If You Care About Healthy Soil and Clean Water, Here's What You Need to Know to Keep Your Garden and Landscape Free of Contaminants. Soil and water safety is an important topic for every gardener. That’s true whether you’re growing vegetables for your family or maintaining a backyard oasis of flowers. The long-term sustainability of a garden is based on understanding its building blocks: soil and water. For a garden to thrive, it must have healthy soil and clean water. It’s more complicated that you think. It goes way beyond “soil is dirty, and water runs clear.” And many gardeners don’t know what to look for. Soil and water contaminants can be sneaky critters, and this article will share what you need to know to keep your garden safe. Healthy Soil and Clean Water: What to Know About Soil Contaminants Unseen pollutants in soil pose serious risks to plants as well as people. Soil may look rich and fertile, but a closer inspection is needed to be sure … [Read more...] about Healthy Soil and Clean Water: What Every Backyard Gardener Should Know
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Garden Mulch: A Comprehensive Guide
Everything you need to know about the benefits of garden mulch, organic mulch, wood chips, the best mulch for vegetable gardens, and what makes the best mulch. Gardening is a rewarding activity that allows us to connect with nature while creating beautiful, thriving outdoor spaces. A key element that plays an important role in the success of any yard or homestead is garden mulch. Mulching is a simple yet effective technique that offers a number of benefits for garden beds. In this article, we will explore the significance of mulch, the various types of mulch available for purchase and for free, how to apply mulch, and the long-lasting impact it can have on the health and aesthetics of your garden. The Benefits of Garden Mulch Mulch serves as a protective layer that covers the soil surface around plants. Its primary functions include moisture retention, weed suppression, temperature moderation, and soil enrichment. By acting as a barrier between the soil and the … [Read more...] about Garden Mulch: A Comprehensive Guide
Eat Your Weeds
Common weeds that are good to eat include purslane, lambsquarter, dandelion, wild amaranth., and plantain. Our gardens are at their biggest and best in summer. Unfortunately, that’s the case with our weeds too. Most gardeners will rip these weeds out of the ground and into the trash can as soon as they see them, but consider this: some of those weeds might secretly be a delicious superfood! And harvesting them for food means less waste, less work, and a more eco-friendly garden. It used to be common to eat many of these weeds, but the knowledge was lost in the past couple generations. Today, “urban foraging” is making a comeback, as more savvy gardeners come to realize the waste of perfectly good food. Common Weeds that are Good to Eat You might be surprised at how many of those weeds infiltrating your garden beds are edible. These are some very common edible weeds that you probably have in your garden right now, and all of them put spinach to shame with their … [Read more...] about Eat Your Weeds
Lawn Fertilization Tips for Spring and Fall
Lawn fertilization is necessary for healthy, green grass lawns. A well-fertilized turfgrass lawn is healthy enough to withstand stress from pests, foot traffic, and environmental factors. Quite simply, regular lawn fertilization is necessary to maintain optimal health. Here are some quick tips that will help you maintain a healthy green turfgrass lawn. Then I will give a more in-depth explanation of key lawn fertilization principles. Home, Garden and Homestead receives a small commission (at no cost to you) from product links in this story. Thank you for supporting this website! 5 Quick Lawn Fertilization Tips Fast-Release and Slow-Release Fertilization Depending on your lawn’s needs and your preference, you can choose between fast-release inorganic lawn fertilizers and slow-release organic fertilizers. You can even use the blend of multiple fertilizers if you wish. For example, some homeowners use fast-release fertilizers, followed by a top dressing of organic … [Read more...] about Lawn Fertilization Tips for Spring and Fall
Grow Glass Gem Corn for a Colorful Harvest
Want to grow Glass Gem Corn? If you are looking for the most colorful corn variety of all time, Glass Gem Corn is it. What exactly is Glass Gem Corn? Think of it as Indian corn on steroids. Or LSD. Or both. But it grows like other common corn varieties. So, if you’ve grown yellow corn or sweet corn or white corn, you can grow Glass Gem Corn. (Don’t worry, I will give you some basic tips about how to grow corn below.) Why grow colorful Glass Gem Corn seeds? Well, the dried kernels make great popcorn. You can grind the kernels into a multi-colored cornmeal. Or you can grow it for a showy fall decoration. (The kernels are simply too hard to eat them off the cob.) How Glass Gem Corn was Born We wouldn’t have glass gem corn today if it weren’t for the efforts of two men—Carl Barnes and Greg Schoen. So, my hat is off for both gentlemen and their love for colorful corn. Carl Barnes, a part-Cherokee farmer in Oklahoma, began gathering heirloom corn seed varieties as an homage … [Read more...] about Grow Glass Gem Corn for a Colorful Harvest
