What do you do with your old potting soil? The current heatwave is a good opportunity to turn dry dusty old soil into a useful mineral rich medium for use in next month’s winter planting. Ideally is to mix this new medium with matured home made compost but if that is not available then the …Read More about Recycling potting soil
Composting
Feeding the garden
Making your own compost in the garden requires the space for a compost bin, with space beside it to turn over the compost (2 square metres). Using a simple process a compost bin can provide half a cubic metre of rich humus each year, excellent for feeding a raised bed or for filling pots and …Read More about Feeding the garden
Garden composting
Vegetables will only grow as well as the soil they are grown in. It is now recognised a good soil contains a lot of organic material that is biologically active. This means it is still in a process of naturally breaking down. Shop bought soil in bags can be quite dead. Making your own compost …Read More about Garden composting
Compost: growing soil gallery
Soil is the foundation of any garden. It consists of a mixture of minerals, organic matter, gases, liquids, and the countless organisms that together support plant growth. Soil should be considered a living medium in the garden, full of life and integrated with the surrounding environment. Growing your own soil is fundamental to understanding the …Read More about Compost: growing soil gallery
Clearing the raised bed
A raised soil bed is without doubt the most useful form of growing area for a small city garden. There are many ways to run a raised bed, some all year round, but whichever growing plan is used it is important to think to the soil and how to keep it healthy and alive. For …Read More about Clearing the raised bed
Turning the compost
Home made compost is essential for running a summer vegetable garden, especially for a raised bed. Using un-cooked kitchen waste, clean cardboard and everything from the garden an excellent feed can be made for adding to the garden in the autumn and spring. This basic size composting bin works well for the average garden. Materials …Read More about Turning the compost