Bokashi is a composting method that is new to most Western gardeners. The compost is cheap to start and easy to maintain. The word Bokashi means “fermented organic matter,” and that is exactly what the process of Bokashi composting creates. It's also the name of the ingredient … [Read more...]
How Soil pH Balance Affects Your Garden
The pH balance of your garden’s soil refers to the calculated level of acidity or alkalinity in the particular area tested. The scale ranges from 1.0, which is highly acidic, to 14.0, which is basic or highly alkaline, while 7.0 is neutral. The sweet spot for most plant life is … [Read more...]
Creating Fall Compost for the New Year
What is compost? Compost is decomposed organic matter that gardeners can add to their garden soil. This organic matter brings a whole host of benefits to a home garden, providing valuable nutrients for growing plants and adding additional structure to the soil. The structure that … [Read more...]
How to Correctly Feed Compost Worms: What, When, How and How Much
Worm composting, also called vermicomposting, is a great way to use kitchen scraps to create a nutrient-rich compost to feed your garden and keep it producing year-round. In a large container, simply shred some newspaper and leaves from your yard to create a nice loose base, then … [Read more...]
Surprising Things You Can Compost
Composting is a great way to cut down on the waste you create and send to the landfill. It allows you to give a second life to items you would normally throw away. When composting, many people think about the more obvious items, such as food scraps and newspapers that can be … [Read more...]
A Guide to Composting in an Apartment
Composting is the perfect solution for getting rid of food scraps while simultaneously enriching the soil of your garden. An outdoor composting setup is easy to use and even easier to maintain. Gardeners usually prefer an outdoor composting center to an indoor composting center … [Read more...]
How to Use Winter Cover Crops to Replenish and Protect Your Soil
Do you leave your garden dormant in the winter until the following spring? Home gardens with bare soil and nothing growing are vulnerable to soil erosion, weed growth, and pest issues. Consider planting a cover crop this winter. A cover crop typically consists of cold tolerant … [Read more...]
Ultimate Guide to Biochar
Ever heard of biochar? For most home gardeners, chances are that it's a brand new term. In short, biochar is a charcoal compound added to soil that makes it more fertile. Biochar has a long and complex history of use in indigenous farming throughout West Africa and the Amazon … [Read more...]
Researchers Zap Away Chemical Soil Toxins With Lasers
There might be a new and improved way to rid contaminated soil of toxins and pollutants: zap it with lasers. By directly breaking down pollutants, researchers say, high-powered lasers can now be more efficient and cheaper than conventional decontamination techniques. The … [Read more...]
Power of composting – How orange peels revived a Costa Rican forest
In the mid-1990s, 1,000 truckloads of orange peels and orange pulp were purposefully and legally unloaded onto a barren pasture in a Costa Rican national park. Today, that area is covered in lush, vine-laden forest. A team led by Princeton University researchers surveyed the … [Read more...]
7 Organic Fertilizers You Might be Throwing Away
Buying organic fertilizer can be pricey. Did you know that there are ingredients you may be throwing away that can be used to fertilize your garden for free? We've put together a list of seven free ingredients that can be taken from the trash and converted to organic soil … [Read more...]
Trench Composting: Just Dig a Hole and Forget it!
Trench composting is a method of making compost that is just as simple as you might imagine. All you do is dig a hole and bury your compost materials anywhere in the yard or garden where you’re not currently growing something. Then you forget all about it while the organic … [Read more...]
Scientists Say: Don’t Rake Leaves
Unless you’re raking a pile of leaves to jump in, it isn’t much fun. And, a large yard with a lot of trees means all day raking. So, if you’re not looking for free mulch or to compost leaves, scientists suggest leaving them alone to benefit wildlife and the garden. Yes, let the … [Read more...]
How to Test Your Soil With Just a Mason Jar
There is an easy and cost-effective way for you to test the quality of your garden soil at home. All this method requires is a lidded mason jar plus a little bit of background knowledge. Let’s get a basic understanding of some soil properties before describing how … [Read more...]
4 Ways to Mulch Your Vegetable Garden
Gardeners already understand the importance of mulching flower gardens. Mulch helps regulate the soil temperature, improves water retention, and prevents soil erosion. But should you mulch your vegetable garden? If so, with what? Studies show that mulching your vegetable … [Read more...]
Make Your Own Fertilizer: A DIY Guide
Depending on the rate of application and the size of your vegetable garden, you may find yourself purchasing large quantities of fertilizer. But before you head to the garden center, did you know that there are plenty of fertilizer recipes---regular and organic---that you can … [Read more...]
17 Different Composters and Compost Tumblers You Can Build Yourself
If you've done much gardening, you probably know that compost is known as "black gold." That's because it improves every type of soil. It gives sterile dirt microbial life. It improves sandy soil and let's it hold more water. But it also breaks up heavy clay soil and makes it … [Read more...]
Organic Soil Amendment 101
What is soil amendment, and do you need it? Soil amendment is when material is added to soil to enhance its properties, such as retaining water or improving aeration, drainage function, or structure. Don’t get this confused with fertilizer: the purpose of fertilizer is to provide … [Read more...]
How to Improve Your Garden Soil
Consistent, nutrient-rich soil is every gardener’s dream. Too often we are stuck with what we have---or are we? If you find your soil is too sandy, rocky, mottled, discolored, or has too much clay, you can take steps to improve the quality of your vegetable garden … [Read more...]
How To Create Your Own “Black Gold” for Your Yard and Garden
Talk to any experienced gardener and they will tell you -- the easiest way to success with gardening is to have rich, healthy soil. And the best way to enrich your soil? Hands down, it is adding compost. Master gardeners call compost "black gold," because it is … [Read more...]
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