compost

How To Plant In Summer

How To Plant In Summer

A few weeks back I was harping about why gardeners don’t bother with compost and fertilizer when they are planting.  This week I feel the need to talk about the importance of good planting practices.  No matter where you purchase your plant material, I can guarantee you they will croak if it they aren’t planted properly.  Here are some of my tips to help you succeed…

Compost and Fertilizer - A Boring But Necessary Topic

Compost and Fertilizer - A Boring But Necessary Topic

It pains me to see customers spending hundreds of dollars on new plants and simultaneously refusing to spend a few more on a bag or two of compost and a box of starter fertilizer.  These two items are not unnecessary “add-ons” that the retailer is just trying to add to the sale, they are critical components of a successful transplanting process - or as I like to refer to them as “plant insurance”.  Unless you have phenomenal soil, you should always add compost and starter fertilizers when you are planting new plants.  Here is why…

Regenerative Gardening: Saving The Planet One Garden At A Time

Regenerative Gardening: Saving The Planet One Garden At A Time

Have you heard of “regenerative agriculture”? I hadn’t until recently, but after a bit of research, I realized that this “new” movement is at its base just an expansion of organic gardening and farming principles that can be adapted from commercial agriculture to our very own backyards. Here are some components of this style of gardening that we should all take to heart…

Beware, Seeds Are Germinating All Around You

Beware, Seeds Are Germinating All Around You

This little northwest mist we just experienced reminds me that this is the time of year when all those little weed seeds that have been lying dormant in our soils suddenly get a notice from Mother Nature that it is time to wake up and start growing. There are 3 environmental signals that cause this response…