D. Bates Squash Garden in August
by Catherine Haug, March 20, 2012
(photo, right, by Don Bates)
It’s time to get busy preparing your garden for the season. Some of us already have gardens; some are thinking about creating a garden; and others are utilizing their local community garden (such as Bigfork-Ferndale Community Garden at St. Patrick’s). The seed companies have sent out their seed catalogues for us to drool over. Have you caught the gardening bug?
Mother Earth News has some great articles on garden design, soil health and other gardening topics:
- Care and Cultivation of Permanent Garden Beds
- Build Permanent Garden Beds & Paths
- Create Easy, Low Cost Raised Garden Beds
- Grow your Own: Preparing Garden Soil
- Simple Tips for Better Garden Soil
- Using Natural Fertilizers: Soil Nutrients, Green Manure and Making Compost
- How the Compost Pile Turned into a Thriving Rock Garden
- Make Biochar – This Ancient Technique Will Improve Your Soil
About the articles, and more
Care and Cultivation of Permanent Garden Beds was featured in the February issue of the magazine, and discusses different types of permanent beds – ground-level, raised beds and low beds – and how best to cultivate and enhance their soil without compacting the soil. Compaction deprives the soil’s microbes of oxygen, making it less fertile. According to the article, a big part of the solution to soil compaction is using a broadfork. Another recommendation is to lay down planks to step on – they distribute your weight over a wider area, minimizing compaction beneath your feet.
Build Permanent Garden Beds & Paths is very inspirational on garden design. I just love the idea of beds separated by paths. These can be laid out in a grid or maze pattern, in terraces on a hillside, and many other beautiful arrangements. Create Easy, Low Cost Raised Garden Beds shows how to build beds using concrete blocks.
Simple tips for better garden soil, Using natural fertilizers: soil nutrients, green manure and making compost, How the compost pile turned into a thriving rock garden and Make biochar – this ancient technique will improve your soil are all about soil improvement.
Thanks to Jean H for loaning me the Feb/Mar 2012 issue of Mother Earth News.
Related posts on The EssentiaList
General gardening topics
see also The EssentiaList Files on Gardening
- Recycling Wood or Briquette Ash
- Urban Gardening: Ideas for growing edibles in small spaces
- Growing Your Own Food, All Year Long
- Hugelkultur – Raised Bed Gardens Filled with Wood
- Cover Crops for Weed Prevention & More
- Growing Guides for Montana Gardens
- Starting Seeds Early
- Gathering Summary: Gardening in NW Montana, by Julian Cunningham, Apr 20, 2011
- Gathering Summary: Garden Season Extenders, by Don Bates, March 23, 2011
- Gathering Summary: Seed Starting Indoors & Container Gardening (01/29/09)
The EssentiaList on composting & soil enhancement
- On Composting, Mulching, Humanure, & Sewage Sludge
- What to do with all those leaves: mulch, mold, & compost (a fall topic)
- What makes your compost tick?
- Garden Soil
- Composting: Yard Waste
- Composting: Kitchen & Yard Scraps