Gardening

By Larraine Roulston: Gardeners, as well as most children, love digging their hands into soil, finding worms and picking nutritious foods grown in backyard gardens. Interest has been growing, particularly in urban areas, in creating nature and vegetable gardens at schools. Recent studies suggest that, in addition to the many …

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By Larraine Roulston: Compost everything? It is indeed possible when referring to anything that was once alive! Organic materials should be composted, rather than landfilled where they are contributors to elevated levels of CO2. Homeowners can divert over 1/3 of what otherwise would be trashed by composting vegetable/fruit peelings, eggshells, nutshells, …

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By Larraine Roulston : Composting involves organisms called decomposers that include bacteria and fungi to break down organics into smaller pieces. The result becomes a rich humus containing moisture, nutrients and minerals for soil. By including “wet greens’’ from your kitchen to provide nitrogen along with a handful of “dry browns’’ from your yard …

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By Larraine Rouston: For the past several years, we all have become aware that climate change is causing droughts. Yet, just last week while walking in the woods, I picked up a disposable plastic bottle half filled with water. Water is a limited resource; less than 1% of it is usable …

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By Larraine Roulston : Frequently I receive petitions to save the bees. The latest from SumOfUs outlines France’s need to uphold the ban of a class of insecticides known as neonics. Scientists are warning us that bees could become extinct. Organizations worldwide endeavor to save these pollinators by blocking companies from spraying pesticides. When we …

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By Fredrica Syren: We have gone from growing food at farms in the countryside to bringing it into the city and growing it in our gardens. Nowadays urban gardening is a way of life and, with creativity, people find ways to grow their own food in the middle of cities …

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By Kim Robson: Gardening is a never-ending learning curve. Every year I learn something new, mostly through trial and error. We’ve all heard of adding coffee grounds, crushed eggshells, Epsom salts, and more to supplement soil. But why? And are those supplements appropriate for your soil and your plantings? It …

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By Larraine Roulston: Compost Song  (To the tune of the “Hokey Pokey”) You put your wet greens in, You spread your dry browns out, You add a little water and you stir it all about. You invite all your bug friends To have a two-month feast, Then shovel your compost out!  …

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By Kim Robson: Garlic is a natural immune system powerhouse that fights against bacteria, viruses and fungi. A vegetable from the Allium family, garlic is an excellent source of Vitamin B6, as well as other vitamins and minerals including Manganese, Selenium, Vitamin C and Allicin (an anti-oxidant). Consuming raw fresh …

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By Robin Horton: With an increasing interest in biodiversity and sustainable gardening practices that rely on natural pest-control methods, naturalistic approaches to gardening are growing in popularity. Simulating Nature’s Model of Vegetation In contrast to the perfectly clipped hedges and neatly planted rows of precious plants often found in traditional gardens, the naturalistic …

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