4 Ways to Make Better Compost

3 stage compost bin

Whether you are a hobbyist or someone serious about gardening, the ability to make your own compost will be very helpful. This article will assume that you have the basics of composting down and give you a few tips on how to make better compost. Composting is one of the best ways to recycle food …

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How To Build a Compost Bin

compost bin made of 1x6 wood

Holding bins are a convenient way of composting yard wastes with little effort: Simply add wastes as they are cleaned up from the yard. With no effort besides occasional moistening compost will be ready in 6 months to 2 years. Attention to chopping materials, maintaining moisture by watering and covering piles with plastic, and occasional turning will produce compost in less time.

Facts About Composting

compost layers

With these composting principles in mind, everyone can make excellent use of their organic wastes The Biology of Compost The compost pile is really a teeming microbial farm. Bacteria start the process of decaying organic matter. They are the first to break down plant tissue and also the most numerous and effective composters. Fungi and …

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US First and Last Frost Dates

USDA Zone Map

Dates on this chart are approximations, no one can KNOW the weather, every season is different. Most years, the first and last frost will fall within two weeks of the date on the chart, but some years, we get a very early frost or a late snow storm that throws the dates off.

Not at Home on the Range

Subsidized Fracking Hits Colorado This is an interesting article documenting the connections between tax subsidies, oil and gas fracking, and harms to the public health. And this article indicates that this kind of extreme oil production is NOT a free market activity, but is possible/profitable only because of subsidies. Repeat: this kind of extreme energy …

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Scientists Discover That Plants Communicate via Symbiotic Root Fungi

I rarely recopy articles in their entirety to share on this blog, but this one is so awesome, I wanted everyone to see it for sure. Organic gardening is NOT over-rated. It is not strictly for “tree huggers” and vegetarians, it is not a fad or “so 70’s”, it is critical for health and the …

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Using Worm Castings

worm castings

Worm castings are a useful additive to any garden. You will see exceptional results in the color, quality and quantity of all your fruit, vegetables, flowers and ornamental plants. Castings are interesting in that they can be used pure as organic fertilizer or as an additive to you own favorite potting mix. You cannot harm …

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Grow Your Own Nitrogen

vetch cover crop

Nitrogen (N) helps plants use carbohydrates to gain energy, like certain foods we eat help us to gain energy. Nitrogen controls how plants take their form and how they function inside, and nitrogen helps plants make protein that help them grow strong and healthy. Humans and animals benefit from eating vegetables and plants that are …

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Organic Fertilizers

cow patties - manure

When used in reference to fertilizers, the word organic generally means that the nutrients contained in the product are derived solely from the remains or a by-product of an organism. Cottonseed meal, blood meal, fish emulsion, manure and sewage sludge are examples of organic fertilizers. Urea is a synthetic organic fertilizer, an organic substance manufactured …

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How to Find your Soil’s PH

croton foliage

Sometimes plants grow poorly for no apparent reason. A healthy plant can be set in what seems to be a good soil, can receive plenty of sunlight and water and still look sickly and perform poorly. If you have areas around your home where plants react this way, check for a soil problem, especially the …

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