Garden fun 2026, 4: report on no-peat soil and seed snails

Posted on March 27, 2026 by Donna Mitchell-Moniak

Want to give a quick report on how the No-Peat Potting Soil from Home Depot is working as well as report on seed snails at this stage. Big thumbs up, thus far!

Yes, Back to the Roots (peat-free) Potting Mix from Home Depot

  • The importance of finding an alternative to peat-based bagged potting, starter mix, or bagged raised bed mix was made plain in Garden fun 1. Peat bogs (aka mires, moors, moorlands) are extremely fragile and endangered ecosystems; as in almost 90% destroyed in Europe alone. The flora and fauna in a moor is specific, having evolved over the centuries and millennia that a peatland takes to form.
  • At this point, I have started 10 seed snails with Back to the Roots Organic Potting Soil (peat-free). Why a potting mix rather than seed starter mix? a) on the recommendation of the master gardeners on YouTube who have experimented with seed snails. b) starter mix has very little nutrition, whereas a potting mix is made from a variety of organic plant matters so as to breakdown and feed the potted plant as it grows. Thus, a potting mix is more nutritious than a starter mix. A starter mix is simply more fluffy, providing ease for seeds to sprout (break soil). But, to a certain extent, that’s a modern human consideration of ease. Plants are extremely strong. A potting mix is fine.
  • As witnessed by master gardeners, I sprinkled something lighter on top of the seeds, rather than potting mix. I used home-made compost; just a sprinkle to cover the seeds, unless the seed requires light to germinate.
  • Bear witness to the lettuce that began sprouting on the 3rd day from seeding!
  • Cabbage, chard, parsley, cilantro, a pot of bush snap peas (for a pot experiment) are all coming up. More to come!
  • Also, the consistency of this peat-free potting mix was easy to moisten in a plant tray, as seen in the videos on Garden fun 2026, 1. I did add a small amount of perlite/vermiculite to the mix because I had it. Did so to support aeration.
  • This peat-free option from Home Depot can only be online ordered. It is not sold in the stores. Single bags can be ordered.

Seed Snails thus far, Yes!

  • The amount of potting mix used per snail is less than pots. Except for the first two snails, which were 6 in. tall (too big for what’s in them), all the rest have been 4″ W X 18″ L, thus when standing up, the seed snail is 4″ tall. It required equivalent of 1 + 1/2 of moistened potting mix for a common 4″ pot. Yet, the seed snail has far more seeds set in it! Most of my snails have between 20-25 seeds, whereas one 4″ pot would have two or three max. Huge saving on soil!
  • Space for one seed snail is the same as one 4″ pot. Same space taken in a tray, but 20 plant babies rather than 2 or 3.
  • Because the potting soil is pre-moistened (by oneself) and the rolled design, the snail seems to retain moisture longer. I have not needed to water them yet, other than a sprinkle on the top. Another day, and I’ll bottom water the oldest snails, which are a good 10 days old.
  • No doubt, as the plants grow and set roots, watering will happen more frequently.
  • I think watering will be the real learning curve, in that the top will naturally dry out sooner than the middle or bottom, but more dramatically than in a starter or 4″ pot due to the construction and design of the snail.

One more note about the no-peat potting soil: I repotted  two geraniums. They immediately liked the potting mix, as can be seen by their vibrant green color. The thyme next them is this weekend for its annual splitting off.

And …. bush snap peas, lettuce, hon tsai tai, and yukima are popping up in the cold frames. Yay!

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Meditation: bodhimind 4, gratitude and interbeing

Posted on March 26, 2026 by Donna Mitchell-Moniak

Sing a joyful tune, please. Positive thoughts and vibrations are needed in every sector of life on Earth these days. To think on others with gratitude and gladness is a dynamic quantum connectedness vibrantly supporting the reality of interbeing. This action along with positive thinking can be done at anytime.

Further actions for planetary wellness or in support of community are vitally needed as well. Donations, contributions, volunteering, and showing up in solidarity to events about interbeing (a wide ranging category), all of these actions matter. And, the truth is, if not now – when?

So, think on everyone with gratitude in your heart; and sing it. Maybe, even, send them a singing text (like someone did with me today) or give someone a call. “All we need is love.”

 

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Meditation: bodhimind 3, gratitude song

Posted on March 25, 2026 by Donna Mitchell-Moniak

Another ditty arose.

Think of someone. Think on the gifts that this person or being has offered you through their presence. Then, sing it out:

I’m thinking of you; I’m thinking of you … with gratitude in my heart.

 

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Play with your food 8: simple, delicious, and healthy

Posted on March 23, 2026 by Donna Mitchell-Moniak

Food is medicine. And, no matter how ancient that saying is, it still is true. Healthy, whole, nutritious food gives the body what it needs, the body knows what to do with it, how to extract the nutrients and use them, and how to effectively discard the rest. Biologically, the human body does not know what to do with processed food. Why not? Because processed food is not how any body on Planet Earth evolved, nor with Genetically Modified food items, nor pesticide laden items, nor dead-soil-grown items. No body on Earth evolved  eating animal flesh from animals that never see sunshine, are cage-bound and immobile for their short life span or animals who are packed by the thousands into a fetid environment without sunlight, fresh air, or soil under their feet. Each person will make food choices according to whatever criteria one has and holds, and that is a given. These examples are mentioned in support of their biological ramifications -beneficial and detrimental- because food is medicine and that is so because of evolution of the physical form, not only of human beings, but of all living organisms on Earth.

Now let’s play with food and well-being.

  1. Soaking and/or sprouting:
    1. Soak organic, raw almonds for 6-8 hours in good water, which might or might not be from your tap according to what chemicals might be in the water. Then, lay the almonds out on a tea towel or a nonclorinated paper towel to dry over night. Store in the refrigerator. The flavor of the almond will be more sweet. Being soaked, the almond is gentle on one’s teeth. *Note that if left uneaten in the fridge, by day three or four, they will start to mold. The key here is only soak a small amount, like a 1/4 C at a time. They are great travel or snack food! Very healthy.
    2. Soaking and sprouting peas or mung beans: Use organic peas or mung beans and good, clean water. Soak either for 8 hours or overnight. I use a rectangle shaped Pyrex dish with a cover. Pour off the water, using the cover to hold in the peas or beans but let out the water. (One method is to turn the cover over, tilt the water-filled container to one corner, where the cover is fully holding back the peas or beans. Water comes out, peas stay in. It’s real easy and effective.) Now, place the Pyrex dish with soaked peas or beans in a less lighted corner of your counter; place the cover loosely on top -they need to breathe, and walk away. Each morning rinse them gently; or let them sit in water while you make tea. Then pour off the water and put them back in their corner with the loose cover. By Day 3, little white sprouts will begin to show. By day 4 or 5, peas are ready for eating. Just pop them in your mouth! By day 7, if any are left, throw them in your next cooked meal and all gone! (peas are pictured)
    3. Mung bean sprouts take longer to grow to three-inch length, but can be eaten from the 4th day onward. By day 5, keep them in the refrigerator with cover closed (so they don’t dry out). They might or might not mature into what is bought in the grocery store, long ivory colored and no bean skin; but the taste is the same. Mung bean skin is full of vitamins, minerals, and fiber and has no taste, per se. I eat home-sprouted mung beans plain, or as a fresh ingredient in a taco, throw them in eggs, or make a type of egg foo yong. Cheap, easy, healthy, versatile.

An oat yummy – gluten-free, cane sugar-free

Organic quick oats are really versatile in baking, a decent source of fiber, and offer potassium.

Mixed Fruit Crisp

Ingredients

  • enough frozen organic mixed fruit to almost fill a low Pyrex container. Set aside to thaw for a couple of hours.
  • 1 T frozen limeade or squeeze of lime
  • Crisp topping
    • 1/2 to 2/3 of a stick of organic or grass-fed butter, softened (not microwaved, please. Again, not part of the body’s evolution due to what microwaving does to the item in the microwave, and why the item cooks so quickly and unnaturally.)
    • 3/4 C organic quick oats
    • sprinkle of proper salt, like Himalayan
    • 1/4 C gluten-free flour substitute – but not coconut flour which is too dry
    • 1/4 coconut sugar

Method: 375 F Oven for 20 minutes

  • After the frozen fruit is thawed in the Pyrex it will be cooked in, stir in the limeade, and set aside.
  • In a good size bowl, put several large pats of softened butter
  • Then the all the dry ingredients
  • Now the fun begins: Knead these all together to make a crisp or crumble topping.
  • When all mixed, put the crumble onto the fruit, LICK your fingers that are covered in sweet, buttery crisp oats. Then, wash them!
  • Cook in a 375 F Oven for 20 minutes. Let cool to room temperature before serving.
  • Use the Pyrex cover for refrigerator storage.
  • Mine is served with homemade yogurt.

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Garden fun 3: cold frames

Posted on March 22, 2026 by Donna Mitchell-Moniak

A friend/neighbor is DIY exemplar and always looking for a project around his home or otherwise. When asked, he was happy to build a few cold frames for me. Yay! Two designs; each is in consideration of the sun’s track and solar gain.

Why a cold frame; and what is a cold frame? The why is in order to extend the growing season where it is usually short; doing so on both the Spring and the Autumn ends of the season. These frames are not attached to, but are resting upon the existing bed. When night temperatures are warm enough, these cold frames will be removed and put in the shed.

What is a cold frame? Originally, they were made with an old window as the top, hinged for opening during the day/closing for late afternoon and evening as temperatures dive, and often made from scrap wood. A stick or block of wood is used to partially open the top during the day. The temperatures within a cold frame generally exceed the ambient outdoor temperatures, especially in zones of strong sunshine/solar gain, like here in Colorado and at altitude. Therefore, it is vital to vent or open the cold frame according to your specific conditions and the variations of weather daily.

Are they worth that little bit of responsible monitoring? Absolutely! If one wants fresh greens a month or more before the ground can produce them or wants to have fresh picked greens into Thanksgiving or beyond, YES, a cold frame.

Soil temperature is how seeds know when to germinate. Sunlight is how they grow (photosynthesis); but, without warm enough soil, per the requirements of the particular seed/plant, the seed can’t and won’t sprout. That displays the intelligence of plant life.

And, a surprise; to me, anyway. Chard babies are sprouting in one seed snail! Four of them.

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