Search Results for: label/native plants/page/2/2011/04/making-it

857 results

Worm Compost Leachate, Good or Bad?

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Composting, Gardening, Vermiculture
15 Comments
...which they believe encourages the growth of microorganisms unfavorable to plants. They like to point out that worm bin leachate is not ACT. The ACT debate needs a much longer post, but I did find two peer reviewed studies showing the benefits of un-aerated worm compost leachate: “Vermicomposting Leachate (Worm Tea) as Liquid Fertilizer for Maize“ and “Vermicompost Leachate Alleviates Deficiency of Phosphorus and Potassium in Tomato Seedlings.” I...

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The Mystery of the Zero-Irrigation Squash

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Food, Gardening, Vegetable Gardening
20 Comments
...with zero water inputs! To top that, this was one of the healthiest squash plants we’ve ever “grown” or rather allowed to grow. How did that work? And more importantly, how can we make it happen again? I have three thoughts: 1) Perfect timing. Volunteers know exactly when to come up. They’re rarely wrong. We humans schedule planting by when we finally buy our seeds and find time to trundle out into the garden. It’s not good enough. Masanobu Fukuok...

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Matching Your Waste Stream to Your Composting Method

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Composting, Gardening, Vermiculture
9 Comments
...le garden speaks to the advantages of what I think of as alternative permaculture food crops. In our climate that’s things like prickly pear cactus, pomegranates, certain types of grapes, olives and California natives (many of which are edible or medicinal). These useful plants don’t need compost. They pull up nutrients from the ground and, if you let the leaves fall in place, do their own composting....

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Dry Climate Vegetables

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Gardening, rainwater harvesting, Vegetable Gardening, Water and Power
20 Comments
...p chickens. It doesn’t rain here in the summer, so I suspect most of these plants will fade out if I don’t water them. And the mustard is already going to seed. My big regret with this unintentional garden is that I did not take notes as to when these plants sprouted. A little citizen science would really help when it comes time to figuring out when to plant things in our quirky, rare and changing climate. What volunteers do you have in your clima...

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