Pascale’s Garden

While gardening is usually thought of as a productive way to grow beautiful plants and obtain tasty fruits and vegetables, few gardeners have ever considered the immense amounts of exercise one can get in the process of gardening. While you can get almost as much muscle (if not more) exercise as you do working out, it is very productive at the same time.

You may wonder how gardening could possibly give as much exercise as working out. Just think about all the various facets of preparing a garden. There are holes to be dug, bags and pots to be carried, and weeds to be pulled. Doing all of these things help to work out almost every group of muscles in your body.

My brother is a fanatic about working out. Almost every time I call his house, I end up interrupting some muscle toning activity. I’ve never really enjoyed working out, though, as it seems that the constant lifting of heavy things just puts a strain on my body with no immediate positive results. But while he is into working out, I am almost equally enthusiastic about gardening. I work outside improving my garden almost every day. I think I definitely surprised my brother when he realized that I am almost as muscular as he is; but I have never lifted a single dumbbell! Read more…

There are obviously downsides to composting or everyone would be utilizing this resource instead of buying commercial fertilizers and other lawn care additives. The downside is the time it takes to upkeep, the space to house a composting bin and the amount of time before your first mature compost will be ready.

The benefits of composting far outweigh the downside. For the time you invest, the space you give up in your yard and some patience you and your yard will get:

* A lesser need for commercial fertilizer or eliminate it altogether (saves money)
* Increased water retention in your soil. If there is a dry spell your garden and lawn that has been treated with compost will fair better than those that have used commercial products
* Improved plant growth. You will also find an increased amount of fruit or vegetables that your plants produce when using mature compost. Read more…

Now that you have decided vermicomposting is for you, you need to get some worms (a lot of them). For a standard size composting bin you will need two pounds of worms for every one pound of raw material you add. The earthworms you will need (known as red wrigglers) do not go very deep underground so your pile or bin should be between 8-10 inches deep.

You may be tempted to go to your backyard and start digging up some worms, but you really should invest in the proper kind. The worms in your backyard are not the recommended breed for composting. You will need to buy worms that bear the name of red wriggler (also known as redworms) or brandling worms. Read more…

I don’t know what it is about a garden that has always drawn humans to them. But they’ve always been very popular, and an integral part of peoples’ lifestyles. Most religions feature gardens as the settings for some of the biggest events According to Christianity, humanity was started in a garden and the son of God was resurrected in a garden. The Buddhist build gardens to allow nature to permeate their surroundings. Almost every major palace and government building has a garden. But what’s so great about them? They’re just a bunch of plants, after all.

Of course, the reasoning is fairly obvious behind why people grow food in gardens. It’s to eat! If you live off the fat of the land and actually survive on stuff from your garden, it’s easy to understand the reasoning. But I’m thinking about those people who plant flower gardens just for the sake of looking nice. There’s no immediate benefit that I can see; you just have a bunch of flowers in your yard! However, after thinking extensively about the motivation behind planting decorative gardens, I’ve conceived several possible theories. Read more…

If you do not have a large backyard or live in an apartment but still want to compost, there are options available. You can still compost easily and conveniently. Some options include composting on a balcony, in your garage, or even under your kitchen sink.

The best way to compost in a small space or indoors is using worms to help with the decomposition process (known as vermicomposting). This is a clean and odor-free way to compost and can be done on a small scale. You will need quite a few worms to start the process. Even though with this method you will add mostly green food (kitchen scraps) the brown food is also necessary (the carbon is needed). A good source of carbon for an indoor composting bin is shredded newspaper – just remember not to use the glossy pages. Read more…