Can I Reuse Potting Mix?

With gardening season around the corner, it's time to dig out the flower pots and seeds to start a new batch of vegetables and flower to grow in the yard. One way I save money with my garden is by reusing many of the supplies I used last year such as old trays and pots, stakes, frames, and string. And what about re-using that potting mix? That's a good question!

I won't reuse potting mix in my container vegetables "as is" for several reason. For starters, most of the nutrition has been depleted which means that it won't support a new plant without adding fertilizer. There's also the problem of the organic material in the potting mix which break down over time into fine particles which lead to compacted soil and drainage problems. And for people like me who garden organically, reusing potting mix for the same type of container crop may lead to a build up of pests and disease.

This isn't to say that old potting mix has no value. Here are a few ways that I reuse potting mix in my yard.

Recharge and rotate it

Old potting mix can be reused for container gardens as long as it's been recharged and not used for the same plant. I recharge my old potting mix by dumping it into a galvanized bucket, breaking up the clods with my hands while also removing the roots, and then replacing a third of the mix with finished compost. The recharged mix is then used to grow a different food crop or flowers.

Toss it in the compost

Potting mix that I don't recharge for use in another container is thrown in the compost bin when it turns into rich humus along with everything else. The high temperatures of composting will kill any pathogens in the potting soil making it safe to reuse once it's broken down along with the rest of materials in the bin.

To loosen up clay soils

Another great use for old potting mix is to improve soil texture in areas where the soil is heavy with clay. Since I have quite a bit of clay in my yard, I often turn over the soil with spent potting mix and new compost. The combination of the organic material and vermiculite in the potting mix along with the compost improves drainage which makes it possible to grow flowers and vegetables in beds that used to be too soggy for plants to grow at all.

As base material in a large container

A final use for old potting mix is as a base material for super sized flower pots. When I recently bought a 30 gallon ceramic flower pot, I filled the container two-thirds of the way with old potting mix and topped it off with the newer stuff. This is more than enough to provide nutrition for new plants and a great way to save money too. If your garden soil is overall poor these tips can help you improve it!

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4 Ways Composting Saves Money

The Financial Benefits of Composting

Why do you compost? For many people, composting is all about reducing waste. Compost diverts organic material away from the landfills and into our yard where it can be used to fertilize our flower and vegetable beds. From a practical standpoint, compost also saves us money. Here are four ways that composting saves me hundreds of dollars a year.

Lower trash pickup costs

Yard waste can fill up a trash can in a hurry and if your city is like mine, the more garbage we put out, the higher the cost of collection. Composting our yard waste and vegetable scraps means saving money on trash pickup.

Free soil amenity for vegetable garden

Commercially prepared compost runs between $75-100 for a cubic yard, even more if you buy it in bags. The compost bins in my yard produce nearly 3 cubic yards of composted material a year which I use to improve the soil in the vegetable beds. Improving the beds with homemade compost means you can get by with less water and less fertilizer than beds without compost.

No need for a garbage disposal

I don't have a garbage disposal and never felt the need to own one because all my vegetable scraps go straight to the compost bins instead of down the drain. Garbage disposals are expensive, use electricity, and take a lot of care to keep them functioning properly. Composting diverts your kitchen scraps away from the drain and back into your yard where it will benefit your plants.

Free mulch

If you have chickens and rabbits like we do, the animal waste and soiled bedding can pile up in a hurry. I use my composter to convert their waste products into nutrition rich mulch which I scatter around my rose bushes and privacy hedge. Mulch made from chicken manure and bedding acts as a slow release fertilizer while also keeping down the weeds and preserving ground moisture.

Dont know where to start ? Here is an detailed about starting a compost pile

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Easy Ways to Conserve Soil in a Large Planter

Fillers Save Money While Making Pots Lighter

Big glazed terracotta pots look fantastic, but it takes a lot of soil to fill them. Depending on the types of plants that are added, a deep flowerpot is not always necessary. Some varieties are shallow rooted and do not require significant depth. A great portion of the space is essentially wasted. Why waste costly organic mixtures? You can avoid the added expense by using one of these easy ways to conserve soil. They are lightweight fillers and practical options. Best of all, a large planter that would be too heavy to move will be much easier to relocate. You can easily fill in a third or more of the space with a soil alternative while providing plenty of drainage for all types of plants.

Fill the Bottom with Foam Peanuts

Foam peanuts are good for more than just packing fragile items. They make fantastic fillers for big pots, and they work exceptionally well to conserve valuable soil. Place packing peanuts in the bottom of the pot, and top it with a rich organic mixture. Some of the soil will inevitably end up in the bottom, but the foam pieces will take up a lot of room. The foam will also allow excess water to drain away from roots. On the downside, the peanuts will break down within a few years and will eventually require replacement.

Place an Overturned Plastic Pot in the Planter

If you do not have packing peanuts, consider placing an overturned plastic pot in the bottom of the planter. Top it with soil, and add plants of your choice. The pot will create an empty space in an area that would go unused anyway. Moisture will drain down the sides of the overturned planter, and with proper care, the plants will grow and thrive. However, after two or three years under damp heavy soil, the small flowerpot will also break down and need to be replaced.

Partially Fill the Container with Lava Rock

Lava rock is lightweight compared to other stones. It is typically used for landscaping purposes, and it is also used in some types of gas grills to aide in heat disbursement and retention. It also works exceptionally well to conserve soil in a large planter. Fill one third of the pot with lava rocks before adding the dirt and plants. Excess water will easily drain into the area beneath the rocks. Best of all, the lava rock will not break down. It will continue to save space and provide drainage for years to come. More about container gardening.

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Why the Ph Level in Soil Important

The pH level in your garden soil can greatly affect the growth and quality of your plants. All plants, trees, shrubs, flowers and fruits or vegetables obtain their nutrients from the soil and need specific combinations of nutrients in order to do so. Nutrients like Potassium and Nitrogen help plants grow, produce flowers or fruit and fight diseases.

pH levels are graded on a scale of 0 to 14. 0 through 6 indicates acidity while 8 through 14 indicate an alkaline or base substance. Pure water is considered to be neutral at a pH of 7. Testing kits are available to test garden soils at home to determine the starting pH level and what will need to be added for the best plant growth by type.

The pH level of the soil needs to be above 5.5 for Nitrogen to be available for plant growth. For plants to receive Phosphorus this level needs to be 6.0 to 7.0. Bacteria in the soil also help the plants receive and use the available nutrients. While many plants love and thrive in acidic soils too much acid will kill off the nutrients and eventually the plants themselves.

Soils that are too high in acid will not absorb pesticides or fungicides that are applied to control bugs or disease. When pesticides and fungicides are not held in the soil they eventually end up in the runoff and contaminate nearby watersheds and rivers.

All plants have recommended pH levels for obtaining the best growth. Peanuts like a pH level of 5.3 to 6.6, while soybeans do best between 6.0 and 7.0. Walnut trees and asparagus will do well up to a pH of 8.0, considered alkaline. Orchids and blueberries, to the other extreme, can flourish in an acid soil with a level as low as 4.0. Unfortunately, most weeds thrive fairly well across a range of pH levels, but crabgrass and wild mustard can be killed at an acid level below 6.0 on the scale.

A pH range of 6.0 to 7.0 is best for most plants. Test your soil and know what pH level your plants will growth the best with. Plants that require more or less acidity than others should be planted far enough apart for them to thrive. Remember that too high an acid level can cause more damage than good, even for acid loving plants. In addition to damaging plants, high acid levels in the soil can damage any concrete borders. Too high an alkaline level or acid level can corrode steel and this should be considered when setting up trellis.

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Garden Soil Versus Midwest Weather

In the Midwest of the United State, garden soil has little or no sand. Each year the rainy spring cause the soil to compact and the hot summer cause the soil to crack. I have found adding plant material to the garden helps offset the unwanted soil conditions.

Plant material in garden

Both plant material and decaying plant material is used in my home vegetable garden. For my garden, items made from plants such as paper, cardboard, and lumber are cut up and used. In addition my source of plant material is the Privet hedge.

Compared to other hedge bushes the Privet hedge is inexpensive. By the first of June the hedge has a new growth of one half foot to a foot. I trim the new growth and use the cuttings in the garden. After the June rains I trim the hedge a second time. It's easy to have an increasing supply of cuttings by starting new bushes from the established hedge.

The privet hedge will grow new shrubs. After the shrubs reach two to three feet in height I transplant them. To do this, I dig down 2 to 3 inches and cut the connection to the established bush and then plant the new shrub in a different location. It's best to transplant in early spring, but I have successfully started new bushes during the summer and fall. I have observed the new Privet hedge bush prefers the light, but will grow in shade.

Hedge clippings for top of soil

I add hedge clippings to the top of the soil during the growing season as the plants are reaching their full height. For vines I add clippings before the crawlers start.

Hedge cuttings put on top of the soil keep tomatoes from touching the soil and the tomato bottom will not rot while ripening. My cucumbers and muskmelons ripen better when growing on plant material. Since sunlight doesn't reach the surface of the soil, I see little cracking of the soil during the hot days of July and August.

Hedge clippings for root air pockets

At the end of the garden season, I dig up the garden and add clippings under the soil. By doing this the clippings make air passages so the needed oxygen can reach the next year's new roots. This also will start the decaying to compost process and nutrients are added to the soil.

I also aerate the soil by adding worms. In the area I live, during the spring, worms are sold as fishing bait. I purchase these and release them in my garden.

Hedge clippings for fertilizer

I help the hedge clipping start the decay process and then the clippings turn into compost. The compost is used in place of fertilizer.

A simply way to make compost is to put clippings into plastic garbage bags. Start by adding 1/2 foot of clippings to the empty garbage bag. Then sprinkle on top a liter of garden soil and add a 1/2 liter of water. Continue adding 1/2 foot of clipping, soil, and water until bag is almost full. Then tie bag closed and leave sit for 2 months. The clippings will start the decaying to compost process. At any time after the decaying process starts I use the compost in place of fertilizer.

Each spring I add the compost, by putting it on top of the garden before the planting of the seeds and vegetable plants. Also I find it helps to add compost after the plants growth is completed and before the plant's production of edible food starts.

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The Benefits of Using Natural Fertilizers

Organic gardening is method of growing vegetables and other plants using natural fertilizers to enrich the soil, instead of synthetic fertilizers. While both fertilizers supply plants with necessary nutrients, natural fertilizers contain no harmful chemicals or processing. Learning about natural fertilizers, including what they do, how and when to use them can help anyone grow an organic garden.

Not all organic fertilizers are the same. Some fertilizer products available are labeled as organic or natural, but a gardener must look at the ingredients to be sure. Look for fertilizer labels that list ground feathers, manure, or other natural products as the primary ingredients.

Natural fertilizers have an advantages over synthetic products. T hey feed plants more evenly and slowly. Most natural fertilizers increases a soil's ability to retain essential water and nutrients. Nitrogen contained in these fertilizers is a slow-release form, so it feeds plants over time, which means plants do not need feeding as often as with synthetic fertilizers.

Gardeners can use natural fertilizers anytime without worrying about overfeeding. When using synthetic products, gardeners must read and follow label directions carefully to avoid overfeeding or burning plants. While you can apply natural fertilizers at any time, the ideal time is in spring, before sowing seeds or putting out transplants. This gives plants a good start, while also improving soil drainage. Gardeners can choose from a variety of natural fertilizers, such as blood meal, fish emulsion, kelp, composted manure, feather meal and bone meal.

• Blood meal is rich in nitrogen and beneficial to ground cover and annual plants.
• Fish emulsion is rich in both nitrogen and phosphoric acid, which is beneficial as a lawn fertilizer and for encouraging growth of rose bushes. It promotes more blooms or fruit.
• Kelp is dried seaweed that is high in nitrogen and phosphorous and ideal for fertilizing shrubs.
• Composted manure may be obtained from poultry or cows. Poultry manure is high in nitrogen and beneficial for annual flower beds. Cow manure adds nutrients to the soil and improves drainage; it is beneficial for vegetable gardens and annual flowerbeds.
• Feather meal is made from poultry feathers and a good source of slow-release nitrogen. It is a good fertilizer for shrubs and roses.
• Bone meal raises the soil pH and is rich in phosphorous, which encourages strong root development. It is beneficial for spring-blooming bulbs and shrubs.

Grass clipping are useful as an organic fertilizer. They provide continuous food for leafy plants that require a lot of nitrogen. Allow grass clipping to dry out before spreading them in thin layers around shrubs and trees. Gardeners must take care not to use fresh clippings or apply them in thick layers to prevent the clippings from forming a mat that prevents air and water from getting to the soil and plant roots. 

Organic gardening is rewarding and beneficial. Mother Nature provides gardeners with some of the best materials to feed plants and increase soil health.

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Five Unusual Ideas and Helpful Tips for Spring Gardening

If you are looking for a healthy garden that will bloom fast and if you need your vegetables to grow bigger, it doesn't take fancy tools, expensive products or even special skills to have a fuller, healthier garden. What it does take is helpful ideas and tips which can help a person who may seem as if they have a brown thumb, because not everybody was born with gardening skills or a green thumb. Here are five helpful tips that are unusual yet will assist you to have a healthier garden.

1. Tip One: Plant by moon light
To have better-tasting veggies you should garden and plant by the light of the moon. This helps your garden flourish better as well as fuller and healthier. Moon light is an added bonus. The garden grows faster and stronger by moon light than it will if you plant by day.

2. Tip two: Plant in odd numbers
To make sure your garden looks balanced and more pleasing to the eye, plant in odd numbers. Planting in odd numbers removes the illusion that plants need to be bigger and healthier. Also, remember to plant on a cool moon light day.

3. Tip three: Use eggs shells as fertilizer
To fertilize the garden, use egg shells to help vegetables grow bigger and healthier. Dried egg shells are rich in calcium carbonate. Crush the egg shells up in a blender and neatly place them in the garden to enrich the soil.

4. Tip four: Water your plants with boiled cooking water
To water the garden, use the water left after boiling pasta and vegetables as it is full of left-over vitamins and nutrients. After cooking vegetables, allow the water to cool at room temperature and then use this to water your plants for a greener and healthier result.

5. Tip Five: Plant Placement Order
Consider the order of plants in your garden. Plant the short ones on the south side of your garden and the tall plants on the north side of the garden. This will prevent the short plants from being over-shadowed by taller plants, because sometimes tall plants shade the short plants from the sun.
Spring is a vital time to prepare the garden soil, get the seedlings started and transplant the vegetables. Also, spring probably has the most unpredictable weather and is one of the busiest seasons for raising a garden. Nevertheless with these helpful ideas and tips you can harvest healthier vegetables like corn, peas or lima bean, of your choice. Happy gardening!

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The Importance of Testing Your Soil

Garden Plants Are Only as Healthy as the Soil in Which They Grow

All gardeners know that their plants are only as healthy as the garden soil, so it is important to conduct a soil test to determine if any amendments or other steps are needed to grow healthy, productive plants. Measuring the content of the soil is not difficult and is essential for beautiful and bountiful garden.

Most plants prefer a specific type of soil, such as azaleas that prefer a slightly acidic soil. Other plants, like geraniums, thrive in soils with less acidity. To ensure the plants a gardener chooses to grow have the best soil for their needs, gardeners must select the right plants for the soil or amend the soil to for specific plants.

A soil test determines the pH of the soil, which measures acidity. Depending on the results, the gardener can choose plants the grow well in the soil available or amend it to accommodate desired plants. Soils with a high pH are alkaline; however, gardeners can lower the pH by mixing some sulfur into new planting beds or around existing plants. A low pH means the soil is acidic, and adding lime to the soil and mixing it in well raises the pH level,

The best time for gardeners to test the soil is in the late fall or early spring. Testing at this time of year gives the gardener time to make any necessary adjustments before planting the garden. Some amendments to the soil require a few weeks to become effective. Wet soil samples can give gardeners a false reading, so soil samples for testing should be taken when soil is fairly dry.

Most garden centers and hardware stores carry a variety of soil testing kits. Some kits may only test the pH, while others test for pH and nutrients. Soil test kits are inexpensive and relatively accurate. The key to getting the best results is to collect a good sample and follow kit instructions carefully. Testing the soil more than once can help a gardener verify results.

Soil test kits that include both pH and nutrients test for essential nutrients, such as nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. Once a gardener has the soil test results, he or she can take steps to correct nutrient deficiencies or abundances. Testing the soil and making necessary adjustments can save a gardener from making a garden planning mistake. A soil test can also save money and time by preventing gardeners from choosing the wrong plants.

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20 Amazing and Unusual Uses for Fireplace Ash

Now that the weather is cold and my fireplace has been working overtime to heat up the house, we've been clearing away a gallon of ash from the firebox every morning. Instead of tossing all that great material into the garbage bin however, I've been using the wood ash around my home and gardens.

Back in the old days, wood ash had many practical uses around the farm. It was spread over fields as fertilizer, used in the making of soap, and help repel pests from vegetable gardens and fruit trees. These old fashioned uses for wood ash still make sense today and can help frugal families like ours save money. Here's just a few of the amazing household uses I've found for fireplace ash. Because wood ash can be harmful to the skin, always wear gloves when tackling one of these DIY projects.

Gardening. Tossing ash in the vegetable garden is one of the more common uses for wood ash. Since large quantities of ash can increase alkali levels in your garden beds, it's recommended to test the soil pH levels before dumping buckets of ash in your yard.

Some of the ways I've used ash in my yard:

--1/4 cup of ash planted with each tomato plant to boost production

--Spread around the vegetable beds to repel slugs and other pests

--Sprinkled around my fruit trees to keep bore worms at bay

--To control algae growth in ponds (1 tablespoon ash per 1000 gallons of water)

--Sprinkled in the chicken nesting boxes to prevent mites

Winter traction. Instead of buying commercial salts or sand to throw on icy sidewalks, try ash instead. Wood ash can also be thrown in front of and behind the tires in the winter to increase traction.

Removes baked-on food and grease. When mixed with water to form a paste, wood ash has a gritty texture that works like scouring powder. This gritty compound works great for removing baked on grease, burned on food, and tough stains.

--Removes brown, baked on grease from casserole dishes and glass bakeware

--Cleans the blackened undersides of pots and pans

--Breaks through the grease on the outside of a Weber grill

--Can be used to remove soot buildup from fireplace doors

--Cleans grease splatters found on the glass door of your oven

--Gently removes baked-on grease from a glass cook top stove

--Brings back the shine to stainless pots and pans

--Removes burned food from the inside of kettles

--Cuts through the grease found between the slots of a toaster.

Cleans up sticky label residual. Instead of reaching for mineral spirits or rubber cement thinner to remove glue from glass, try some wood ash instead. The grit quickly removes gummy residual from bottles, window glass, and old parking stickers from the windshields of the car.

White rings on furniture disappear. Most of us have heard the old trick of using toothpaste to remove white heat or water rings from furniture. What you might not know is that wood ash works just as well.

Removes lime scale. In areas with hard water, lime scale builds up quickly on exterior windows. Instead of using a lime solvent to remove the scale, reach for the wood ash instead. Wood ash applied with a damp rag cuts through the scale and will bring back the shine to your windows.

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Best Vegetable Garden Fertilizers for an Abundant Harvest

Feeding Your Vegetable Garden so that it Feeds You

Our grocery budget has increased more and more due to the recession, increased fuel charges and shipping charges. All of these factors have raised the price of food substantially in the past year causing families to search for ways to cut their food budgets. Our family began planning a vegetable garden this winter in hopes of growing more of our own food for this summer. In addition to saving money, by having our own vegetable garden we will eat healthier and better-prepared meals. My father has planted vegetable gardens for years so I asked him what we should look for in a fertilizer for vegetable gardens. He said that he has used many fertilizers over the years in his vegetable garden but his top five best fertilizers for vegetable gardens were these.

The best all-purpose fertilizer for his vegetable garden was the Slow-Release All-Purpose Fertilizer by Gardener's Supply Company. This fertilizer is 100% organic, which we love, so there are no harmful chemicals to taint your vegetables. The slow release formula keeps a steady concentration of nutrients in the soil to enhance the growth of vegetables all season long.

Gardener's Supply Company also has the best tomato fertilizer for huge, plump and delicious tomatoes. This fertilizer also uses slow release to keep a constant level of nutrients in the soil to enhance root growth and fruit production. This fertilizer also contains phosphorus to enhance fruit production and is organic so that your tomatoes will be healthy as well as beautiful.

For beginner gardeners like ourselves, my father suggested we use Jobes Organic Vegetable Fertilizer Spikes. They are pre-measured, easy to use and provide great fertilization for a vegetable garden. Since they are stuck into the ground, they fertilizer vegetable plants at the root and promotes microbial action at the roots. In addition to being convenient, easy to use and an excellent fertilizer they are also OMRI™ certified for use in organic gardens.

Osmocote® Vegetable & Bedding Smart-Release® Plant Food by The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is a good all-purpose fertilizer for vegetable gardens. The formula is a slow release, multi-nutritional formula providing a balance of nutrients to vegetables all season but must be repeated approximately every four months. The benefit of this vegetable garden fertilizer is that you can also use it with trees, shrubs and perennials for those who wish to have one convenient product for all of their fertilizing requirements.

Another all-purpose product from Scotts is their Scotts® All-Purpose Flower and Vegetable Food. This food may be used on flowers and vegetable gardens making it a convenient product for gardeners. The slow-release formula protects from burning the plants and maintains a steady flow of nutrients into the soil. This vegetable fertilizer is relatively inexpensive if you are searching for a quality product with low cost.

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Preparing Your Vegetable Garden for Planting

Healthy Soil is the Key to a Bountiful Vegetable Harvest!

Once all the snow has melted and the ground has thawed, it's time to get ready for planting season! The days are longer and the temperature is warmer so it's time to get to the first of the garden work! Preparing your vegetable garden will take some time and energy, but will make planting day so much easier and the harvest more successful!

The first thing you need to do is clean out the garden. Remove any dead plants from the previous gardening year. Some plants and roots will have completely decomposed and you can leave those to enrich the soil. If there are any noticeable stems, leaves or roots from your plants you will want to remove those from the garden. It is also very important to make sure you have taken up all stakes and fences from your garden. Be sure to remove any tomato cages or any wire that you used for staking the plants upright. This will prevent any problems during tilling time. No one wants wire wrapped around the tines of your tiller!

Once your garden is clean you will want to start tilling. A motorized tiller works the best to loosen up the soil and mix the roots up. As you are tilling you will want to take any large clumps of soil and separate them. If you have enough time you may want to till the entire garden 2-3 times. That is not necessary, but will break up the soil more and make the garden bed a little softer.

After tilling, you will want to apply your fertilizer. Fertilizing can be done prior to tilling also. The tiller will mix the fertilizer deep into the soil, so you will want to watch how much you apply and be sure to have a good mixture of soil and fertilizer. Some plants vegetables like different fertilizer levels, so you will want to have your garden plan designed so you can fertilize according to which plants will be where.

Allow the fertilizer to settle for a few days and then apply a nice covering of water. By moistening the soil, the fertilizer will break down and the seeds will have a nice level of moisture in the soil. When soaking the garden you will also want to take special attention to any low or high lying areas.

After the water has been absorbed you will want to go in and level the garden. This will help during the growing season to prevent any areas that become too damp and the water will sit there, as well as high areas that will not receive enough moisture. If you garden is on a slope, you may want to consider building up the low side so that all the water does not run down and off the high side of the garden. If you would like you can form simple terraces to make for more level ground.

Once your garden is cleaned, tilled, fertilized, watered and leveled you are all ready for planting! Having a nicely prepared garden bed will make for a wonderful planting day! You will also want to round up all your gardening tools, seeds and staking material prior to planting day!

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Natural Ways to Enhance Garden Soil for Free

Easy Solutions for Nutrient Rich Soil

 Whoever coined the phrase dirt cheap must not have shopped for garden soil. Garden soil carries a hefty price tag in stores. I never really considered this a problem because I only bought garden soil for small applications. Last year, I decided to purchase garden soil to fill several raised planting beds. I quickly realized this project would be more expensive than anticipated. I purchased top soil for a fraction of the cost, and through necessity and frugality, discovered natural ways to enrich my garden soil for free.

Try these tips to prepare your garden soil for a successful growing season.

Natural Ways to Enrich Garden Soil for Free: Freshwater Aquarium Water

The next time you drain your aquarium, use that water in the garden. It is a natural source of nitrogen and an easy way to conserve water.

Natural Ways to Enrich Garden Soil for Free: Cooking Water

Vegetables release nutrients into the cooking water when you boil or steam them. Allow the cooking water to cool and use it to fertilize your garden soil for free.

Natural Ways to Enrich Garden Soil for Free: Coffee Grounds

Used coffee grounds are rich in nitrogen and ideal for composting. You can also apply them directly to the soil depending on your soil composition. If you are not a brewed coffee drinker, ask for used coffee grounds at Starbucks. They recycle their coffee grounds by offering them to the public. Check out their website for details.

Natural Ways to Enrich Garden Soil for Free: Manure

I noticed some facilities, like the zoo, actually sell manure. However, there are still many sources of free manure as long as you scoop and bag it yourself. Check with local farmers and livestock owners because they usually have plenty to share. In past years, the circus advertised free manure for the taking. Designate an area for it to compost prior to application, otherwise it may kill your plants.

Natural Way to Enrich Garden Soil for Free: Dead Leaves

Fallen leaves break down and enrich the garden soil with organic materials. However, piles of dead leaves may mat together increasing the time required to decompose and possibly suffocating plants. One simple option is to use a lawn mower to chop the leaves into smaller pieces. Some lawn mowers come equipped with a bag to collect these pieces. Sprinkle these leaves around your plants or future garden site. Avoid leaves from the black walnut tree since they can be toxic to other plants.

Natural Ways to Enrich Garden Soil for Free: Grass Clippings

Carbon rich grass clippings decay and improve the soil. Be careful to use only grass clippings free of weeds and toxins. Apply them carefully since they are also prone to matting.

Natural Ways to Enrich Garden Soil for Free: Worms

Aeration keeps garden soil from compacting around plants and improves drainage. Worms provide aeration as they tunnel through the ground and their castings provide an excellent fertilizer. Add decaying organic matter, like leaves and grass clippings, to feed and attract worms.

Naturally rich dirt creates healthier plants without the need for chemical additives. Amend your soil regularly to replenish nutrients used by your plants.

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