--- title: GrowPerma Blog (4) description: (4) --- [Skip to content](https://growperma.com/blog/page/4#main-content) [![GrowPerma](https://growperma.com/hubfs/icon-512.png)](https://growperma.com/) - [Blog](https://growperma.com/blog) - [About](https://growperma.com/about) [Join the Weekly Dig](https://growperma.com/newsletter) - [Blog](https://growperma.com/blog) - [About](https://growperma.com/about) [Join the Weekly Dig](https://growperma.com/newsletter) # GrowPerma Blog Evidence-based permaculture guides, companion planting charts, and sustainable gardening strategies. [All](https://growperma.com/blog/all) [Soil & Composting](https://growperma.com/blog/tag/soil-composting) [Companion Planting](https://growperma.com/blog/tag/companion-planting) [Permaculture Foundations](https://growperma.com/blog/tag/permaculture-foundations) [Food Forest](https://growperma.com/blog/tag/food-forest) [Syntropic Agriculture](https://growperma.com/blog/tag/syntropic-agriculture) [Permaculture Around the World](https://growperma.com/blog/tag/permaculture-around-the-world) ![Three piles side by side in an autumn garden: dark finished compost, mineral screened topsoil and bagged garden soil with a spade](https://growperma.com/hs-fs/hubfs/blog/images/gp-0523-hero-20260902-063146.webp?width=400&height=220&name=gp-0523-hero-20260902-063146.webp) 2 Sep [Soil & Composting](https://growperma.com/blog/tag/soil-composting) ## Topsoil vs Compost vs Garden Soil: Which One Your Beds Actually Need Peter Vogel ![Mason jar of settled garden soil on a windowsill showing distinct sand, silt and clay bands with pencil marks on masking tape](https://growperma.com/hs-fs/hubfs/blog/images/gp-0524-hero-20260902-063954.webp?width=400&height=220&name=gp-0524-hero-20260902-063954.webp) 2 Sep [Soil & Composting](https://growperma.com/blog/tag/soil-composting) ## The Soil Jar Test: Find Your Sand, Silt and Clay in One Evening Peter Vogel ![Balcony vertical vegetable garden with an A-frame trellis of climbing pole beans and cucumbers above pots of lettuce and parsley](https://growperma.com/hs-fs/hubfs/blog/images/gp-0522-hero-20260902-060908.webp?width=400&height=220&name=gp-0522-hero-20260902-060908.webp) 2 Sep [Companion Planting](https://growperma.com/blog/tag/companion-planting) ## Vertical Vegetable Garden: Companion Planting When You Grow Up, Not Out Peter Vogel ![Tray of freshly made soil blocks standing free without pots beside a steel hand blocker on a potting bench](https://growperma.com/hs-fs/hubfs/blog/images/gp-0521-hero-tray-of-soil-blocks-20260901-072117.webp?width=400&height=220&name=gp-0521-hero-tray-of-soil-blocks-20260901-072117.webp) 1 Sep [Soil & Composting](https://growperma.com/blog/tag/soil-composting) ## Soil Blocker Guide: Sizes, Mix Recipes and Common Mistakes Peter Vogel ![Row of cut and taped milk jugs used as winter sowing containers standing on snowy ground beside a bare winter garden bed](https://growperma.com/hs-fs/hubfs/blog/images/gp-0520-hero-milk-jugs-in-snow-20260901-071247.webp?width=400&height=220&name=gp-0520-hero-milk-jugs-in-snow-20260901-071247.webp) 1 Sep [Permaculture Foundations](https://growperma.com/blog/tag/permaculture-foundations) ## Winter Sowing: How to Start Seeds Outdoors in Milk Jugs Peter Vogel ![Collapsed zucchini plant with wilted leaves and a mound of sawdust-like frass at an entry hole in the stem base](https://growperma.com/hs-fs/hubfs/blog/images/gp-0519-hero-wilted-squash-frass-at-base-20260901-065612.webp?width=400&height=220&name=gp-0519-hero-wilted-squash-frass-at-base-20260901-065612.webp) 1 Sep [Companion Planting](https://growperma.com/blog/tag/companion-planting) ## Squash Vine Borer: How to Stop It Before the Vine Collapses Peter Vogel ![Farmer working a shaduf on the bank of the Nile at golden hour, swinging a counterweighted pole to lift water into a channel](https://growperma.com/hs-fs/hubfs/blog/images/gp-0518-hero-shaduf-on-the-nile-20260901-064200.webp?width=400&height=220&name=gp-0518-hero-shaduf-on-the-nile-20260901-064200.webp) 1 Sep [Permaculture Around the World](https://growperma.com/blog/tag/permaculture-around-the-world) ## Shaduf: How Ancient Egypt's Water Lever Still Works Today Peter Vogel ![Gardener's cupped hands holding coarse green-brown alfalfa meal above a prepared autumn garden bed](https://growperma.com/hs-fs/hubfs/blog/images/gp-0517-hero-alfalfa-meal-in-hands-20260901-062842.webp?width=400&height=220&name=gp-0517-hero-alfalfa-meal-in-hands-20260901-062842.webp) 1 Sep [Soil & Composting](https://growperma.com/blog/tag/soil-composting) ## Alfalfa Meal: What It Does for Plants and How to Use It Peter Vogel ![Home greenhouse interior with staked tomatoes, basil, climbing cucumbers and a band of lettuce and spinach at the cooler front end](https://growperma.com/hs-fs/hubfs/blog/images/gp-0516-hero-what-to-grow-in-a-greenhouse-20260901-060928.webp?width=400&height=220&name=gp-0516-hero-what-to-grow-in-a-greenhouse-20260901-060928.webp) 1 Sep [Companion Planting](https://growperma.com/blog/tag/companion-planting) ## What to Grow in a Greenhouse: Crops, Pairings and What to Skip Peter Vogel ![Frosted vegetable garden at dawn with beds under white row cover on hoops beside one uncovered bed showing frost-blackened foliage](https://growperma.com/hs-fs/hubfs/blog/images/gp0514-hero-20260831-072953.webp?width=400&height=220&name=gp0514-hero-20260831-072953.webp) 31 Aug [Permaculture Foundations](https://growperma.com/blog/tag/permaculture-foundations) ## Frost Protection for Plants: What Works at Each Degree of Cold Peter Vogel [2](https://growperma.com/blog/page/2) [3](https://growperma.com/blog/page/3) [4](https://growperma.com/blog/page/4) [5](https://growperma.com/blog/page/5) [6](https://growperma.com/blog/page/6) ![GrowPerma](https://growperma.com/hubfs/icon-512.png) Gardens That Work Like Forests — the smart-friend guide to permaculture for normal backyards. #### Explore - [Blog](https://growperma.com/blog) - [Companion Planting](https://growperma.com/blog/tag/companion-planting) - [Soil & Composting](https://growperma.com/blog/tag/soil-composting) - [Food Forests](https://growperma.com/blog/tag/food-forest) #### Resources - [About](https://growperma.com/about) - [All Articles](https://growperma.com/blog) #### Legal - [Imprint](https://growperma.com/imprint) - [Privacy Policy](https://growperma.com/privacy-policy) - [Affiliate Disclosure](https://growperma.com/affiliate-disclosure) As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. GrowPerma also uses other affiliate links and may earn a commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. © 2026 GrowPerma. All rights reserved. A project by [peppereffect](https://peppereffect.com).