Peat Moss is Gardening Crack

...d. The image above as well as an extensive list of citations and peat alternatives in the Facebook group In Defense of Plants proves that peat moss is as sustainable as tobacco is safe. Here’s those citations: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090904165253.htm http://hortsci.ashspublications.org/content/44/2/312.full.pdf+html cpl.usu.edu/files/publications/factsheet/pub__9468201.pdf http://puyallup.wsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/403/2...

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My Big Fat Greek Squash

...visit my mom, her Greek neighbor pops over the fence to offer me seeds and plants. He visits Greece each summer and comes back with seeds for plants whose names he can’t translate into English. As a result I always have a few mystery Greek vegetables growing in the garden. This spring he gave me a squash seedling he had propagated. It grew into a massive vine and produced two winter squashes whose weight exceeded the capacity of my kitchen scale....

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How to get free mulch

If you want healthy soil and healthy plants, you’ve got to mulch. Mulch is not compost–they’re often confused. Mulch is the dry, carbon-rich plant matter which you apply around your trees and shrubs to retain moisture, build soil and repress weeds. It’s also a good material for walkways and open spaces in a yard. Mulch can be made of leaf litter or straw or pine needles or many other things, but one of the most common types of mulch comes in the...

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Back to the Garden

...on, and I never underestimate the intelligence of other creatures and even plants, but human intelligence is unique. A falcon will distinguish between a lark and a rabbit, but only we can imitate both the lark and the rabbit. Only we can craft images of them, make up songs and stories about them, and weave those stories into the meaning of all things. I’ve had only a few visions or epiphanies in my life, things I believe with all my heart, though...

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Hollywood always gets gardens wrong (I’m talking to you, Maze Runner)

...t, at this moment, laughing riotously at my boring middle aged concerns. (“Plants? You were looking at the plants?”) Yes, I was analyzing the background foliage while yummylicious Dylan O’Brian and Thomas “Elf Boy” Sangster were talking about…something. But yeah, I was looking at them, too. But seriously, ivy??? This may be an all time low. And to add insult to injury, they also have an upside down tomato planter strung between two of the trellise...

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