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Last Updated
03/31/2019
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Detailed entries for one subject from the INDEX TO HOW TO DO IT INFORMATION. |
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SOIL & SOIL CONDITIONING sa COMPOSTING sa COVER CROP sa CULTIVATION sa FERTILIZER sa MULCHING sa POTTING SOIL sa SOIL BLOCK sa SOIL SIFTER sa SOIL TESTING xx GARDENING A look at soil microorganisms: fungi, actinomycetes, algae, viruses, and protozoa, and their role in soil life. A look at fats in the soil (lipids), how they get into the soil and their role. The "secondary" nutrients: a look at the roles played by magnesium, calcium and sulphur. An eight point program for improving soil fertility. Looks at legume crops for nitrogen fixation, the nutrients supplied by different types of manure, and sources of phosphate and potassium. How to farm acid soils. Liming is emphasized. Two methods for adding humus to your garden soil. Why garden organically? Part 2. A look at the effect organic material has on the soil. How to correct acid or alkaline soils. A look at weeds and other plants that are indicators of soil condition. A look at soil structure and the use of compost, cover-crops and green manure to sustain fertility, tilth and structure. An inexpensive way to create a backyard garden by preparing the site a year in advance. Determining limestone application rates. Listen to your weeds. What native plants can tell you about the condition of the soil. Special section on soils, soil conditioning, etc. Reclaiming a lifeless soil using compost and buckwheat. A look at soil-color groups, their origins and fertility. Building the soil to encourage microorganisms. A guide to common organic residues that supply almost all nutrients a plant needs. No-till gardening. Soil improvement from the top down. Growing vegetables and fruits with a system of year-round mulch, permanent beds and as little disturbance of the soil as possible. An explanation of why coffee grounds make a good soil amendment. Advice on how to handle mushroom-growing medium before incorporating it into the soil. Soil amendments. How lime, sulfur and organic matter improve poor soil. Seaweed comes ashore. A natural soil amendment and plant growth stimulant. Advice on applying it as a mulch, soil additive or compost. Advice on how to identify residual lawn chemicals in the soil and how to amend a planting hole for young trees to absorb any chemicals that are present. The world under our feet. How gardeners can encourage hidden allies in the soil. Advice on improving soil without digging. Peat moss and its use as a soil amendment in your garden. Understanding the fundamentals of how water moves through soil. Gardening in the pH zone. How to extend planting possibilities with separate beds of neutral, acidic or alkaline soil. Includes information on perennials, shrubs and trees that do best in each soil type. Tip describes the use of a thick layer of sand for a new perennial bed in heavy clay soil. Tips on how to amend dense clay soils. Build a garden bed using an organic method without the drudgery of double-digging. Includes advice on selecting a site that works. Advice on planting in an area with thin, rocky soil. A sanctuary in every season. How a novice gardener created a soothing setting. Includes a recipe for a soil-building souffle. Turn clay into rich garden soil. A recipe for amendments that will improve plant growth. An explanation of what greensand is and how it works to build up garden soil. Tip on using a thick layer of newspapers to turn a lawn into a garden bed. Tip on a beach mixture to enhance seaside soils. A tip to make soil mixing easy. Advice on the use of sawdust as a garden-soil conditioner. The key to a healthy garden is organic soil amendments. A chart shows the advantage and disadvantage of 5 different materials. How to improve your garden soil. Soil preparation for spring planting. Emphasis on soil analysis, classifiction and proper drainage. Tips on preparing your own compost pile, as well as the preparation of "tilth" (a combination of compost and peat moss). Soil solaraization. Use sun heat trapped by transparent polyethylene coverings to kill soil-borne plant diseases, nematodes and weeds. Unusual soil amendments. A look at "bio-activators," "bio-catalysts and "natural organic activators" that provide enzymes, microorganisms and micronutrients to the soil. A look at useful functions of weeds for insect control, as soil improvers and as companion plantings. Tips on improving clay soil covered with less than 1" of topsoil. Invest in your own soil bank. An introduction to soil types, soil testing, compacting, humus, drainage, cultivation, and crop rotation. Soil, where it all begins. An explanation of the complexities of soil and how compost enriches it. Tip on determining when and what form of calcium needs to be added to soil to stop plant stems from breaking under their own weight. Ground work. The basics for understanding soil, its texture, pH and amendments. Tip suggests adding leaves to clay-soil beds to improve the soil. Recipe for improving clay soil. Tip recommends adding slivered banana peel to garden soil or compost to increase potassium levels. Building great garden beds. Three approaches. (1) A ground level bed. (2) A mounded bed. (3) A raised bed. Includes tips on edging material for building a raised bed. Advice on matching plants' alkalinity requirements to the soil in a planting bed. Tip tells how to solarize soil. Soil stuff. A description of what constitutes good, rich soil. An explanation of how to judge soil texture and collect soil samples. The planning and soil preparation for a summer vegetable garden. Includes tips on overcoming an acid soil pH, organic composting and making a biodegradable insecticide and fertilizer. Food for the soil. A guide to adding organic material and mineral fertilizers. Uses of peat moss in gardening. Includes suggestions for mulch, compost, planting mixes, etc. Conditioning clay (or sandy) soil by hand digging with a spading fork and adding plant humus and/or other conditioners. Dirt. An introduction to soil texture and structure and how to improve clay soil by adding organic matter. Solar weeding. How to eradicate weeds, weed seeds and fungi by covering a new planting bed with plastic sheeting to trap the heat of the sun and raise soil temperature. A look at the trace elements required for various vegetables and deficiency symptoms. Feat of clay. Achieving success with unpromising soil. Soil testing, digging, amending, etc. Includes a chart of 15 plants that thrive in clay soil. Advice on using hydrophilic polymers (compounds that absorb liquid). A descriptions of using them indoors and out, and for cuttings. Soil solarization. How to rid a garden site of pests and weeds using clear plastic and the sun. A discussion of the problems of gardening in lead-polluted soils. The dos and don'ts of using wood ashes on vegetable and flower gardens. Preparing a new garden bed. Describes sod removal, loosening the soil, adding organic matter and other amendments and surface preparation. Leaching. Its definition and two ways to alleviate its effects. Good dirt. How to increase vegetable yields by building the soil with fertilizer and organic materials. Tips on protecting garden soil near a heavily traveled road from heavy metals deposited by automobile exhaust. An explanation of humus and how to improve the humus content of soil. How to practice crop rotation in a backyard garden. An explanation of rotating crops according to their nutritional requirements, soil amendments and cover cropping. Advice on building up scanty topsoil for a new garden. Tip suggests using sections of tin roofing for solarizing soil. Getting ready to garden. A guide to last-minute practices that will get a garden off to a great start. Double digging. An explanation of why and how to do it. Lead in the soil. How it affects a garden and advice on ways to avoid ingesting lead in plants. Calculate before you cultivate. A guide to computing the right amount of amendments. A soil pH primer. An explanation of pH, how it affects nutrient uptake and how to amend the soil to achieve the right level. An explanation of peat moss, where it comes from and suggestions on substitutes. Advice on the use of alfalfa meal as a soil amendment. How to build a soil moisture tester that can be used outside or to monitor houseplants. Tips on building healthy soil from two master gardeners. Solar soil conditioning, an alternative to commercial pesticides and herbicides. Soil-building basics. A review of the basic techniques for preparing garden soil. Feeding summer's soil. Twelve critical nutrients for plant growth and how to supply them in the warmer months. Turning sod into garden soil. A "lazy technique" of fertilizing new soil and preparing the seed bed. A look at some of the unique gardening problems of the Deep South. tips on soil maintenance to insure fertility and on what and when to plant. How to determine mineral deficiencies or excess in fruits and vegetables and cure them with humus. A look at the benefits of contour ditches to keep topsoil and water where they belong. What to do to prepare your garden's soil in the fall for a better garden in the spring. How to use growing beds instead of rows to avoid compaction. A program to build fertile soil. Practical, easy-to-do techniques to soften hard soil. What tomatoes can tell about soil deficiencies. Drawings of tomato leaves can help you determine what nutrients are lacking. Simple steps for turning sandy soil into fertile, crop-producing loam. How to use a soil thermometer to tell you when to plant. Includes a chart of soil temperature conditions for 27 vegetable seeds to germinate. Weeds build garden soil. How a Maine gardener learned to use weeds. Building the soil naturally. How to add a lot of organic matter to your garden without overworking yourself. How heavy metals pollute our soils and tips on preventing unnecessary pollution from lead, cadmium, etc. Tip: Activated charcoal may overcome the effects of too much herbicide in the soil. What's my soil? How to understand what makes up soil and how to preserve the best soil you have. Tip: A simple way to determine the percent of clay, silt, and sand in your soil. Cooker made from a 55-gallon drum is used to burn bivalve shells (clam, mussel, and crab shells) and animal bones to form a soil sweetener. Solarize your garden. The heat captured under plastic sheeting will kill fungi, nematodes, weed seeds, and insect eggs in the soil prior to planting. Vinegar, the gardeners' secret weapon. Helps control some weeds, lowers soil pH value, and prolongs life of cut flowers. How soil compaction inhibits root growth and tips on undoing compaction. How to choose the proper peat. A visual guide to soil deficiencies. How to fine-tune your soil-building program. Techniques for improving the health and increasing the yield of plants grown in basic soil (a pH higher than 7). How to bring a soil into pH balance. Suggestions for draining and warming cold soil in northern regions so gardening can begin earlier. How to improve sandy soil. Encouraging mycorrhizae, the beneficial root fungi, to grow in garden soil. Basics on managing greenhouse soil structure. Includes a chart on greenhouse soil problems and their remedies. How to regenerate garden soil. How to solarize the soil to reduce or eliminate most soilborne diseases, nematodes and viable weed seeds. A guide to the three years of concentrated effort it takes to turn unimproved soil into rich, organic, crumbly loam. Healing your soil. Answers to common questions about a soil and its need for improvements. Covers contamination with heavy metals and pesticides, the best way to achieve a good soil structure and information on soil tests. Fall preparation techniques for garden beds. Tip on warming soil with warm water heated by the sun in a black barrel. Tips on preventing the formation of a layer of salt in southwest soils. Tips on improving soil texture for better harvests. How to keep soil healthy and fertile without soluble fertilizers. Includes chart of soil amendments and their frequency of use. An in-depth look at gardening in the Deep South. First in a series about gardening in special geographic regions. Includes diagrams that show how to control weeds, soil diseases and nematodes using solarization. List of the best perennials for the South. Two-page chart of common southern insect pests and organic remedies for each. Chart of planting and harvest dates for nine combinations of vegetables that do well in the south using succession planting and multiple cropping in the home garden. Tip on storing dry soil in order to get started planting earlier in the spring. How to solarize soil to destroy weeds and soil diseases. An explanation of enzyme or activator products for compost or soil. How to use rock powder to enhance garden soil. Using weeds as indicators of soil quality. How to use that information to either plant garden crops that will thrive in the same conditions as the weeds or to amend the soil to change the conditions. Visual guide to nutrient deficiencies in soils and how to correct the problem. Using tree leaves as mulch, fertilizer and soil-builder. How to warm garden soil early in the year using clear plastic. Will add 30 days to the growing season. Advice on improving the health of garden soil. Tips on collecting seaweed for a garden soil amendment and as a way to eliminate nematodes. How to use empty cheese, herb and spice containers as a way to spread small amounts of soil amendments. Tips on organic treatments for growing acid-living plants in alkaline soil. A process for using fall leaves to create a new garden bed. No-dig method to build a new garden bed relies on a thick layer of newspaper mulch covered with well-aged compost and soil. Tip on combining fall potato planting with building new garden beds using a no-dig method. How to solarize soil and get rid of weeds, pests, and diseases with the help of the sun. Proper soil preparation. Advice on removing sod and preparing the soil for a new garden. A look at super-absorbent polymers as soil amendments. What they can and can't do for a garden. How to use solarization to get rid of weed seeds and harmful organisms in the soil. Tips on improving soil drainage at planting time and for existing plants. Colorful landscaping with low maintenance. A guide to soil preparation. A guide to natural soil enrichers. How to choose and use organic materials to improve the soil. Recipe for a soil amendment. Breaking new ground. Creating a new garden bed in the autumn. Includes advice on removing grass and weeds, testing soil's pH and adding amendments. Tip on using sawdust as a soil additive. How to use Peat to solve your soil conditioning problems. | |||||||||
Copyright © by Norman Lathrop Enterprises. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, print photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior expressed permission of Norman Lathrop Enterprises, except as permitted by law. |
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