Everything breaks down eventually. Whether it’s a pile of dead leaves that is gone in a year or two or a plastic water bottle that takes 450 years, eventually it will all return to the soil. Composting attempts to do two things: make things return to the soil as fast as possible and make sure …
I love making compost, I really do. I compost, think about compost, and write about it almost every day. But when it really comes down to it, there are only two reasons that I make compost at home: I feel that it is a good use of kitchen scraps and yard waste To improve my …
When I first got into composting I was a simple fellow. I guess I still am. But at least I know a lot more about composting now. Back then, my idea was simply that I should pile up a bunch of garbage and wait for it to turn into dirt. Which works, if you have …
If you’ve read many of my posts you’ll know that I have a penchant for composting just about anything I can get my hands on. If it holds still long enough, it’ll probably end up in my pile. While this makes my life pretty difficult when it’s time to sift and spread compost, it does …
When a gardener digs into their soil and finds worms squirming around, they know they’ve got fertile grounds. These wiggly blind creatures are representative of healthy soils because of their relationship to the natural cycle of decomposition. They consume complex organic materials and turn them into plant-available nutrients infused with beneficial organisms. So when you …
Nourishing your plants is an essential part of gardening and plant care. Properly nourished plants grow faster, greener, and provide a more optimal yield than those lacking essential nutrients. For this reason gardeners, farmers, and all types of plant lovers use compost or fertilizers to keep their plants healthy. But what exactly is the difference …
For many gardeners, the best part of the composting process is seeing the results of your work and effort. Taking your shovel into your pile and revealing the dark, spongy, and earthy material that you’ve created. You’ve transformed primary materials into the nourishment for your soils and plant. Depending on your materials, climate, and methods …
Whether you’re a home gardener or involved with agricultural market-production, your soil needs compost. Sometimes due to the demands of the season, you need it FAST. If that’s your case then don’t worry, you don’t need to wait months to make healthy compost. By starting with the proper materials and managing your pile properly you …
Every fall trees such as Oak, Maple, Sycamores, and many others drop their leaves in preparation for the winter season. In nature, leaves provide important ecological services by protecting and nourishing the soils in which trees live. In urban settings they often cause a nuisance, covering lawns, patios, driveways, and any surface you can think …
Let’s be serious for a second, soil pH isn’t that important for the average gardener. Unless you have something very wrong with your soil pH and you’re trying to diagnose an issue, you probably don’t need probably don’t need to test it. But you probably already know that. You want to test your soil’s pH …