WHY DO WE MULCH?

Mulching is any material that put on the surface of the soil to conserve water or reduce weeds. Mulch can be organic or inorganic. 
What can you use to mulch?
Mulch can be most anything not harmful to the plants; grass clippings, wood chips, newspapers, pine needles, straw, leaves, bark that is shredded, composted yard waste, and many other items.
An inorganic mulch has no nutients so they add no feeding to your plants.
Organic mulch  adds small amounts of nutrients, primariy nitrogen and minor elements.
Wrong mulching can be dangerous to your plants, especially young trees.  Volcano muching around young trees should be avoided because; smothers roots, reduces water tree gets, brings in insects and other pests, and can cause root rot. Never mulch up to the trunk of trees.
Every 12/18 months re-mulching is necessary to upgrade the beauity of you residence or replace  broken down and soil used mulch.
Be aware that yearly you should turn and fluff up old mulch to prevent caking and fungus.
New plantings get 2 to 3 inches of mulch, re-mulched plants get about 1/2 to 1 inch.
Hope this short mulch essay helps you to be a better gardener.
Spring is near, plan you mulching in advance, happy growing. 

15 SURPRISING SOIL FACTS.

Over the years in my gardening travels and reading I have come across some very interesting facts about soil you may or may not know. Following is a list of 15 items, I at least found interesting.
1.  Soil makes up the top layer of the earth.
2.  5 tons of soil spread over an acre is only as thick as a dime.
3.  It takes nature about 500 years to make an inch of topsoil.
4.  There are approximately 70,00 different kinds of soil in the USA.
5.  Between 5 and 10 tons of animal life can live in an acre of soil.
6.  Topsoil is the most productive of all soil layers.
7.  There can be no life without soil.
8.  There are more living organism in one cubic foot of soil than there are people in the USA.
9.  The best china dishes are made from soil.
10  An average soil sample is 45% minerals, 25% water, 25% air, and 5% organic matter.
11  One soil earthworm can digest 36 tons of soil in one year.
12  For every pound of tissue a plant uses 400 to 500 pounds of water.
13  Almost all antibiotics we take for infections come from soil organisms.
14  The best soil has abundant earthworms.
15  Most states have a state soil, just like the state flower and others so desingnated.
Well, those are a few of the facts about soil that has surprised me over the years.  Learning about soil and gardening is a learning experience that never ends. Happy growing.

GROW POTATOES IN A CONTAINER.

What is a potatoe growing formula? Simply put, potatoes reproduce through the eyes on a potatoe. These eyes produce sprouts, plant the sprouts and grow potatoes.  Potatoes have no seeds , so potatoe eyes are the method of reproduction.
Please don't run to your favorite supermarket and buy potatoes to plant. Supermarket potatoes have chemicals added to them to stop sprouts from forming. You need to buy what is known as seed potatoes, potaotes grown especially for use in potatoe production. These can be found at garden centers, feed stores, farm stores and in online catalogs.
When you purchase seed potatoes, place in a sunny place, spray with water and in about 2 weeks or so you will have sprouts. Now is the time to plant.
Since this is about potatoes in containers , that is where we will go.
Your container should be 20/30 galon in size, for example a garbage can, storage boxes or large pots. First drill holes in bottom of containers for drainage. cut potatoes in 3/4 sections with eye section containing a sprout. fill container about 1/3 full of potting soil. Place sprouts 4to 5 inches from sides of container and 6 to 8 inches apart.Cover with about 2 inches of soil. When you plants reach 6 inches in height, add 3  more inches of soil, and then every time you get 6 inches of growth add 3 inches more of soil until you are 2 to 3 inches from the top of the container. Stop and mound around the stems. The potatoes are now growing and the top of plant is getting larger.
Water consistently for better potatoes, health and taste. Consistent watering is a key to your crop.
If your plant flowers you can begin to harvest, or in about 8 weeks from planting them. If you want to fertilize use a slow release such as Ozmocote
To harvest use you hands to move around in the soil to find you potatoes, feel the size you want and harvest away.  Each plant should produce 2 to 4 pounds of potatoes.
Two varieties that do well in containers are Yukon Gold and Sangre, although you can probably buy overr 250 kinds of seed potatoes.
In addition there are 3 basic groups of potatoes. These are the main crops,longest growth time, the earlies, 15/16 weeks to grow, 2nd earlies, 16/17 weeks.
A final reminder be diligent at watering your crop, and set containers on bricks for best drainage.
A final, final reminder, I love mashed potatoes!

Garden Salsa: WHY COMPOST ?

Garden Salsa: WHY COMPOST ?: "It takes thousands of year to build good soil naturally. Composting helps bring new balance to your soil in 5 to 10 years when added r..."

Garden Salsa: DIRT ABOUT DIRT

Garden Salsa: DIRT ABOUT DIRT: "We all know about dirt, right, we walk it in on our shoes, get it under our nails when we garden, but what is dirt (soil) ? Soil is th..."

Garden Salsa: NO SPACE IS TOO SMALL TO GARDEN !

Garden Salsa: NO SPACE IS TOO SMALL TO GARDEN !: "We hear many people say that they would love to garden if they only had the space. Space is relative and gardening in small spaces is easy a..."

WHY COMPOST ?

It takes thousands of year to build good soil naturally.  Composting helps bring new balance to your soil in 5 to 10 years when added regularly to you existing soil.
What can good compost add to your soils that increses their effective use?
A good compost can add anthropods, worms, and humus to the soil. It is the best soil admendment that you can add to any soil. It will loosen clay soils and help sandy soils retain water and this as research shows  allows you to grow healthier grass,  heavier vegetable and fruit yields from your garden and even allow flowers to be healthier and more productive. Compost fertilizes in the way a slow release fertilizer does, has higher water holding capacity, loosens soil for better root growth and makes your soil more organically active. More actice soils are healthier soils, helping break down nutrients to be used by plants, grinding down rocks and pebbles over time.
Your home made compost has more diverse nutrient ingredients in it than does store bought compost, which is usually, dirt and a small amount of composted cow dung.
Our country throws away to the garbage collectors over 1200 pounds of compostable materials per household that could be vialble in our soils.  25% of our overcrowded landfills are from yard trimmings and food scraps.
You have all the items you need for a simple compost recipie. Moisture + air + water + browns + greens.
Greens: vegetables, grass clippings, coffee grounds, tea bags.
Browns: clean paper, cardboard, hay, shredded newpapers.
Some no-no's : meat, oil, pet waste, egg yolks.
And compost done correctly does NOT smell.
Easy to see why all of us should have a small or large composr pile for us to be better gardeners and citizens.