Biochar isn’t a guaranteed win for every garden bed. A biochar soil conditioner for garden beds can help condition soil, but its effect depends on the biochar and the soil it’s added to. For soil incorporation, start with biochar at 5-10% of soil volume, and consider...
A deep raised bed can start with wood, not a truckload of soil. The hugelkultur method for deep raised beds layers logs and branches beneath smaller organic materials, compost, planting soil, and mulch. Oklahoma State University Extension recommends filling...
The digital garden soil pH test kit with the most features may not be the best fit for your garden. Some devices use a probe to read soil directly; others use a digital reader to interpret a chemical test. Because the methods differ, a quick number is not...
That layer of gravel you carefully spread at the bottom of your garden box? It might be the very thing drowning your plants. It sounds like common sense to add “drainage rocks,” but modern soil physics shows this often creates a perched water table,...
The perfect garden soil isn’t something you can simply pull off a retail shelf in a heavy plastic bag. In fact, many expensive “potting mixes” are little more than overpriced peat moss that leaves your vegetables hungry by mid-summer. If you want a...
