Spring has a way of pulling us back to the soil — and this season, Mary sat down with someone who has made the health of the soil and the well being of the pollinators and wildlife in her local ecosystem her first priority. Melanie Cutillo is the self-described Plant Wrangler in Chief at Lazy Dirt Wildflower Farm in Mexico, New York, a backyard nursery nestled just east of Lake Ontario, where she grows native and wildflower plants entirely without plastic, peat, or synthetic inputs of any kind. It was a cold January morning walk to the mailbox and a chance encounter with a dried circle of New England aster in the snow that sent Melanie on a quest to grow native plants. The result is a farm, a philosophy, and a way of tending the earth that she calls "Earth First Gardening." This conversation is for every gardener who has ever come home from the nursery with a carload of beauty and a pile of plastic waste—wondering if there's a better way. Melanie and Mary talk about what it really means to be not just a gardener, but a guardian of the earth’s abundance. Whether you have many acres or simply a front porch, a city window or a community garden plot, this episode will remind you that what matters is how we tend to the land we have. In this episode, Mary and Melanie talk about: What makes Lazy Dirt Wildflower Farm different from a conventional nursery — small scale, field-grown plants, zero plastic, and a focus on local ecotype native speciesThe January morning that started it all: a circle of New England aster in the snow and a pair of tracks that changed everythingWhy Melanie ditched plastic entirely — and how a 10-by-25-foot barn full of collected pots finally pushed her over the edgeThe alternatives she found and invented: soil blocking, wool pots, burlap wrapping, and growing in native soil without bagged amendments or peatWhy avoiding peat matters and what's lost when we use it: carbon sequestration, living soil, and a non-renewable resource extracted from ancient bogsThe difference between a native plant and a nativar — and why it matters enormously to the pollinators and wildlife that depend on themHow to ask better questions at your local nursery: Where does the seed come from? Can I bring back my plastic pots? Do you grow from seed on site?The concept of "tending" — and why you don't need land to do it. A street tree, a park path, a porch container can all be a place of care and relationshipNative hydrangeas, dahlias, echinacea, monarda, jewel weed, sweetgrass, and tulsi — stories of plant relationships that illuminate the beauty and intelligence of the natural worldMelanie's best tip for gardeners: make your seed list in July, at the height of the season, when you can see clearly what you have and what you truly need — then recycle the January catalogThe new paradigm: from consumer to guardian, from transaction to relationship, from gardener to grower of community Resources & Links Mentioned: Lazy Dirt Wildflower Farm — Melanie's website, where you can also find wool pots for saleLazy Dirt Wildflower Farm on YouTube: youtube.com/lazydirtwildflowerfarmMelanie's Substack: So Wild Garden — behind-the-scenes of growing a four-acre habitat gardenGarden Circles — Melanie's monthly Zoom gathering for gardeners; third Tuesdays at 6:30pm, with in-person farm gatherings during the growing season (find the link on her website)Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall KimmererThe Wild Seed Project — native seed sourcingErnst Seeds — native seed supplierBlossom and Branch Farm / Brianna Groh — inspiration for Melanie's no-till, native-soil approachMount Cuba Center — research on native plants and their relationship to wildlifeMary Reynolds, previous Good Dirt guest, on the shift from "gardener" to "guardian"Wool Pots — available on Melanie's website; made in Britain from wool that would otherwise be discarded We'd love to hear from you! Has this episode inspired you to try something different in your garden this season — a native plant, a plastic-free swap, or a new relationship with a tree on your street? We'd love to know. Send us an email at thegooddirtpodcast@gmail.com, or leave us a voicemail at 443-459-1950. Tell us what you're tending this spring. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🌻 About Lady Farmer: Subscribe to The ALMANAC, a Lady Farmer Newsletter & CommunityVisit Our WebsiteFollow @weareladyfarmer on InstagramEmail us at thegooddirtpodcast@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail! Call 443-459-1950 and ask a question or share what the good dirt means to you!Original music by John Kingsley. Editing and podcast production by Lady Farmer. The Good Dirt podcast is proudly part of the Connectd Podcasts network. 🌿 The Good Dirt Producers: Wendy Gray Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
