Gardening

Horse Manure Does It Have Any Uses

I grew up on a dairy farm and learned early in my life that cow manure is useful. That usefulness may have been born out of necessity, though. After all, the manure from a herd of 50 cows has to go somewhere right? That’s how I learned that cow manure makes a great fertilizer. But we never had horses on…

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Gardening

Tips For The Rose Gardener

Rose gardens are probably the most popular type of garden in the world, ranging from Marie Antoinette’s famous gardens before the French revolution to a few shrubs tucked in a tiny backyard. With their wonderful scents and lovely blossoms, it is no wonder these surprisingly sturdy plants are so popular. After all, no other flowers are used as frequently as…

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Gardening

Compost Tea Tea Time For Your Garden

If you would like a nice garden, you’ll need a bucket of water and some garbage. That simple recipe is all you need to grow healthy, beautiful plants all summer long. But before you start floating a tin can in a some water, you need to know that there is a catch. The trick to this recipe is that you…

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Gardening

Easy Steps To Composting

It is becoming more and more obvious these days that we need to recycle as much as we can, and anyone with a garden has a head start and can make a great contribution. To many novice gardeners, including myself, this subject can be somewhat difficult to grasp; but in fact it is really straightforward – there are just a…

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Gardening

Preparing The Garden For Winter

Are you like me? Sad to see the summer end but at the same time relieved that there is one less task to tend to. Weeding, watering, pruning, and more weeding is over for this year and with a few more chores the outdoor gardening year draws to a close. Most of what needs to be completed is a matter…

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Gardening

Mulching Benefits Organic And Inorganic Mulch Types

Mulching is the practice of placing a loose surface onto the surface of soil in your flower or vegetable garden in order to protect, insulate and beautify the area. This loose covering is called a mulch and it can be either of an organic or inorganic variety. Examples of mulches include compost, stone and grass clippings. Every gardener should understand…

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Gardening

Garden Composting Tips The Art Of Composting

Even a composting neophyte can create top-notch compost with the right recipe. Akin to cooking, composting is half art, and half science. Awareness of these basic factors will help you getting started. Just like a chef demands high quality ingredients, successful composting needs the best ingredients too. Good materials for composting include these: grass clippings, leaves, plant stalks, hedge trimmings,…

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Gardening

I M A Leaf Thief And A Composting King

Every autumn, home owners rake up their leaves, place them in bags and put them out on the curb. Every autumn I gas up my mini-van, drive around my neighborhood and steal them. I’m a skilled leaf thief and can usually fill the van two or three times in a weekend. Unlike regular thieves, I don’t fence the goods on…

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Gardening

Flowerless No Problems Grow Your Own Organic Flowers

Liquid feeds Compost tea is easy to make, pick your compost (stinging nettles, goat/sheep manure or homemade compost) then fill up an old pillowcase with you organic material. Tie the pillow case and attach a weight, a couple of bricks will do nicely. Sink this in a large water filled container, cover the container and leave for a couple of…

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Gardening

Everybody Can Garden With Containers

Container gardening is fantastic. On its own, a terracotta pot is just a container and summer bedding is just some plants. However, selectively plant the summer bedding in the container, add a few sprinkles of green-fingered expertise and you have created a miniature garden-scape. You are effectively planting a garden in miniature. This is known to some people as container…

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