Compost Vs Soil

I've been an advocate of soil testing for years. Thus, your corn, lettuce, roses and geraniums won't grow or produce to their full potential.Most nutrients that plants need are readily available when the pH of the soil solution ranges from 6.0 to 7.5.Some...

Soil scientists noticed the dark soil was fertile where identical soil adjacent to it was poor at best. Biochar is basically charcoal, the natural kind made from charring wood or other biomass by driving off the moisture and volatile gases, leaving mostly...

Stop filling to allow room for a soil covering over the waste before planting your plant or seeds. They smell and look a lot better than most other organic things you're likely to haul home.

Worms travel through underground tunnels or move on the soil surface by using their bristles as anchors, and pushing themselves forward or backward using strong stretching and contracting muscles and can move both frontward and backward they tend to travel...

Plants take in atmospheric carbon dioxide for photosynthesis (converting sunlight into the energy necessary to make carbohydrates/sugars), and in the process, give off the oxygen we need.

Is it no wonder why we sometimes find it difficult to grow a nice garden?Knowing whether your plant needs an innie or an outie is crucial to getting the kind of response you want from these special fungi.

Magnesium is at the core of the chlorophyll molecule, and an essential ingredient for healthy plants, and the animals (including humans) that eat those plants. All living organisms depend on magnesium in all types of cells, body tissues and organs for...

These associations may be largely invisible to us, but they are a critical factor in the lives of most plants. Heath plants generally represent the more common - ie. Spread around many of the world's edaphically poorer regions, the success of heathlands...

Calcium is essential for all living organisms including plants; most soils contain enough calcium but not in a form plants can use. The same calcium carbonate dissolved in water is what makes our drinking water “hard.”Calcium is found in as many as...

The slightest movement focuses the attention of this guardian, enabling it to determine if the intruder is friend or foe. Biological Control: A Guide to Natural Enemies in North America.

Sulfur also helps the plant's resistance to disease, aids in growth, and in seed formation. Generally speaking, sulfur is usually not a problem in the soils, and a plant sulfur deficiency is somewhat rare.

Native Americans from the Pamunkey tribe (like Chief Powhatan and his daughter Pocahontas) helped keep the settlers alive by showing them how, and what, to plant in the rich delta dirt.Pamunkey is the name of Virginia's official soil! What a beautiful...

No harm done.One other benefit that this approach might yield is that it will force me to be more active as a vegetable gardener: Right now, more than half of my garden is self-sown larkspur, strawberries, dill, borage, sunflowers, what-have-you.

It is important in balancing the nutrient needs of plants to know what these more common micronutrients do, and then test to see what's already in your soil.are necessary for photosynthesis (the manufacturing of chlorophyll).

They include many more strains of specific microbes than are available individually.As for me, I anticipate future innovations by experimenting with my own special brews, adding a pinch of this and a pinch of that, just for good measure! Since the microbes...

The cardboard is compostable the following spring, counting toward your carbon ratio, assuming it is not laminated. This does reduce the size of your usable space, but if it provides the necessary conditions for your compost to "cook," it is a sacrifice...

So, gardeners take heart. With clay beds, unless you love to till and dig, it is not necessary to cultivate the entire planting area. Be sure to keep mulch material well away from the stem or trunk, since the decomposition process produces heat and can...

This article is about the potential dangers of soil if you are not the only one 'using' it. Some people love the feel of the garden dirt in their hands as they weed or work the soil.Do you always know what's in the soil, or who's been there before you?Pets...

This is one reason for crop rotation. Here I will explore the 'Why' and 'How To' of No-Dig gardening. The E horizon is an eleuvian or leached layer consisting of demineralized sand and silt.

My ardent devotion is not due to a Frappuccinodependency (though I have begun to savor a refreshing iced vanilla latte as an afternoon energy booster). These hedges were the legacy of previous gardeners and were already well-established when I bought...

No matter where you live, your garden will benefit year-round from properly applied mulch: a layer of organic or inorganic material spread evenly on the surface of the soil. This condition is extremely damaging to azaleas, rhododendrons, most conifers,...

In all cases, foliar sprays are not enough; there must also be organic matter continually available in the soil for the microbes to eat. Microbes make nutrients in the soil available to plants in a form the plants can use.

The micronutrients are Boron (B), chlorine (Cl), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo) and zinc (Zn). If this sounds too good to be true, try an experiment at home with potted plants: take a 6” pot filled with half soil...

I move the bin outside and take the lid off for a while (especially when it's below freezing), then throw a few sprigs of fresh mint on top of the bedding and replace the lid. You can also make a trap (a jar containing some mashed fruit, with a funnel...

Backyard chicken ranchers love soldier flies. Make sure the grounds stay moist. Emerging adult flies will have no trouble finding the compost bin to continue the circle of life. After a day or two, check the food lure and remove the swarming larvae.Back...

Don't worry about amending your soil - work with nature! There are many woody plants that prefer or tolerate highly acidic soil. This mulch will help to maintain soil moisture, keep the ground cool and keep weeds to a minimum.During dry spells it will...

It is a macronutrient, meaning it's one of the major nutrients plants need, while secondary nutrients like calcium, magnesium and sulfur are needed in smaller amounts. All life forms need phosphorus, and we humans get phosphorus (along with calcium) to...