You built some great raised garden beds and now you need to fill them but soil is heavy to move and expensive. You look around for a better alternative and find a hundred suggestions online. Which is the best option?
I started using raised beds back in 1974 and have tried a lot of variations over the years. In this post I’ll combine the science with my experience and tell you what works and what doesn’t, and give you the best option for filling raised beds.
We have just launched the Garden Fundamentals Podcast Show. Now you can drive, jog and even work in the garden while listening to gardening information from Garden Fundamentals.
Adding clover to lawns is becoming very popular and it sounds so beneficial for pollinators. Unfortunately, the benefits are not nearly as good as claimed. If you are thinking of creating a clover lawn, you need to read this post. It could save you a lot of time and headaches.
Some seed is difficult to germinate unless you stratify them. If you do that correctly, you can germinate just about any seed with ease. I’ve germinated over 2,000 different types of seed and many needed a cold stratification period before they would germinate. In this stratification guide I’ll tell you everything you need to know about germinating seeds.
Starting seeds is one the most exciting and enjoyable parts of gardening and you can do it in winter. Each seed pack contains little miracles that in your hands will develop into beautiful mature plants, provided you follow the simple steps outlined in this post.
I have personally germinated over 2,000 different varieties of plants using the methods in this guide. It is much easier than you think and the tricks and procedures detailed here will work for vegetables, flowers and even trees. Grab those seed packs and let’s get started.
As Penn State puts it: “Mulch Volcanoes are Erupting Everywhere“, and they are killing trees. It is a slow death, but one that is almost inevitable. Gardeners and landscape professionals see over mulched trees everywhere and they copy the method, not knowing that they are mulching incorrectly.
The main cause of death has been attributed to increased trunk rot, but that is a myth. This post will debunk this myth, explain the real cause of death, show you how to mulch trees and shrubs properly and how to fix the problems caused by mulch volcanoes.
The snow has melted, and it’s a tradition: dethatching your lawn. But should you be doing this to your lawn? Read on, and you just might save yourself some work.
Hydroponics has become more popular especially with the invention of the aerogarden systems, like AeroGarden. DIY home hydroponic grow systems are also popular, as are Kratky methods. All of these systems require hydroponic fertilizer which is quite a bit more expensive than regular soluble fertilizer. It begs the question, can you use regular fertilizer in place of hydroponic fertilizer? What makes hydroponic fertilizer special and what should you be looking for when you buy them?
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GMOs are very controversial for two reasons. Firstly, there is a lot of misinformation out there, and secondly, GMOs are not well understood by the general public. Rather than discuss the topic in detail I have decided to focus on some of the common myths. I will present a number of GMO myths and if the reader is interested in more detail, they can look at the references.
If you have formed an opinion on GMOs based what you have read on popular websites and in newspapers, you have probably reached the wrong conclusion. The anti-GMO movement is strong and based almost entirely on emotion and fear. Science does not back up most of their claims.
Is the lawn good or bad for the environment? You can look at this problem from different points of view and today I would like to examine the specific question; do lawns reduce CO2 levels.
A study done by Scotts Miracle Gro concluded that “The lawn is a good and valued resource for sequestering carbon, even under various typical lawn management practices”. Is this really true??? The answer is more complicated than you might think.
Do you hate strange cats using your yard as a personal litter box? You’re not alone. Keeping cats out of your garden is a big problem that comes up all the time on social media.
In this post I’ll examine the many proposals for controlling cats to see which ones actually work. Spoiler alert – most suggests are just myths and don’t work or are not practical, but some are worth trying.
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