Planting the Plains: Making Your Own Compost Tea

By Anthony Reardon

Published April 3, 2026 at 6:00 AM CDT

Compost tea isn’t a beverage, but it’s a great way to use the nutrients from your composting to make an easily spreadable liquid you can apply almost anywhere. This week, we’ll talk about how and why you may want to consider making a batch, and seeing what it can do for your garden!

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Planting the Plains Planting the Plains

Anthony Reardon

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

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Planting the Plains: Nurturing Spring Seedlings

Anthony Reardon

It may seem counterintuitive, but maybe…don’t plant EVERY seed in your seed packet. At least, not right away. This is just one of the things that isn’t always obvious when you’re getting ready to plant your garden, but there are lots of “conventional wisdom” tips that don’t get widely shared, and maybe aren’t as commonly known as they should be. We’ll talk about this and some other things to consider this week, as you get your seeds started this spring!
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Planting the Plains: Properly Organic

Anthony Reardon

Everyone talks about organic food and gardening, but when you dig a little deeper, it becomes clear that sometimes, folks don’t always mean the same thing. We’ll talk about true organic gardening in this week’s episode!
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Planting the Plains: Growing Green

Anthony Reardon

Providing basics like soil, sun and water to your plants is something pretty much everyone understands, but did you know that there’s a greener way to approach your growing? Careful attention to a few key details can help prevent these from actually becoming detrimental to your growing conditions. This week, we’ll talk about how to ensure you’re keeping your growing space in top-notch shape!
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Planting the Plains: A Beginning-Season Checklist

Anthony Reardon

It's exciting when it warms up enough that you can get started in your garden. But sometimes it can be tough to know where to start, or what to plant first. This week, we'll go over how to make a checklist of things to do, and how to chart which plants need to go in sooner, and which later, to ensure an optimum crop.+
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Planting the Plains: More on Fruit Tree Pruning

Anthony Reardon

Let’s talk a bit more about pruning your fruit trees. It’s not just a question of how to do it, but also of why. Here’s a hint: it’s not just about making the tree look nice. In fact, pruning your tree correctly will make a difference in every piece of fruit it produces, and this week, we’ll talk more about how (and why!) it’s important to prune correctly.