How to Avoid Salmonella in Compost
If your idea of a fun afternoon is reading academic research papers, just Google "Salmonella in compost." You'll get titles like Cascading effects of composts and cover crops on soil chemistry, bacterial …
composting
5+ Soil Additives to Improve Drainage in Soggy Gardens
After a rainstorm (or even a heavy watering), does your vegetable garden resemble day three of Woodstock? Soil drainage may be an issue! The good news is that there are …
Ways to Make Compost Break Down Faster
I know the feeling. You're excited about your compost pile; you've tried to keep the mix right between browns and greens. Finally, you're ready to get some finished compost and …
Some Composting Mistakes Are Tastier Than Others
Composting mistakes happen. Some of those mistakes are pretty minor, like when you spill your cup of freshly squeezed rosemary lemonade into the compost pile on a hot summer day. …
Easy Composting at Home: 5 Ways to Compost from Hardest to Easiest
A decade or so ago, there weren’t many people looking for ideas for easy composting at home. If you were interested in composting, you either ran a farm or you …
13 Deadly Vegetable Garden Pests
I’m just going to say it: There is a lot that can go wrong with a garden. Somehow, we humans have cultivated vegetables for about 10,000 years. But a few …
Is Pine Needle Compost too Acidic for Vegetable Gardens?
Pine needle compost might be one of the most misunderstood areas of composting. Sure, there's some confusion about whether that take-out container is compostable, but when it comes to pine …
The Best Type of Manure for Vegetable Gardens
My summer cookouts are not for the faint of heart. It's not that there's anything scary or bad. But conversations tend to skip the polite weather talk and get straight …
Compost Not Heating Up? 3 Ways to Fix Slow Composting
It's probably no surprise that I love compost. Ever since I began using compost in my garden, all my plants, vegetables, and herbs are happier than ever. And compost is …
5 Mistakes to Avoid When Adding Manure to Garden Beds
I might be dating myself here, but anytime I think about adding manure to garden beds, I have a vision of the scene from Back to the Future. You know …
