Gardening – Collecting Leaves And Preparing For Drought
I heard somewhere that 1 molecule of organic matter in our soil has the ability to hold onto 4 molecules of water.
Which is VERY good information to have.
Because the possibility of drought increases every year as climate change progresses.
And it is super easy and often free to add organic matter to the soil.
In my corner of the world, for example, leaves are plentiful. The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I collect as many as we can (from our yard and from the school yards) and we cover our garden beds with them. We also store them in the chicken wire ‘bins’ we’ve set up on a dark never-walked-upon part of the yard. They break down into gorgeous leaf mold. And we add leaves to our compost bins.
Kitchen vegetable and fruit waste can be turned into compost either in a compost bin or simply in a hole dug and afterwards covered up in the garden. This is simple and easy to do.
Used coffee grounds, obtained for free from neighborhood coffee shops, can be spread over lawns and garden beds and put in compost bins.
There are a gazillion free ways to add organic matter to our soil. And this could very much make the difference between our plants surviving or perishing next growing season.
Topics: Gardening | Comments Off on Gardening – Collecting Leaves And Preparing For Drought
Eggshells In The Garden
One of the (many) things I do to prepare garden beds for next year is…
I sprinkle crushed eggshells over the soil.
I usually do this before applying compost, leaves and/or coffee grounds. This prevents the wildlife from digging in the garden bed, trying to find the yummy eggs I’ve clearly hidden from them. (grins)
Eggshells are a source of calcium and other nutrients.
They also come from nature. I figure they can go back to nature.
It takes forever for eggshells to break down, however. I don’t expect to reap the benefits of adding them to our soil for years. But hey, hopefully, we have years.
And building great soil is ALWAYS a long term project.
I don’t plan to plant in these garden beds for at least four months. So I also don’t have to worry about any contamination of food I plan to eat.
Mostly I like that it reduces waste. We eat the eggs. We spread the eggshells over the garden beds. We compost the cardboard-like egg cartons. We send nothing egg-related in the landfill.
(smiles)
Topics: Gardening | Comments Off on Eggshells In The Garden
