Harvest to Table

Clay soils are too wet or too dry, slow to drain, slow to warm in the spring, and slow to release nutrients to plant roots. The best way to improve clay soil is to add several inches of organic matter such as aged compost to planting beds regularly—at least twice a year–and work it into [...]

When vegetables and other plants lack essential nutrients or elements they will not look themselves; they will look unhealthy and they may even die. The symptom of a nutrient deficiency can range from yellowing and poor growth to flower and fruit failure. Nutrient deficiency symptoms in plants can be confusing. Many plant nutrient deficiencies share [...]

Sixteen chemical elements are necessary for plant growth. Three are non-mineral elements that come from air and water; thirteen are mineral elements that come from the soil. All of these elements are used as plant nutrients or to make plant nutrients. Being familiar with the elements necessary for plant growth will help you diagnosis many [...]

Autumn is a good time to begin preparing the kitchen garden for spring planting. Remove woody and diseased plant debris from the garden as soon as the harvest is complete–pull up tomato vines and beans and remove late cabbage, cauliflower, and broccoli stalks. Plant debris that is not diseased can be finely chopped and added [...]

The soil in your garden was created over thousands of years through the disintegration and decomposition of rock and organic matter. Temperature and rainfall, the life and death of plants, animals and bacteria and fungi, and the rocks that were there to begin with: all contributed to the soil you find in your garden today. [...]