The Jury is Still Out on Compost Tea
Gardening, like health, has its fads. Raised beds and whole grains, once considered trendy, are now recognized as important components of good gardening and good health. Compost tea is currently hot in the gardening world, but will it also move ... [... more]
Fine Gardening |
More Compost, Less Work
I come from a long line of gardeners. My grandparents, in the ways of the old country, grew most of the fruits and vegetables that reached our table. My grandfather kept a fenced-off area behind the garage known as the manure pile, which was ... [... more]
Fine Gardening |
Will my compost smell?
For many gardeners, there isn't anything more rewarding than turning garbage into gold. That's what composting does: transforms discarded organic matter into nutrient-rich compost or "black gold." Besides being a natural fertilizer, compost is . [... more]
Fine Gardening |
Composting in Cold Weather
No matter how particular you are about building your compost pile properly in winter, not much will happen in the cold weather. Mounds of old salad, cooked broccoli, and moldy bread just sit there. There won't be odors from the pile in winter, ... [... more]
Fine Gardening |
Building a Compost Bin
A compost pile is not a garbage pile, and one way to clearly differentiate between the two is with an enclosure -- a compost bin. The ideal bin retains heat and moisture, is easy to fill and empty, and fends off raccoons, stray dogs, and other ... [... more]
Fine Gardening |
Brewing Compost Tea
Gardeners all know compost is terrific stuff. But there's something even better than plain old compost, and that's compost tea. As the name implies, compost tea is made by steeping compost in water. It's used as either a foliar spray or a soil ... [... more]
Fine Gardening |
Worm Composting
When I told my 40-something daughter I had taken up worm composting, she gave me a horrified look and declared, "I don't want to know about it. Don't show me where they are. And don't ask me to take care of them if you go out of town!" Despite . [... more]
Fine Gardening |
Get Started in Composting
Long before it became a '90s buzzword, composting was something we just did. On my family's farm we had to make the most efficient use of all our resources. The vegetable scraps, the rabbit manure and the animal bedding all went into the pile, ... [... more]
Fine Gardening |
A Simple Compost Bin
Composting is one of the best ways to boost your soil and fall is the season for it. In this video, Patti Moreno, the Garden Girl, talks about the simple compost bins she builds by connecting a roll of wire and filling it with leaves and other ... [... more]
Fine Gardening |
