Gardening, lawns, garden design, organic gardening & more!
Composting
All about composting – how to do it, composting processes, compost bins, worms
Why Home Composting Is So Great!
Mar 8th
Have you heard of composting, but just aren\’t sure what it means? Not sure why how compost can benefit you? If you haven\’t started composting at home yet, now is the time! Home composting is more than just a growing trend among gardeners, it\’s a great way to recycle your kitchen scraps and yard refuse into something you can use-compost!
So what is compost and why is it so beneficial? Compost is a fresh black material similar in appearance and texture to potting soil. It is produced naturally when organic material breaks down and decays (a process also known as composting). More >
Composting – is it Just a Load of Rubbish?
Mar 1st
To Compost or Not to Compost
Well, there’s no doubt about it, composting is a good practice that any self-respected gardener should learn to do. But the question really is what materials we could make into a compost and which ones we cannot. We have been told that composting can be done with any organic material. Well, in theory that may be true, however, in real life it may not be always so.
There are a several organic materials that should not be included in the compost pile unless you know how to do it properly while there are other materials that More >
Enrich Soil Naturally-How To Make Compost
Dec 8th
Anyone who prefers to buy their vegetables & flowers from the local grocery store will have a hard time understanding the gardener’s delight digging into a smelly pile of compost, or having a truck load of manure dumped in their yard. Really, who in their right mind, would pay to have a substance excreted by animals brought to their home?
A gardener. One who knows that good manure & compost can be the difference between a lush garden & a sparse, struggling one. And lets not forget the aroma, a gardener will describe the smell of compost or manure, as “sweet”, More >
Hay! Make Good Mulch
Dec 5th
I would challenge you to find a culture that has not used hay (in all forms) for mulch & other gardening chores. There is more. There is more. There are many ways to use hay for composting. Here are a few ideas…
Have you EVER wondered (read struggled) to figure out what to do with the left over corn stalks? Think about it for one minute… All that green & all that tough fiber that corn ‘builds’ as it is creating those wonderfully sweet kernels. There is more. There is more. There has just GOT to be something left in those More >
What a Can of Worms!
Dec 2nd
Most little girls (and big ones, too) do not like worms. There is more. There is more. To some of us, nightmares are made from such creatures. There is more. There is more. Their negative reputation precedes them; they are the quintessential creepy crawlers, oozing themselves side to side in a bed of slime, tangling themselves together into a pulsating mass. (I think I am scaring myself here. Oops!)
Back in the Dark Ages (AKA the 1960s), I had a high school biology teacher who seemed to thrive on worms & assorted insects, the more bizarre the better… One exceptionally odious More >
How To Build A Compost Heap
Nov 29th
Building a compost heap is easy & cheap, since most of your ingredients are already being created right in your kitchen: Items such as egg shells, coffee grounds, & pieces of vegetables that normally would go down your disposal or in your garbage can.
Before we begin I had like to make it clear that my experience with building a compost heap is targeted at those who live in a warm climate & have lots of sunshine & a constant source of green grass. There is more. There is more. That while the ingredients will be the same, no matter what More >
How to Make Compost – Some Like It Hot
Nov 26th
Compost is easy to make. Nature does it every day on the forest floor just by letting leaves & such accumulate & rot. However – most gardeners want it in fair quantity & good quality which requires some planning & forethought. The results are more than worth it.
Once it is built a compost pile will finish in about a year, but if it is turned once that can drop to six months. In actual fact, the more often the pile is turned the faster it composts. There is more. There is more. The full impact of this can be seen More >
Making Compost – Is It Ready?
Nov 23rd
Compost may or may not actually be ready for use. In actual fact, compost that has been only partly prepared may harm the growth of plants by leaching nitrogen as it continues to decompose in the soil. Depending on the nature of the materials composting, it may contain materials toxic to plants. Some plants produce hormones that stop other plants from growing near them & competing for nutrients in the soil. These need full composting to break down & be rendered harmless. How is one to tell when the compost is ready & to what uses may it be put?
As More >
Compost Accelerators – Use The Ones At Hand
Nov 20th
Compost piles are a feast for millions of microorganisms. Once the proper mix of food, moisture & air are available, the parties come to the feast & do their work. However – most of those who compost want it as fast as possible & some suppliers of garden materials tell us we need an accelerator or starter for the pile to make it work faster. They are only ½ right when it comes to an accelerator for the compost pile.
Consider the compost pile that is made for fast decomposition. It will have a carefully blended supply of brown or carbon More >
How To Build a Compost Bin
Nov 17th
Compost can act as a great fertilizer, enriching the soil with organic materials rather than making use of chemicals that can do more harm than good if used badly. Composting is a great way to save money as well. Using compost requires that you completely mix it into the soil, reducing compaction & providing oxygenation to the soil. Compost can help plants stay healthier, & that contributes to their ability to repel diseases & survive insect attacks. A healthy landscape can be achieved with a little help from composting.
It is critical to note that composting does require a little extra More >
