SOIL
Fixing Toxic Soil
Growing food on commercial or abandoned lots is a wonderful way to find space for gardening in the city. One concern, however, is the potential for soil contaminants, such as lead, that could be present in the soil. The bad news is that human contact with toxic soil can present […]
Natural Soil Building and Amendments for Gardens
Soil – the gardener’s most valuable resource is right under our feet. It is wisely said that a garden will thrive when the caretaker ceases to nurse the plants and focuses on tending to the soil. A garden that is grown on the foundation of fertile soil will be more […]
Sweet Soil! Hot Composting for Your Garden
Soil building is a key component to growing healthy food. When garden soil is healthy, the plants will be, too. Though there are many techniques for maintaining healthy soil, the home gardener should start with one simple practice: composting. Nature recycles waste materials via decomposition, and uses it to recharge […]
Sheet Mulching (aka Lasagna Gardening)
Sheet mulching is a great way to build soil and compost in place, eliminating the need to move finished compost from the pile to the garden. Also known as Lasagna Gardening, building a sheet mulch garden is a process of layering brown and green organic materials directly in a garden […]
Safe Wood Sealers for Raised Bed Gardens
Grow Safe, Naturally and Economically From cities and suburbs to rural environs, people are discovering the joys of vegetable gardening, and the health benefits of controlling the chemicals that come in contact with their food. Many of these gardeners are opting to grow plants in raised beds or containers in […]
Mulch
Mulch is a layer of organic matter that is spread on top of garden soil like a blanket. Compost, wood chips, bark, pine needles, dry leaves, newspaper, hay and straw are common mulch materials. The wood chip mulch pictured here was acquired for free from a local tree service. Arborists […]
Improving Soils with Organic Matter
When soil is sandy and dry or wet and sticky, the problems are opposite, but the solution may be the same. Adding organic matter to soils is helpful to relieve many kinds of soil and water problems. Below are several articles that are helpful in learning how to improve soils […]
Soil Texture and Drainage
Good soil drainage is vital to growing a healthy garden. You may be surprised to learn that once water infiltrates soil, not only does it travel through the soil vertically, drawn downwards by gravity, but percolates horizontally, much like the way the water moves through a sponge. How quickly the […]
Keep Livestock Warm with Deep Litter Composting
What is deep litter composting and how does it keep livestock warm in winter? If you have any experience with composting, you may be familiar with how compost piles give off heat. As microbes break down the materials in the presence of oxygen, compost piles can warm up as high […]
Odor Free Composting with Effective Microbes
Reduce compost odors and keep it hot by using beneficial microbes that break down odor-causing ammonia and hydrogen sulfide. Commercial applications of beneficial microbes, also known by the trademarked term Effective Microbes (EMs), can be purchased in liquid or granular form. EMs are useful, but they can be pricey. One of the […]
