mulch - Fine Gardening
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How-To
4 Tips for Getting the Garden Through Drought Sustainably
On a recent hike in the foothills just southeast of my house, I couldn’t help but notice crisped, curling leaves on big flower cinquefoil (Drymocallis fissa) and the drought-tolerant mountain…
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How-To
What’s the Best Mulch for Veggies? Pros and Cons to 6 Types of Mulch
Let’s face it: Mulching isn’t a glamorous job. It’s dusty, dirty, and can be downright backbreaking. But despite all the effort involved in the task, mulching your vegetable garden properly…
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How-To
Healthy Soil Is at the Heart of a Thriving Garden
Soil is a complex structure made up of mineral solids and organic matter interwoven with aggregates and open pore spaces. The open spaces between soil particles are just as important…
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How-To
How to Build Soil and Suppress Weeds With Sheet Mulching
You may have heard of a technique in gardening called "sheet mulching" or "lasagna gardening." This technique has been touted as a great way to wipe out weeds and build…
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How-To
What Is Sheet Mulching and How Do You Do It?
If you’ve ever started a new garden from scratch, then you’ve probably had to convert some amount of lawn into a planting bed. There are several ways to eliminate turf,…
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How-To
Southern Plains July Garden To-Do List
Reduce the mosquito population in your yard and garden. While mosquitoes aren’t technically a garden pest, they are a serious gardener pest. This is a time of year when we…
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Design
The Advantages of Pecan Shell Mulch
Most gardeners are familiar with the major benefits of mulch: conservation of water, cooler soil temperatures, and a reduction in weeds. The first two benefits are especially important in areas…
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How-To
Mulches to Conserve Moisture
When spring is as cold and wet as this one has been, it can be hard to imagine the soil will ever dry out. But here in the Northeast, we…
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Article
Should I Mulch in Fall to Protect Perennials for Winter?
There is no doubt that mulching builds soil, reduces the need to water, and helps control weeds. But what does it do to protect plants from the cold? In many…
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Article
Making a Garden That Takes the Drought
Ellie Gilbert of Plymouth, Massachusetts, sent in these photos earlier in the summer, when she said that they had been having terribly dry weather and the garden was struggling a bit.…