Organic Gardener's Composting

Do you know what really happens when things rot? Have other garden books confused you with vague meanings for words like "stabilized humus?" This book won't. Are you afraid that...

People who keep tropical fish in home aquariums are informed that to avoid numerous fish diseases they must maintain sterile conditions. Whenever the fish become ill or begin dy...

To make compost rot rapidly you need to achieve a strong and lasting rise in temperature. Cold piles will eventually decompose and humus will eventually form but, without heat,...

In southern regions the heap may be prevented from overheating by making it smaller or not as tall. Chapter Nine describes in great detail how Sir Albert Howard handled the prob...

In most parts of the country, enough organic materials accumulate around an average home and yard to make all the compost a backyard garden needs. You probably have weeds, leave...

_A note to the internet reader: In the the print-on-paper edition, this chapter and the next one on vermicomposting are full of illustrations showing composting structures and a...

It was 1952 and Mr. Campbell had a worm bin. This shallow box--about two feet wide by four feet long--resided under a worktable in the tiny storeroom/greenhouse adjacent to our...

There is a great deal of confusion in the gardening world about compost, organic matter, humus, fertilizer and their roles in soil fertility, plant health, animal health, human...

Books about hydroponics sound plausible. That is, until you actually _see_ the results. Plants grown in chemical nutrient solutions may be huge but look a little "off." Sickly a...

Organic matter benefits soil productivity not because it is present, but because all forms of organic matter in the soil, including its most stable form--humus--are disappearing...

The potency of composts can vary greatly. Most municipal solid waste compost has a high carbon to nitrogen ratio and when tilled into soil temporarily provokes the opposite of a...