Gardening Reference

Maria Rodale, the third generation of the family that originated the organic gardening movement in the United States, has written a comprehensive and easy-to-use guide to designing and planting an organic garden that is both beautiful and productive. Conveniently divided by season, the book includes delicious recipes. 600 full-color photos and 50 color illustrations. Maria Rodale, who comes to organic gardening naturally–her father and grandfather, who founded Rodale Press, were famously… Read more

The Organic Gardener’s Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control: A Complete Problem-Solving Guide to Keeping Your Garden and Yard Healthy Without Chemicals This is an indispensable hands-on guide for novice and intermediate gardeners who want to move to the next level of gardening. With 150 full-color photographs, step-by-step instructions, practical suggestions, time-saving maintenance tips,suggested plant groupings and beautiful combinations, this gorgeous volume can help you make… Read more

The Organic Gardener’s Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control: A Complete Problem-Solving Guide to Keeping Your Garden and Yard Healthy Without Chemicals End your worries about garden problems with safe, effective solutions from The Organic Gardener’s Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control! * Easy-to-use problem-solving encyclopedia covers more than 200 vegetables, fruits, herbs, flowers, trees, and shrubs * Complete directions on how, when, and where to use preventive… Read more

“Worm Box” You’ll also need a box that holds six or seven cubic feet, or about 2 x 3 feet by 12 inches deep. Each pound of worms needs three or four cubic feet of bedding. A better way to estimate box size is to figure that one cubic foot of worm bin can digest about one pound of kitchen waste a week without going anaerobic and smelling bad. Redworms are small and consequently worm growers sell them by the pound. There are about 1,000 mature breeders to the pound of young redworms. Bait… Read more

Soil Redworms are heat-tolerant litter dwellers that find little to eat in soil. Mixing large quantities of soil into worm bedding makes a very heavy box. However, the digestive system of worms grinds food using soil particles as the abrasive grit in the same way birds “chew” in their crop. A big handful of added soil will improve a worm box. A couple of tablespoonfuls of powdered agricultural lime does the same thing while adding additional calcium to nourish the worms. Redworms The… Read more

“Bedding” Bedding is a high C/N material that holds moisture, provides an aerobic medium worms can exist in, and allows you to bury the garbage in the box. The best beddings are also light and airy, helping to maintain aerobic conditions. Bedding must not be toxic to worms because they’ll eventually eat it. Bedding starts out dry and must be first soaked in water and then squeezed out until it is merely very damp. Several ordinary materials make fine bedding. You may use a single material… Read more

“Vermicomposting – Locating The Worms” The species of worm used for vermicomposting has a number of common names: red worms, red wigglers, manure worms, or brandling worms. Redworms are healthy and active as long as they are kept above freezing and below 85 degree. Even if the air temperature gets above 85 degree, their moist bedding will be cooled by evaporation as long as air circulation is adequate. They are most active and will consume the most waste between 55-77 degree—room… Read more