

For traditional, in-the-ground gardens, break up the top few inches of soil. No need to rototill; go Amish style and use a spading fork or shovel. Add ¼ inch of Full Circle’s BOOST to the soil and water it in.

If you’re fearful the frost might not be over, let me introduce to you, the Wall-O-Water, a $10 season extender for tomato plants everywhere (especially here in our area). This ingenious little plastic lifesaver is a must for early, worry-free planting. How does it work? If you haven’t used a Wall-o-water, you don’t know what you’re missing. Click here to see the video. 

All this prep talk have you eager to start planting? Check in next month, and we’ll pick back up in the garden with planting, transplanting, and companion planting!

 

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NOTE: This is a sponsored post.

Cody Witt manages and operates Full Circle Soils & Compost along with his dad, Farmer Craig. Full Circle’s all-natural products help gardeners and growers repair and sustain healthy, nutrient-rich soils. He also creates “Full Circle” environmental networks in which partners help to establish a fully sustainable community of suppliers and producers through organic materials recycling; soil-fertility program implementation; sustainable, beyond-organic food and medicine production; and education. Cody Witt is a fifth-generation Nevada farmer who completed his MBA and multiple undergraduate degrees from the University of Nevada, Reno.