Organic Gardening
HOW TO USE GREEN SAND IN THE GARDEN
- Tuesday, June 23, 2020
USING GREENSAND IN THE GARDEN - article is from https://www.groworganic.com/. This site has a plethora of great gardening info.
Since ancient Rome, the pigment “green earth” or “Verona green” was an important mineral for a painter’s palette. Nowadays, this mineral is better known as greensand and is a great choice for improving your soil organically.
What the Heck is Greensand
Greensand, which is sometimes called glauconite for the green-colored mineral that is its primary component, is a mined rock product that was formed millions of years ago in low-oxygen marine environments. The sediment at the bottom of that stagnant water was full of minerals including iron, potassium, silicates and trace elements. Eventually it turned into the rock called greensand. Greensand gets its name from the color, and because the rock it comes from is crumbly and easily pulverizes or naturally weathers into sand. Unlike other sand, though, greensand actually retains water and nutrients. In fact, it can hold up to one-third its weight in water.
Benefit of Adding Greensand to Your Garden
- Helps the soil's moisture and nutrient holding capacity, so you can water and fertilize less often.
- It improves the soil’s structure as well, such as by increasing the Cation Exchange Capacity or CEC.
- Greensand contains the minerals it accumulated when it was formed as marine sediment, and is especially good for a slow-release source of potassium.
Applying Greensand to your Garden and Orchard
- For DTE Greensand, apply to your garden in spring, use 5 to 10 pounds per 100 square feet, or 1 to 2 pounds per plant. Mix it into the top 6 inches of soil.
- After the first year’s application, you can use smaller amounts every one to two years. For most gardens, 1 to 2 pounds per 100 square feet is a good maintenance application.
- To use greensand for your trees, apply 1 to 2 pounds per inch of trunk diameter, spread over the root zone.
If you’re not sure how much to add, applying the larger amount is a safe bet because greensand cannot burn your plants or over-fertilize. However, applying more than the recommended amount will not give your plants an extra boost, as it releases too slowly to do this. Because of the slow-release nature of greensand, it is not the best choice for potted plants. It will provide very little potassium during the life of your potting soil, so a quicker acting fertilizer such as Peaceful Valley’s All Purpose Liquid Fertilizer will benefit your potted plants more. If you’re looking to improve soil structure or drainage in your potting soil, greensand can help, or you might consider instead adding perlite, vermiculite, or coco peat. Use greensand to create garden worthy of an oil painting, and grow organic for life!
https://www.groworganic.com/blogs/articles/how-to-use-fertilizers-greensand
COFFEE GROUNDS IN YOUR GARDEN - A NO NO.
- Sunday, May 17, 2020
Wow, what we thought was a good thing isn't!
Whatever You Do, Don't Put Coffee Grounds in Your Garden
A WAY TO GARDEN.com
- Sunday, May 17, 2020
Check out this gardening site. Lots of fun stuff to read and learn.
"horticultural how-to and woo-woo'
the source of organic gardening inspiration
margaret roach, head gardener."
SEED STARTING TIPS FROM HIGH MOWING SEEDS
- Tuesday, August 13, 2019
HIgh Mowing Organic Seeds started with a vision that we still hold today:
it is our goal to leverage the power of seed to transform our world.
OUR HISTORY
High Mowing Organic Seeds began in 1996 with just 28 varieties, many of which originated in founder Tom Stearns’ backyard. Since then, our company has grown exponentially, and what started as a one-man operation is now a thriving business making available to home gardeners and commercial growers over 600 heirloom, open-pollinated and hybrid varieties of vegetable, fruit, herb and flower seed. True to our roots, High Mowing Organic Seeds continues to source many of the varieties we sell directly from independent, passionate organic seed farmers, including from the 40 acre working farm owned and operated by Tom Stearns here in northern Vermont.
Click this link to see a video from High Mowing Seeds with great advice for having success when starting your seeds:
KEYHOLE GARDENING
- Wednesday, May 08, 2019
This description is from Wikipedia:
A keyhole garden is a wide circular raised garden with a keyhole-shaped indentation on one side. The indentation allows gardeners to add uncooked vegetable scraps, greywater, and manure into a composting basket that sits in the center of the bed. In this way, composting materials can be added to the basket throughout the growing season to provide nutrients for the plants. The upper layer of soil is hilled up against the center basket so the soil slopes gently down from the center to the sides. Most keyhole gardens rise about one meter above the ground and have walls made of stone. The stone wall not only gives the garden its form, but helps trap moisture within the bed. Keyhole gardens originated in Lesotho and are well adapted to dry arid lands and deserts. In Africa they are positioned close to the kitchen and used to raise leafy greens such as lettuce, kale, and spinach; herbs; and root crops such as onions, garlic, carrots, and beets. Keyhole gardens are ideal for intensive planting, a technique in which plants are placed close together to maximize production. Plants with wide reaching root systems such as tomatoes and zucchini may not perform well in a keyhole garden.
In this video a wire fencing is used as the surround. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYsbSBEEMeI
Subcategories
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Getting Started with Organic Gardening
Information about organic gardening.