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Add some splash to your garden with a fountain
One great way to add character to a garden is to add a fountain. Fountains, also called water features and water elements, can add elegance, a sense of peace or a feeling of fun to nearly any landscape design. The sound of flowing or trickling water...
Evergreens To Use For Landscaping
Evergreen trees and shrubs are more expensive in general than deciduous trees (trees that drop their leaves in winter). But they are worth their cost because of their year-round beauty, hardiness and longevity. Evergreens range from the...
Spring is around the corner - How is your Garden?
Spring is in my opinion the most wonderful time of year for the
gardener. You can shake of that winter weariness and get ready
for a new gardening season.
The most difficult part of spring gardening is trying to manage
your impatience....
Staying Focused on the Project
Very often we begin a project with a specific goal in mind, only to find ourselves sidetracked. It happens every day in every way. The phone or doorbell rings, one of the kids needs help, or your spouse hollers something unintelligible from the...
Types Of Roses To Use For Landscaping Your Home
If you enjoy roses, you can use them functionally as well as decoratively around your grounds — as creepers, shrubs, vines, climbers, hedges or just as beds of pure color. Rose originators are enthusiastic and tireless, and every year new...
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A Compost Primer
Most gardeners and landscapers will agree almost unanimously that the single best thing you can do for your lawn is to add compost. Good, organic compost can remedy almost any problem you have with your soil. If you soil is too acidic, adding compost will help neutralize it and bring it back to a proper pH level. If your soil is too alkaline, ditto! Adding compost will help balance the alkalinity in the soil. If you live in an area with a lot of heavy clay, adding compost will help loosen and aerate the soil. If you live in a coastal or southern area with a lot of sand, adding compost will help bind it together. Soil lacking nutrients? Add compost to add new life to overworked soil.
So how do you make compost? It’s easier than you can imagine and cheaper than anything else you will do. How cheap? How about free! All composting is, is the natural decomposition of organic matter. Walk through a dense forest and take a deep handful of soil from under your feet. Notice how black and rich it is. It didn’t get that way from fertilizers or manure. It got that way from all the decomposing organic matter. A forest takes care of itself by recycling. It recycles every leaf, branch, berry, and bush. It does this quite simply. All the organic and living matter in the forest decomposes into compost which feeds the existing plants (and some animals!).
In the forest, when leaves fall from the trees, they all gather on the forest floor. In storms, branches may fall, as well as entire trees. This creates layers of organic matter on the forest floor. Eventually it rains
adding fuel to the mixture. The rain aids the microbes that begin to eat the organic matter, eventually turning it into the rich, thick carpet you see on the forest floor. This compost feeds the living trees and other plants providing nutrients that rival the best fertilizers.
You can emulate the forest by creating your own compost. Avoid store bought compost, especially those made from manure. There’s nothing natural about spreading rotted and decomposed cow feces on your lawn or garden. It’s actually pretty gross! Especially considering the number of chemicals and steroids that are given to cattle and cows in the United States. If you must purchase or acquire compost from somewhere else, call your local municipal office. Many municipalities have their own composting facilities and they give away the compost to their residents for free! In our township, for example, all the leaves that are gathered in the fall from the local streets, are mulched up and composted in a huge field. In a year or two, once the leaves have thoroughly composted, we are permitted to haul away as much compost as we like! The only catch is that we must load it ourselves, but this is a small price to pay for free, organic mulch.
About the Author
Dean Novosat is an avid gardener and landscaper. He has transformed many boring yards into beautiful landscapes. He has several websites including http://www.the-garden-doctor.com and http://www.dr-landscape.com.
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| Landscaping - Outdoors - homesite.com.au |
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