Gardening Basics

Compost is one of the best things you can add to the soil in your garden. Made up of decomposed plants and plant material, compost contains beneficial bacteria, micro-nutrients, potassium,...

Using compost in the garden helps fertilize and condition the soil. Most people mix the compost into the soil, but you can also just spread it on top as either an additive that's then covered by...

Compost is an excellent organic material which can fertilize, condition and enhance the quality of your garden soil greatly. Often referred to as black gold by gardeners, compost is very dark in...

Since the victory gardens of WWI and WWII, food gardeners have known that the time their garden requires is well worth the effort. Planting a garden at your private residence is a healthy,...

Do you need manure in compost? The short answer is no. You can make perfectly good compost without manure. While farm animal manure is a very good source of nitrogen (one of the primary elements...

Grapes are hardy and versatile plants. There are many varieties, each one preferring different conditions, so most gardeners can find one that will grow well in their area. The vines are...

Healthy, nutrient-rich organic soil is the most important factor in growing a vigorous, prolific garden. Building up garden soil is a time-consuming process, sometimes taking several years until a...

Rose bushes add romance and formality to just about any backyard garden. With their thorny stems and intricately layered buds, they are ideal for picking and placing in a vase indoors. Their...

Making your own compost is easy. Compost is decomposed plant material that provides nutrients and organic matter to the soil. It can also be useful for loosening the soil, making it easier for...

With all the media hype of late, you've probably heard of the Green Movement, and if you're like most Americans, you'd like to do something to help our planet. One of the first things you can do...

Fresh berries in the morning are a true luxury, and even more so if the fruit is home grown. If you want to plant raspberry seeds you can buy seeds in packets, but it's much more fun to sprout...

The thick, lush leaves and delicate tendrils of grapevines have enchanted artists for centuries. Growing most varieties of edible grapes requires bees and wind to pollinate them, but if you are...

Gardening can be tricky business, especially because so many aspects of the soil must be considered. The ph level, consistency, fertility and more are all aspects that can mean all the difference...

So you did some research, followed the steps, and now have a nice big heap of compost. Yet your not quite sure what to do with it. Compost is a versatile material and is only limited by your...

Composting harnesses nature's power of decomposition. All organic things rot; in a compost heap, they decompose in a place and over a time you choose. "Passive Composting" is piling up some...

Bad yard drainage means oversaturation of water in the soil. When the soil becomes waterlogged, plants become susceptible to root rot or other fungal diseases. Sandy and loam soils generally do...

According to the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, compost is created by the "biological decomposition of organic wastes by bacteria, fungi, worms and other...

A good gardener knows the benefits of keeping up the harvest schedule so you pick your organic food at the peak of its growth. You keep an eye on every crop while planting and preparing the next...

Most people assume winter is the end of the gardening season, unless you are willing to invest in a greenhouse. One task that can continue in the winter is composting. Composting is largely a...

Compost--partially decomposed organic matter--is a dark soil-like substance full of nutrients and microorganisms that plants adore. You can certainly make your own compost using a simple pile in a...

In addition to being a fertilizer, cow manure is a wonderful ingredient to add to your compost to increase your garden fertility. As a main ingredient in compost, cow manure helps maximize...

Bat guano is the excrement of bats, and has been used in fertilizers and as a soil enriching agent for centuries. Guano is harvested from caves where bats nest and sold commercially to farmers and...

Composting is a simple way to create a high-quality soil additive for your garden. Kitchen scraps, grass clippings, leaves, and other materials are all suitable for the compost pile. Peanut...

Composting is a wonderful way to do your part for the environment by cutting down on organic waste that typically gets sent off to the landfill and takes up valuable space on our planet. With...

Brandywine tomatoes are an indeterminate heirloom cultivar that produce large, pink, beefsteak-shaped tomatoes that average about a pound a piece. They take a long time to produce but they are...

Willows are incredibly easy plants to propagate. With a few simple supplies, a single long willow limb can become several new plants in as little as a growing season. Willows can be trained into...

Compost material brings nutrients and moisture-rich soil to plants and gardens. In its infancy, a compost pile tends to be more acidic than alkaline. However, as it matures and reaches complete...

Raised boxes make an excellent garden. These boxes make gardening easier for those with physical disabilities. Raised boxes reduce the time spent weeding. Plants grow better in raised boxes...

Composting apples is a great and simple way to create quality compost for your garden. Compost acts as a fertilizer, mulch and general soil conditioner, and makes for a rich and fertile garden. ...

There are as many reasons to use raised beds as there are ways to create them. Vegetables and ornamentals alike get more air circulation in raised beds, and tend to make more efficient use of...

Composting is an effective way to use scraps and clippings to create rich, nutrient-filled soil for gardens. When building a compost pile, it is important to maintain the proper ratio and moisture...

Composting in a preschool classroom can be a fun, hands-on activity to teach students about agriculture, ecology and the environment. The materials needed are simple and easy to find, and every ...

Learn to grow fall vegetables in hot dry desert areas. This is not always simple but it can be done.

Composting is a great way to reduce the amount of garbage you send to the landfill, and while some may imagine compost bins must be messy and smelly, nothing could be further from the...

Compost is made from a mixture of organic waste--things that would normally be thrown in the trash heap. The resulting mixture is full of microscopic organisms and nutrients that plants love....

Composting is an ideal way to recycle scraps and yard waste so they do not end up in landfills. During the fall, many people like to put their raked leaves into compost bins but they also want to...

Compost tea is easy to make and use in the garden. It provides beneficial nutrients to plants and can act as an insecticide and fungicide when combined with other ingredients. In "Texas Gardening...

Vermicomposting uses worms to help speed up the decaying process of plant materials, so you can use the compost more quickly in your garden. Special types of waste are required to feed and keep...

Composting is the microbial process of turning plant material into organic material used to amend soil. It is beneficial to soil and growing plants and can be made out of yard wastes, leaves,...

Composting is a simple, rewarding and beneficial gardening activity. Effective composting requires a mix of garden and kitchen waste, making compost bins an attractive food source for scavengers...

Knowing when to fertilize vegetable plants helps ensure a successful harvest at the end of their growing season. There are different methods for fertilizing vegetable plants at different stages of...

Cool weather brings falling leaves and the end of the growing season for annuals and perennials. Many of the plants, trees and shrubs in your landscape are entering the dormant season. Preparing...

Composting is an economical and environmentally friendly way to provide fertilizer and soil conditioner for gardens. There are substances, however, that should not be used in making compost...

Every time we remove growing parts of plants, we take away nutrients. By taking a few steps to compost yard and garden waste, we can recycle soil nutrients, saving money and landfill space....

While composting is an environmentally friendly activity that can add nutrients to the soil surrounding your house without great cost or energy, it can also be a source of several dangers that all...

Selecting the correct soil for Terra Cotta pots to start climbing Jasmine starters is necessary to facilitate correct growth. A combination soil of compost and sterile potting soil is best.

Butterfly bushes are so named because they attract butterflies; they also attract hummingbirds. The very fragrant flowers of the butterfly bush come in vibrant shades of red, purple, pink, blue,...

A properly maintained compost pile produces an abundance of organic material by introducing bacteria to an ideal environment of heat and moisture. Once it's established, you need only to turn the...

If you'd like to use fresh manure as a compost material, you can easily incorporate it into your compost pile. Although composting happens naturally over time, you can speed up the process by...

Garden beds do not have to expensive and intricate to be beautiful and serve as a provider of fine produce. Simple designs and structures will still add beauty to your yard. Cost can be lessened...