Planting the Plains: Compost in the Summer

By Anthony Reardon

Published July 25, 2025 at 5:00 AM CDT

We've all heard of composting, and many of us have bins or pits near our gardens to help build a little microbe factory for our soil. But HOW you make your compost pile, how often you churn it, and other factors can affect the quality of your composted material. We'll talk this week about some ways to keep your rotting organic pile cranking out nutrients for your garden!

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Anthony Reardon

Anthony Reardon is the Horticulture – Small Farms Extension Agent for Johnson County, Kansas.

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Planting the Plains: Removing Debris in the Fall

Anthony Reardon

Can you feel it? Fall is almost here, and your plants certainly know it. In fact, it may be time to clean up some of the mess they've created over the summer. In this week's episode, we'll talk about how to make the most of your cleanup, and how best to prepare for next year.
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Planting the Plains: Making the Most of September Harvests

Anthony Reardon

As the growing season starts to come to a close, and you get closer to harvest, it’s a good time to take stock of all best ways to handle your early fall harvest; your efforts now can help your plants focus their energy on fruiting, and any extras can be frozen or canned…we’ll discuss how in this week’s episode!
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Planting the Plains: Benefiting the Beneficials

Anthony Reardon

While you’re putting the effort into gardening, why not do a little extra for the pollinators and others who bring a lot to your garden and your yard? A nice side benefit to your work is the way that you can also help Mother Nature do her thing, and we’ll talk this week about how!
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Planting the Plains: August Garden Cleanup

Anthony Reardon

Sometimes it’s hard to know whether you should trim back your plants, or otherwise prepare for the colder weather as fall approaches. This week, we’ll talk about which plants can withstand this maintenance, and when to maybe just…hold off.
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Planting the Plains: Troubleshooting Soil Crust

Anthony Reardon

Gardeners on the High Plains know that even after watering their plants, there’s a good chance that the heat will dry up the moisture before too long. But dirt that undergoes the wet/dry cycle repeatedly begins to harden into something we call soil crust. In this week’s episode, we’ll talk about how this process occurs, and what you can do about it in your own garden!