Tom Bartels

Hi. I’m Tom Bartels and I’m an organic gardener living in Durango Colorado.

I guess I’m not just a gardener. I’ve really taken it into my life to the point that I could be considered an obsessive gardener. Or more politely, I have a deep interest in optimizing the skills required for domestic horticulture. I love to grow food, and I’ve found some pretty creative ways to grow it organically without having to throw every minute of my summer at it. And I enjoy sharing the infection with other backyard food gardeners.

I’ve been using a mixture of bio-intensive methods since 2001 in my home garden in the high desert climate of Southwest Colorado. We’re at 6500 feet elevation with about a 120 day frost free growing season on a lucky year. My garden is about 1200 square feet. I use compost bins, worm bins, laying hens and several time-saving methods that add efficiency to the whole system.