Earthworms help create humus—a dark brown-black type of soil which holds important nutrients in place for plant growth and use. Earthworms also help create good soil structure; their burrows open up the soil and create aeration and drainage channels. Earthworm castings or excrement are rich in nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium the key minerals needed for […] More
Permaculture is a sustainable agricultural and ecological design philosophy that focuses on working with nature to create self-sufficient, regenerative, and resilient ecosystems. It involves integrating plants, animals, and natural landscapes in ways that mimic natural systems to produce food and resources while minimizing waste, labor, and environmental impact. Home garden permaculture is a sustainable and […] More
A garden planting bed is home to your vegetables, herbs, and flowers. You want a planting bed in which plants will thrive and you want a planting bed that is easy to make and easy to maintain. Making a new garden planting bed should be a one-time investment in sweat equity. Once a new bed […] More
Established planting beds–perennial beds, mixed beds of annuals and perennials, and shrub borders–must be readied for each new growing season. This means amending the soil with aged compost, aged manure, fertilizers, and other soil amendments. The health of plants in a planting bed will directly equate to the health of the soil. Well-established planting beds […] More
A compost bin is a plastic, metal, wood, or wire container where organic material such as leaves, grass clippings, and kitchen scraps is kept during the process of decomposition. Compost bins help gardeners turn organic material that all too often is thrown away into compost which can improve garden soil and feed plants. Compost bins […] More
Compost is one of the best soil additives for a vegetable garden. It is also one of the least expensive. Composting turns garden and kitchen waste materials into a rich, organic amendment. The combination of dead vegetation with air and moisture will result in compost. Composting is a natural decomposition. Composting can take place in […] More
Early October is the right time to begin thinking about the coming frost and cold weather. How will you extend the season if your summer crops are not yet ready for harvest? Many warm-weather crops and all cool-weather crops can withstand the first, second, or even third frost with a little protection. Extending the season […] More
Organic fertilizers and organic soil amendments come from natural sources–plants, animals, and rocks. Organic fertilizer is a natural soil amendment that adds plant nutrients to the soil, most often nitrogen, phosphorous, or potassium. (NPK analysis is the concentration of major plant nutrients–nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), and potassium (K)–in fertilizer as a percentage of the whole.) […] More
Plants require nutrients to grow and for good health. Most plant nutrients are common natural organic chemical elements. Sixteen organic chemical elements are the nutrients 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 elemental nutrients in varying […] More
Once you have decided on a site for your vegetable garden and know what kind of soil you are working with and what amendments can make it better, it will be time to work the soil, to prepare for planting. Digging and tilling are not necessary for fertile well-structured soils. Good soils can be lightly […] More
The no-dig or light-dig garden preparation method calls for spreading soil amendments across planting beds and allowing rain, wind, and soil organisms to naturally carry the amendments and their nutrients down into the soil. The no-dig, light-dig method is an alternative to turning the soil with a tiller or spade. Lightly turning planting beds with […] More
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. […] More
Stephen Albert