compost

How Does Your Garden Grow – An Introduction To Raised Beds

The push towards a â€œgreenâ€ lifestyle has inspired many people to consider growing their own food. The growing cost of groceries plays are part as well, and besides, it’s just healthier to eat fresh, organic food. Whatever your particular reason for wanting to grow your own food, there are some things to consider when it comes to building a raised bed.

Not all Beds Are Built Alike

I’ve seen some gorgeous garden arrangements, and I’ve seen some slapdash beds that look so unstable I worried about planting lettuce in them. Wood rot is going to happen, as is some settling, so plan for these when designing your bed. Wet soil with giant cabbages growing it in is considerably heavy, legs built from 2×4’s are going to need some bolstering.

Whether built a few feet off the ground for comfortable sitting, or built at waist height for less bending, the width of your bed should be no more than your arm’s can reach easily. Tending the garden becomes a tedious chore when it cannot be accomplished with comfort and serenity.

Raised Bed Gardening From the Ground Up

Use Recycled and Reclaimed Materials â€“ Shopping local for materials which still have plenty of life in them is a cost-effective alternative to buying something which may be treated with toxic chemicals. From wood to marble, there are plenty of attractive options for the garden retreat of your dreams.

Use Your Resources â€“ Building a raised bed out of discarded wooden pallets results in a bed that is solid, and attractive. Instructional videos for building different styles of raised beds out of wooden pallets are numerous on Youtube and people practically give pallets away on Craigslist.

Create Your Own Compost – Landfills are overfilled as it is, and your garden sure would love to devour the rest of that orange if you’re just going to toss it out. While you’re at it, toss in some coffee grounds, eggshells, lawn clippings, paper waste, and anything made of natural materials (think yellow pages and cotton t-shirts). No animal products like bones, and meat, please, this just invites flies and those are never fun.

Plant What You Love – Talk to the experienced growers at your local farmer’s market or community garden to find out what grows best in your region, as well as the ideal time to plant. Plant those things you love to eat, but also plant a variety of different regional favorites. Zucchini is known to be a prolific grower, for example, a few seeds go a long way.

Plant What’s Expensive â€“ It’s okay to plant some exotic goodies too, especially if they cost a pretty penny at the market. You may need to put in a little extra effort in the form of shielding plants from the sun, or extreme temperature changes, but it will be well worth it when it comes time to harvest.

Keyhole gardens, Ultimate in Efficiency -Recently I’ve become enamored with keyhole gardens. This particular form of raised garden takes advantage of water-shortage situations by using a central composting pit for most of the hydration and nutrients for the plants growing within. The keyhole refers to the little notch in the circular garden that allows easy-access to the compost deposit. Three standard-size keyhole gardens (less than 6â€ in diameter) will feed a small family comfortably.

Or Start Small â€“ Not quite ready for the commitment of a fully-fledged raised bed or keyhole garden? It’s okay, it takes time to develop a green thumb. Build up some confidence by planting some herbs in decorative containers. Not only do herbs smell fantastic, they also taste great in a variety of recipes and they are very forgiving plants.

Water Efficiently

It can be tempting to water your garden beds till the soil is like mud, and that’s okay for some, but it’s also a potential waste of water. In some Florida towns like Clearwater, gutters are important for collecting enough water to keep a garden. There’s nothing better than rain water for hydrating your garden. Growing your own food is not only essential for optimal health, it’s good for the environment too, since it saves from making frequent trips to the grocery store. Â

Rachel Cook is a sustainable living enthusiast who loves to pitch in and volunteer her time at organic farms around Hawaii. When Rachel needs inspiration for low-cost maintenance projects that extend a homeâ€™s value while remaining eco-friendly, she browses sites like www.raincontrolaluminuminc.com.

4 Common Compost Problems And How To Fix Them

by Trish

Compost is essential for fertile soil. Compost benefits the soil in various ways including encouraging the soil to hold nutrients, attracting much needed soil insect activity and encouraging a more conducive environment for plant growth. There are some common problems that you may encounter when preparing compost. Below are some solutions on how you can address the problems.

Not All Items Are Decomposing

You may have a varied plant matter to create your compost. However, sometimes the materials in the compost do not decompose at the same rate. This is especially the case if you have included whole plant or animal matter in the compost. To address this, ensures that you chop all the matter in the compost to small pieces. This ensures that all matter is exposed equally to the environment and will therefore decompose at the same rate.

Stink

Compost is made up of decomposing matter and the stench is inevitable. Nevertheless, you may want to manage stink if you want to avoid lawsuits of nuisance from your neighbors or you have a sensitive nose. Compost stink can either be caused by wetness or nitrogen rich matter in your compost material. To address this, you should remake your compost by adding some dry leaves or grass. This will help to take care of the nitrogen content in your compost material. The stink is usually caused by bacteria that usually thrive in wet, damp, and dark conditions. Address this by turning your compost regularly to help manage the wet condition.

Dry and Dusty Compost

While compost that is wet may lead to bacteria breeding, you do not want to have compost that is too dry. Damp conditions are ideal to create a good compost material. If the material gets too dry, the compost will not break down sufficiently and this will compromise the quality of your compost. You will experience the problem of dry compost during summer or if you live in a hot environment. Correct this problem by adding some water to the compost. This should be done with care as you do not want to make the compost wet and soggy. Pour the water in bits and keep mixing the compost as you do this. As the compost gets wet, mix properly to ensure that it is damp but not soggy. Stop adding water when you are sure that the compost is damp enough.

My Compost is Attracting Animals and Insects

At time, your compost may even attract some wild animals that are foraging for food. This is normal considering the amount of possible feed available for these animals. You should be able to prevent this by putting protective mesh around your compost site. This should safely keep away any animals that want to eat your compost. It is also very natural that you will find lots of bugs within your compost material. While this sounds disgusting, bugs will help the compost material decompose. They are therefore good for your compost as they assist in the process.

Denis is a freelance writer that loves to share tips on gardening. You can have a look at his site onÂ wall fireplace if you want to learn more on him.

How To Grow Your Own Carrots

by Trish

It is much better to grow your own vegetables from home, not only do they taste much better, but they are also much cheaper and healthier. Once you start growing your own vegetables, you will never want to go back to buying them from supermarkets.

You shouldnâ€™t worry about growing your own carrots from home as it is quite an easy and quick process, as long as you have a little time to prepare your carrot seeds and to plant them.

Step One

The first step to growing carrots is to sow the carrot seeds. This may sound a little complicated, but trust me, once youâ€™ve got the hang of it, it wonâ€™t ever be a problem again.

You should first make sure that you are planting your carrot seeds at the right time of year, it should say on the back of the packet when it is the best time to plant them. Most varieties of carrots are usually planted in March, if you wanted to get a start on your vegetable growing earlier than this, you can buy the Scarlet Horn or Nantes variety which can be sown in as early as February.

Before you begin sowing your carrot seeds, you are going to need to prepare your soil. You should prepare quite a large patch of soil; to make sure that it is healthy for your carrots to grow in you should dig it up and remove any weeds, stones and debris.

Step Two

You are going to need quite a lot of space to sow in your carrot seeds, the soil also needs to be quite deep so that the carrots have plenty of room to grow.

You should sow the seeds directly into drills. You should aim to sow them half an inch deep and 15cm apart.

Step Three

You need to keep your carrots healthy and fresh; to do this you should water the compost on a regular basis. If you start to notice that your carrots are wilting, this means they are not getting enough water. Give them a good soaking and this should rescue your carrots from any problems.

Step Four

It will usually take around 12-16 weeks for your carrots to grow properly. Once you believe the carrots are big enough for your use, they are ready to harvest.

Before careful when you pull them out of the ground, if it is a little tough to pull them up you can use a fork to help break up the soil around them.

Jenny started growing vegetables from her home and has really enjoyed it. She gets all her gardening equipment from http://www.gardenhealth.com/