Harvest to Table

Comfrey manure-tea time arrives with the first flowering of tomatoes and peppers. Comfrey tea is made simply by soaking the leaves of the herb comfrey in water for about 20 days. Comfrey tea is rich in nitrogen and potassium; it is a nutritious side-dressing for fruiting vegetables. Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and berries use nitrogen to [...]

Compost tea is an excellent all-purpose fertilizer. Made from aged compost–organic materials that have finished decomposing, compost tea contains all of the major and minor nutrients plants require. It gives young plants a starter boost and older plants a pick-me-up. Not only that, but compost tea will ward off many common garden diseases and even [...]

Composting turns garden and kitchen waste into humus. Humus is Nature’s best fertilizer and soil conditioner. The process of decomposition that we call composting happens in nature as billions of microorganisms feed, grow, reproduce, and die as they recycle kitchen and garden waste. Compost will happen gradually over time. Set a pile of leaves or [...]

The combination of dead vegetation with air and moisture will result in compost. Composting is natural decomposition. Composting can take place in a simple free-standing heap of garden waste or a homemade wire-mesh container or a commercially made bin. Here are the basics you’ll need to know to start composting at home: • Site the [...]